Cupolas of Capitalism
State Capitol Building Histories

States from C to E
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U.S. Capitol Building showing Bulfinch's wooden dome. From the Lithograph Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress.

Early 19th century lithograph by Charles Fenderich, showing the U.S. Capitol Building.  Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

States with Capitol Buildings featuring prominent exterior cupolas are highlighted in yellow.  Historical information appearing on this page comes from the same sources acknowledged on the first page of this gallery.

Click on any picture to see an enlarged version, or to view the other historic images available in the Cupolas of Capitalism Picture Gallery.  Note as previously mentioned, the 3D links from Google may require the enabling of the map's "Globe View" and satellite map style, and/or a browser plug-in, to display correctly.
 
STATE CITY STATE CAPITOL STREET ADDRESS(es) / BUILDING DATE(s) / ARCHITECT(s) BLDG. DESCRIPTION(s), IMAGE(s) and SITE LINK(s)
California Sacramento Capitol Mall & 10th St. / bird's eye view rotated to show front from MS Bing; street and 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

1856, Capitol designed and construction begins.  Work starts and stops due to political wrangling / Reuben Clark.

1860-65, Capitol completely redesigned and construction begun again / Miner F. Butler (designer) with Reuben Clark appointed superintendent of construction. Clark goes on leave for health reasons in the Fall of 1865; is committed to Stockton Insane Asylum in February 1866; and dies there on July 4, 1866.

1865-1870, construction continues / G. Parker Cummings.

1870-71, construction continues / Henry Kenitzer and A .A. Bennett.

1872-74, construction completed / G. Parker Cummings again.

1906-08, first major remodel, mainly an interior modernization that added new office space and a fourth floor.  Senate and assembly chambers gutted and reworked in the process.  Little change to the exterior / ? architect.

1949-52, semicircular apse in rear removed, and the Art Deco / International Style influenced Capitol Annex (a.k.a. the East Wing), a substantial addition, built in its place / Alfred Eichler.

1975-82, Capitol restoration / Welton Becket Associates.

2001, repairs and security driven changes after limited damage to south entrance from truck attack and subsequent fire.

2017-2025 (projected completion), design and construction of replacement Capitol Annex (a.k.a. the East Wing).  Capitol Annex of 1949-52 demolished in July, 2023 / Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

2017-2025 (pending), design and construction of proposed visitor and welcome center / Mark Cavagnero Associates, CSHQA, Plant Construction, Re:Public, et al.		 California State Capitol Building. Photo by Howard J. Partridge.
Italian Renaissance Revival state capitol building.  Central circular drum tower is capped with a copper covered dome and cupola.  220 feet tall.  Pictures, tours, and more info offsite from the California State Capitol Museum.  Also available offsite is a detailed, illustrated history in Adobe Acrobat format is from the California State Legislature.  A juicier rendition of the building history from Daniel Visnich is available on the United States Capitol Society website.  Visnich's expert talk about the 1975-82 restoration has made an appearance on Youtube.  A short photo essay appears on Donald Laird's California Landmarks site.
Colorado Denver 200 E. Colfax Ave. (between Lincoln & Grant Streets) / bird's eye view rotated to show front from MS Bing; street and 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

1886-1898, designed and construction started / Elijah E. Myers.

1898-1907, construction completed / Frank E. Edbrooke.

2000-2009, fire safety upgrades / Fentress Architects.

2011-2013, dome restoration / Quinn Evans Architects with Humphries|Poli Architects.		 Colorado State Capitol Building. Historic postcard image courtesy of Chris Miller.
Italian Renaissance Revival state capitol building.  Central circular drum tower is capped with a gold gilded dome and cupola.  276 feet tall.  Offsite, the official Colorado State Capitol" website offers video tours, photos, history, and more about the building.  The state legislature offers links to a photo gallery and a video covering the dome restoration started in 2011.  A 12/26/2013 newstory from the Coloradoan newspaper reported on the proress of the dome work.
Connecticut Hartford
(Old State House & New State Capitol)		 Old State House at 800 Main St. (near State St.) / bird's eye view rotated to show East Front at end of State St. from MS Bing; street and 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

1792-96, Old State House designed and built / Charles Bullfinch.

