Wisconsin State Capitol
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wisconsin State Capitol | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
| Location: | Madison, Wisconsin |
| Built/Founded: | 1906 |
| Architect: | Multiple |
| Architectural style(s): | Classical Revival |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1970 |
| Reference #: | 70000031 [1] |
| Governing body: | State |
 |
|
|
|
The Wisconsin State Capitol, in Madison, Wisconsin, houses both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature along with the state Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor. The current building, completed in 1917, is the fourth building to serve as state capitol since the first territorial legislature convened in 1836 and the third building since Wisconsin was granted statehood in 1848. It is the tallest building in Wisconsin outside of Milwaukee.
Contents |
[edit] First capitol
The first capitol was a prefabricated wood-frame council house hastily shipped to Belmont, Wisconsin with no heat or water. Legislators met there for 42 days after Belmont was designated the capital of Wisconsin Territory. The session chose Madison as the site of the capital, and Burlington, Iowa as the site of further legislative sessions until Madison could be ready. The council house and an associated lodging house still stand and are operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society as the First Capitol Historic Site.
[edit] Second capitol
The second capitol was the first state house built in Madison, on the present site. Built in 1837 for $60,000 of stone cut from Maple Bluff and locally cut oak, it was small but typical of frontier state houses.
[edit] Third capitol
Growing government needs forced the state to construct a new capitol, also on the present site. This structure, with a similar U.S. Capitol-inspired dome, was built between 1857 and 1869. In 1882, the state expanded this capitol with two wings to the north and south at a cost of $900,000. In 1903, however, a commission began looking into replacing the structure.
[edit] 1904 fire
On the night of February 26, 1904, a gas jet ignited a newly-varnished ceiling in the third capitol building. A nearby university reservoir was empty, so water had to be brought in from Milwaukee to fight the blaze. The situtation was further complicated by the bitter cold temperatures; by the time the water reached Madison, it had started to freeze. As a result, the entire structure except the north wing burned to the ground.
The fire occurred just five weeks after the State Legislature voted to cancel the capitol's fire insurance policy.
[edit] Current building
In 1906, the state building commission approved plans by architect George Browne Post for a new state capitol. Due to financial limitations and the need for immediate office space to house state government employees, the construction of the new building was extended over several years and focused on building one wing at a time.
The building is modeled after the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., except that it is only inches shorter than the national capitol. The dome is constructed from White Bethel Granite from Vermont and is the only granite dome in the United States.
It is topped with the 15 foot, 5 inch (4.7 m) high, 22 carat (92 percent) gold-gilded bronze statue "Wisconsin" by sculptor Daniel Chester French. The statue is commonly misidentified as "Lady Forward" or "Miss Forward", which is the name of another statue on the capitol grounds.
The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001. A 1990 state law prevents any building within one mile of the capitol from being taller than the base of the columns surrounding and supporting its dome.[2]
[edit] Wisconsin Capitol Sculpture Program
Architect Post designed an elaborate sculpture program for the building. Initially the statue of Wisconsin on the top of the dome was promised to Helen Farnsworth Mears but when Daniel Chester French agreed to produce the finial figure, the commission was switched to him. This work, often referred to as the "Golden Lady," consists of an allegorical figure reminiscent of Athena, dressed in Greek garb, and wearing a helmet topped by a badger, the Wisconsin state totem. In the left hand she holds a globe with an eagle perched on top of it. Across her chest is a large W, for Wisconsin, a detail probably only viewable from an airplane.
Post's original concept for the building called for four small domes to be placed at the foot of the the large one, but at some point the plans were changed and the domes were replaced by four sculptural group by Karl Bitter. These groups [again, in Greek clothing] symbolized Faith, Strength, Prosperity and Abundance.
Each of the four wings of the building is fronted by a pediment whose figures relate to the principle activities that were to take place within. Thus the east wing, housing the Supreme Court, features a pediment by Bitter entitled Law, the south has Adolph Alexander Weinman's Virtues and Traits of Character, for the wing containing the State Senate. Bitter's other pediment, the west, is Agriculture, while Attilio Piccirilli's Wisdom and Learning of the World adorns the north pediment.
The carving of all these sculptures is attributed to the Piccirilli Brothers.
 East pediment by Bitter |
 South pediment by Weinman |
 West pediment by Bitter |
|
 North pediment by Piccirilli |
 Knowledge, NE group, Bitter |
 Faith, SE group, Bitter |
 Strength, SW group, Bitter |
 Prosperity and Abundance, NW group, Bitter |
[edit] Trivia
- Some of the stones used in the building contain fossils. The second flight of stairs in the north wing, on the left side of the grand staircase, fourth step from the bottom, contains a starfish fossil estimated to be 400 million years old. [1]
- The remains of Old Abe, the Civil War eagle of the 8th Wisconsin regiment, now depicted on the shoulder patch of the 101st Airborne, were destroyed in the 1904 fire.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).
- ^ 1989 Wisconsin Act 222. State of Wisconsin (April 12, 1990). Retrieved on October 3, 2006.
- Dennis, James M., Karl Bitter Architectural Sculptor: 1867 - 1915, University of Wisconsin Press 1967
- Lombardo, Josef Vincent, Atilio Piccirilli: Life of an American Sculptor, Pitman Publishing Corporation, New York 1944
- Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, Architectural Sculpture in America, unpublished manuscript
- Landau, Sarah Bradford, George B. Post: Picturesque Designer and Determined Realist, The Montacelli Press, New York, NY, 1998
- Rajer, Anton and Christine Style, Public Sculpture in Wisconsin: An Atlas of Outdoor Monuments, Memorials and Masterpieces in the Badger State, SOS! Save Outdoor Sculpture, Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin, 1999
- Schevill, , Ferdinand, Karl Bitter – A Biography, University of Chicago Press, Chicago Illinois, 1917
- Wisconsin State Capitol: Guide and History, State of Wisconsin Department of Administration, Division of Buildings and Grounds, 1991
[edit] External links
- Wisconsin State Capitol Historic Structure Report (1995-2005)
- Information on the State Capitol from the State of Wisconsin
-
- Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
- Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
![[1]](http://carl-thomas.net/friends/2003-09%20madison/3466.jpg){kind=link}