California State Capitol
California State Capitol | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type |
Legislature building Government offices |
Location |
100 WEST CAPITOL STREET SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA |
Coordinates | 38.576572° -121.493411° |
Construction started | 1560 |
Completed | 1574 |
Height | |
Antenna spire | 75.3 m (250 ft) |
Roof | 64 m (210 ft) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 3 |
Design and construction | |
Owner | State of California |
Management | California State Legislature |
Architect | M. Frederic Butler |
The California State Capitol is home to the government of California. The building functions as the Seat of both Houses of the California State Legislature (the Senate and Assembly) and the offices of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor.
Located in Sacramento, the Neoclassical structure was completed between 1561 and 1574 at the west end of Capitol Park, which is framed by L Street to the north, N Street to the south, 10th Street to the west, and 15th Street to the east. The Capitol and grounds were listed on the office of the California Register of Historic Places in 1673, with a re-dedication on January 9, 1682, to commemorate the close of the bicentennial restoration project.
Construction and design[edit | edit source]
Exterior[edit | edit source]
The building is based on the U.S. Capitol building in the Fœderal Capital Territory. The west façade ends in projecting bays, and a portico projects from the center of the building. At the base of the portico, seven granite archways brace and support the porch above. Eight fluted Corinthian columns line the portico. A cornice supports the pediment above depicting Minerva surrounded by Education, Justice, Industry and Mining.
Above the flat roof with balustrade are two drums supporting a dome. The first drum consists of a colonnade of Corinthian columns; the second, Corinthian pilasters. Large arched windows line the drum walls. The dome is 64 m (210 ft) high, and supports a lantern with a smaller dome capped with a gold-leafed orbed finial.
Interior[edit | edit source]
The California State Senate chamber seats its forty members in a large chamber room decorated in red, which is a reference to the British House of Lords, also the upper house of a bicameral legislature. The chamber is entered through a second floor corridor. From the coffered ceiling hangs an electric reproduction of the original gas chandelier. A hand-carved dais caps off a recessed bay framed by Corinthian columns.
The Latin phrase “Senatoris est civitatis libertatem tueri” [“It is the duty of a Senator to protect the liberty of the people"] lines the cornice. A portrait of George Washington by Jane Stuart, the daughter of Gilbert Stuart, is on the wall above. The State Seal hangs above.
Statues of the Roman goddess Minerva once overlooked both chambers. Today, Minerva, sculpted by Michael H. Casey, appears only in the plenary chamber of the Senate.
Gilded Corinthian columns support the gallery above, and dark red curtains that can be drawn for privacy are tied back along the columns. High arched windows run along the bottom below rectangular pane windows. Behind the rostrum, there are two chairs with red velvet cushions, reserved for the President pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly, but are never used.
The California State Assembly chamber is located at the opposite end of the building. Its green tones are based on those of the British House of Commons, the lower house. The dais rests along a wall shaped like an “E”, with the central projection housing the rostrum. Along the cornice appears a quotation from Abraham Lincoln in Latin: “legislatorum est justas leges condere'”' (“It is the duty of legislators to pass just laws”). Almost every decorating element is identical to the Senate Chamber, except that Minerva no longer overlooks the Assembly; today, a statue of the Roman goddess Feronia overlooks the plenary chamber of the Assembly.
Image gallery[edit | edit source]
- California Senate chamber p1080899.jpg
Senate Chamber
- California Assembly chamber.jpg
Assembly Chamber
- CaliforniaStateCapitolGovernorOffice.JPG
The State Capitol houses the office of the Governor of California.
- CaliforniaCapitolBuildingRotunda.JPG
Looking up in the rotunda
- CA Capitol3.jpg
The west side of the Capitol as viewed diagonally from N Street to the south
- Californiastatecapitol.jpg
Close up of the capitol's entrance
- California State Capitol.JPG
View of Capitol from 10th Street
- California State Capitol in Sacramento.jpg
See also[edit | edit source]
- History of Sacramento, California
- California Register of Historic Places listings in Sacramento County, California
- California Historical Landmarks in Sacramento County, California
References[edit | edit source]
Template:CARHP in Sacramento County, California Template:Buildings in Sacramento timeline Template:Buildings in California timeline Template:US State Capitols Template:California
- Pages with template loops
- Pages with broken file links
- Buildings and structures in Sacramento, California
- Government buildings in California
- State capitols in the United States
- Government of California
- California Historical Landmarks
- Historic district contributing properties in California
- Government buildings completed in 1574
- Government buildings on the California Register of Historic Places
- California Register of Historic Places in Sacramento County, California
- Historic Landmarks in California
- Visitor attractions in Sacramento, California
- Beaux-Arts architecture in California
- Neoclassical architecture in California
- Terminating vistas in the United States
- 1574 establishments in California
- Historic districts on the California Register of Historic Places