1822, cupola tower added to Old State House (possibly part of the original design), copied from the Old City Hall in New York City / ? architect.

1878-79, major remodel of Old State House by the City of Hartford removes original spiral stair in the Great Hall and squeezes a new third floor out of the high second floor rooms / ? architect.

1922, restoration removes extra floor added in 1878, building made fireproof, and steel roof trusses added.  Monumental stair in Great Hall is not the original Bulfinch design.
 
 
New State Capitol at 2210 Capitol Ave. (at Trinity St.) / bird's eye view rotated to show South Front facing Bushnell Park from MS Bing; street and 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

1872-79, New State Capitol designed and built / Richard M. Upjohn.

1938, Bronze and plaster statue, crowning top of dome since 1878, removed for fear of falling after hurricane damage.  Donated to federal government and melted down for ammunition and machine parts for U.S. war effort in 1942 / Randolph Rogers (statue titled "The Genius of Connecticut").

1973-present, exterior and interior preservation and restoration projects overseen by the State Capitol Preservation and Restoration Commission / collaborating at different times with Dominick C. Cimino Architect Planners, John Canning, et al.

1977-89, exterior and interior restoration of New State Capitol / Dominick C. Cimino Architect Planners.

2005-present, Recreation of Randolph Rogers' statue that had crowned the dome until 1938.  Placed in the capitol rotunda until funds secured for installation as dome's crowning jewel / Direct Dimensions (digital recreation) & Polich Tallix (foundry).		 Historic photo of the Old Connecticut State Capitol Building. From the Library of Congress's Historic American Buildings Survey.
The Old State House is in the Federal style with a cupola tower.  Capped with a statue called Blind Justice.  Picture and more info offsite in this official description.

Late 20C photo of the Connecticut State Capitol Building from Bushnell Park, courtesy of Les R. Center.
The New State Capitol is a mixture of Gothic and French Renaissance Revival.  Central circular drum tower is capped with a gold leafed dome and cupola.  Approx. 257 feet tall.  More offsite with tour info, building facts, history, and picture galleries from the League of Women of Voters of Connecticut.  Other government offerings include a pdf picture book and a basic building description.  The Bushnell Park website features a short building history.  A digital reproduction of architect Upjohn's 1886 monograph about his design is available from the Connecticut State Library.  Google Books serves up historical building design reviews of the original construction: from Scientific American, Jan. 17, 1874, and from The Manufacturer and Builder, November 1874.  Public Art CT offers details and a video on the allegorical sculptures encircling the dome.  Architectural arts restoration contractor John Canning further details the capitol's history and restoration on its website.
Delaware Dover
(Old State House & New Legislative Hall)		 Old State House at 25 The Green (off S. State St.) / bird's eye view rotated to show front from MS Bing; street and 3D view from Google Maps.

1787-92, Old State House designed and built.  Now a museum / Alexander Givan.

1873-75, mansard roof and central front tower added, hiding original front door and Palladian window.  The alterations are reversed in a later restoration / ? architect.

1836-1926, various additions / ? architect(s).

1910, original roofline and second floor windows restored / ? architect.

1974-76, major exterior and interior restoration of Old State House / ? architect.

Sept. 2004- Oct. 2007, Old State House restoration and ADA compliance work.  Exterior bricks repointed.  Roof, exterior doors and windows replaced.  Interior repainted in historic scheme, plaster walls patched, floors restored, new HVAC and fire suppression systems added, electrical and plumbing systems upgraded / Bernardon Haber Holloway, Architects, PC., with Frens and Frens, LLC Restoration Architects.
 
 
New Legislative Hall at 411 Legislative Ave. (at Duke of York St., near west end of Court St.) / bird's eye view rotated to show forecourt from MS Bing; street and 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

1931-33, Legislative Hall designed and built (New State House) / William Martin.

1965-70, extension of North and South Wings on Legislative Hall / George Fletcher Bennet.

1994-96, two new projecting wings added to east side of Legislative Hall, creating a forecourt / The Architects Studio.

