Georgia State Capitol | |
 West side of the Georgia State Capitol | |
     | |
| Location | 206 Washington St SW,Atlanta, Georgia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°44′57″N84°23′17″W / 33.74905°N 84.38813°W /33.74905; -84.38813 |
| Built | 1889; 136 years ago (1889) |
| Architect | Edbrooke and Burnham[1] |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival,Classical Revival[1] |
| NRHP reference No. | 71001099 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 9, 1971[1] |
| Designated NHL | November 7, 1973[2] |
| Designated AHLB | 1989 |
TheGeorgia State Capitol is an architecturally and historically significant building inAtlanta, Georgia, United States. The building has been named aNational Historic Landmark which is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. As the primary office building of Georgia's government, the capitol houses the offices of thegovernor,lieutenant governor, andsecretary of state on the secondfloor, chambers in which theGeneral Assembly, consisting of theGeorgia State Senate andGeorgia House of Representatives, meets annually from January to April. The fourth floor houses visitors' galleries overlooking the legislative chambers and amuseum located near the rotunda in which a statue ofMiss Freedom caps the dome.
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The capitol site was occupied previously by the firstAtlanta City Hall. To encourage the state government to relocate the capital city to rapidly growing andindustrialized Atlanta from ruralMilledgeville, the city donated the site. The 1877-79 Constitutional Convention voted in 1877 to permanently move the capital to Atlanta, and in 1879 accepted the city's offer of the five-acre City Hall/County Courthouse tract, which was conveyed to the state in 1880.[3] The first capitol inLouisville no longer stands, while inAugusta andSavannah the legislature met in makeshift facilities, perhaps causing (or caused by) the alternation of those two cities as capital. The legislature also met at other places, includingMacon, especially during and just after theAtlanta campaign of theAmerican Civil War, which resulted in the capture andburning of Atlanta.
Like manyU.S. state capitols, the Georgia State Capitol is designed to resemble theNeoclassical architectural style of theUnited States Capitol, inWashington, D.C. Former Confederate generalPhilip Cook was a member of the commission that oversaw planning and construction of the building. The commission engagedarchitectsWilloughby J. Edbrooke andFranklin Pierce Burnham, ofChicago to design the building and Miles and Horne ofToledo, Ohio for construction. Work completed in March 1889. Sculptor George Crouch executed all the ornamental work on the building.
The Capitol faces west on Washington Street. Thefaçade features a four-storyportico, with stonepediment, supported by sixCorinthian columns set on large stone piers. Georgia'scoat of arms, with two figures on each side, is carved on the pediment. The Capitol's interior represents the19th-century style of its time. It was among the earliest buildings to have elevators, centralized steam heat, and combinationgas andelectric lights.Classicalpilasters and oak paneling are used throughout the building. The floors of the interior are marble fromPickens County, which still produces marble today.
The open centralrotunda is flanked by two wings, each with a grandstaircase and three-storyatrium crowned byclerestory windows. The Capitol building has undergone frequentrenovations to adapt to the growth and change of government. Originally constructed fromterra cotta and covered withtin, in a 1958 renovation[4] the present dome was gilded with nativegold leaf from nearDahlonega inLumpkin County, where thefirst American gold rush occurred during the 1830s. For this reason, legislative business is often referred to as what is happening "under the Gold Dome" by media across the state. The statueMiss Freedom has adorned the dome since the building's opening.
In 1997, the House and Senate chambers were restored to their 1889 appearance with replicated decoration and color schemes. This included the demolition of damaged plaster, the reinstallation of flat plaster at the dome, columns, and walls, and a decorative painting in the House and Senate Chambers.[2][5]
The museum within the Capitol, in existence since 1889, houses extensive collections representing the natural and cultural history of Georgia.Native American artifacts, animals, rocks and minerals, and fossils illustrate the diversity of the collections. Removed during restoration or renovation, most of the collection remains in storage. The portraits of governors, statues offamous Georgians, and historic flags from many wars are displayed throughout the Capitol. The portraits of all governors elected since 1850 are there, except forRufus Bullock.[6]
The Georgia Capitol Museum is apublic education institution housed in the Capitol building under the administration of the University of Georgia Libraries. The museum seeks to preserve and interpret the history of the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, the functions of the government, and the events that have occurred in the Capitol. To accomplish this, the museum collects, preserves, and interprets artifacts relating to the Capitol or associated with the events that have occurred there.
In 2015, the state of Georgia unveiled a large public plaza just east of the Capitol namedLiberty Plaza. After its opening, numerous monuments were relocated from other parts of the Capitol grounds to the plaza, including replicas of theLiberty Bell andStatue of Liberty.[7][8]
TheOld State Capitol is at 201 East Greene Street,Milledgeville, Georgia, and served as state capitol from 1807 until 1867. The building was severely damaged by a fire on March 24, 1941[17] and was rebuilt in its former design to serve as a part ofGeorgia Military College.[18] The first floor of the old capitol is open as a museum.
Some parts of filming of the premiere episode of theninth season of the television showThe Walking Dead were filmed around and within the Georgia State Capitol over a period of two days.[19]
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