| California State Capitol | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Government offices |
| Location | 10th Street and L Street Sacramento, California |
| Coordinates | |
| Construction started | 1860 |
| Completed | 1874 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 75.3 m (247 ft) |
| Roof | 64 m (210 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | State of California |
| Management | State of California |
| Architect | M. Frederic Butler |
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California State Capitol
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| Architectural style: | Neoclassical |
| Governing body: | State |
| NRHP Reference#: | 73000427 [1] |
| CHL #: | 872 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | April 3, 1973 |
| Designated CHL: | August 10, 1974 |
| References | |
| [2][3][4] | |
The California State Capitol is home to the government of California. The building houses the bicameral state legislature and the office of the governor.
The Neoclassical structure was completed between 1861 and 1874 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 National Register of Historic Places in 1973,[1] and listed as a California Historical Landmark in 1974, with a re-dedication on January 9, 1982 to commemorate the close of the bicentennial restoration project.[5][6]
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The building is based on the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. The west facade 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, 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, matching that of the U.S. Capitol, and supports a lantern with a smaller dome capped with a gold-leafed orbed finial.
The California 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.
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 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.
On January 16, 2001, Michael Bowers, a semi-trailer truck driver with a criminal history, drove over a curb, along a short walk-way, and rammed his truck into the southern portico. The truck's fuel tank ignited, killing the driver, and caused US$15 million in damage to the building.[7][8]
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