1994-97, major interior renovations of Legislative Hall, including both chambers, the lobby, cafeteria, and offices / Moeckel Carbonell Associates, Inc.		 Photo showing the front of the Old Delaware State House. From the Library of Congress's Historic American Buildings Survey.
The Georgian style Old State House features a central rooftop cupola.  More info is available offsite through the Delaware State Museum website.  A discontinued photo essay on the 2004-2007 restoration from the State of Delaware website still hangs on thanks to the Internet Archive.  Historic postcards show the old capitol with its mansard roof and tower here and here.  A 1930s front view shows the west side of new Legislative Hall visible in the distance.

Exterior view of Legislative Hall, the Delaware State Capitol Building. Image published with permission from Moeckel Carbonell Associates, Inc.
The Georgian Revival Legislative Hall is 90 feet tall with a central cupola tower.  More info offsite with an official virtual tour (with a prior version and video clips here) and building history.  Historic postcard views show the state capitol before its first 1965 wing additions (also here), as does this 1930's period photo.  This historic view of the east side shows the building after the first and before the second wing additions.  A short photo essay is available on the state capitol focused website of Valerie Mockaitis.
District of Columbia Washington First & E. Capitol Streets NE. / aerial view from MS Bing; street and 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

1793-1800, North Wing designed and built / designed by William Thornton.  Work supervised by architects Steven Hallet(1793-94); George Hadfield (1795-98); and James Hoban (1798-1800).

1803-11, South Wing, rebuilt interior of North Wing / Benjamin Henry Latrobe.

Aug. 24, 1814, Capitol burned (but not completely destroyed) by British troops in War of 1812.

1814-17, restoration begun by Benjamin Henry Latrobe.

1818-30, restoration finished and central portion built with a wooden dome / Charles Bulfinch.

1850-63, North and South Wing extensions and new, taller central dome and cupola / Thomas Ustick Walter (resigned in 1865).  Capitol is essentially complete in 1863.

1865-1902, various modernizations to Capitol / Edward Clark serving as Capitol architect.  Frederick Law Olmsted designed the landscaping for the Capitol grounds during this period.

1902-1923, various modernizations to Capitol / Elliott Woods serving as Capitol architect.

1923-1954, various modernizations to Capitol / David Lynn serving as Capitol architect.

1954-70, various modernizations to Capitol, with 1958-62 extension to East Front and repairs to dome / J. George Stewart serving as Capitol architect.

1971-95, various modernizations and restorations, power plant enlarged, and several separate Capitol complex buildings added / George Malcolm White serving as Capitol architect.

1991-2008, addition of the subterranean Capitol Visitor Center, which at 580,000 s.f., is nearly three-fourths the size of the 775,000 s.f. capitol building itself.  Building construction began in 2001 / RTKL Associates Inc.

1996-2017, restoration of Brumidi corridors / Alan M. Hantman and Stephen T. Ayers serving as Capitol architects.

late 2013-present, restoration of dome (completed in 2016), restoration of exterior terraces, and exterior preservation work / Stephen T. Ayers and his successors serving as Capitol architects.

Group of old capitol columns at Ellipse Rd. NE. & Beechwood Rd. NE. / aerial view from MS Bing; and photos, street and 3D view from Google Maps.

1988, old capitol columns removed in East Front extension and installed as a garden sculpture in the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. / Russell Page, landscape designer.		 Relatively recent view of the United States Capitol Building. Photo is a public domain image from William J. Ball's Teaching Politics website.
The United States Capitol Building is composed of an original Federal Style central core, and several sympathetic Neoclassical additions.  It features a central circular drum tower capped with a large cast iron dome and cupola.  287 feet, 5 1/2  inches tall.  The cupola is capped with the Statue of Freedom.  Extensive info available offsite at the official Architect of the U.S. Capitol site, with detailed building histories, photos, drawings, and virtual tours.  The U.S. Senate offers visiting and building information on their site.  The Library of Congress offers an exhibit called the Temple of Liberty.  It chronicles the design, construction, and development of the capitol through a cornucopia of historic drawings photos.  The U.S. Capitol Historical Society offers historian-led walking tours of the building and its grounds, and publishes a capitol history focused magazine called The Capitol Dome.  C-SPAN's 2006 documentary, The Capitol: An American Icon features a climb up into the dome.

A picture of the garden sculpture made from the old U.S. capitol columns is available onsite.  Offsite, the U.S. National Arboretum offers a short photo essay on the structure.  Other photos are available here.

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