Missouri State Capital Building and Grounds | |
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 Interactive map showing the location of Missouri State Capitol | |
| Location | 201 West Capitol Avenue,Jefferson City, Missouri |
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| Coordinates | 38°34′45″N92°10′22″W / 38.57917°N 92.17278°W /38.57917; -92.17278 |
| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1917; 109 years ago (1917) |
| Architect | Tracy and Swartwout |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 69000096[1][2] |
| Added to NRHP | June 23, 1969; 56 years ago (1969-06-23) |
TheMissouri State Capitol is the home of theMissouri General Assembly and theexecutive branch of government of theU.S. state ofMissouri. Located inJefferson City at 201 West Capitol Avenue, it is the third capitol to be built in the city. (The previous two were demolished after they were damaged by fire.) The domed building, designed by theNew York City architectural firm ofTracy and Swartwout, was completed in 1917.[3]
The capitol’sdome is the first thing travelers see when approaching Jefferson City from the north. In addition to the stateSenate andHouse of Representatives, the capitol also contains offices of thegovernor,lieutenant governor,secretary of state,state treasurer,state auditor, and some administrative agencies.
It is individually listed on theNational Register of Historic Places and is a contributing property in theMissouri State Capitol Historic District.[2] The capitol is Jefferson City's leading tourist attraction. It is a destination for school groups who arrive by busloads, particularly during General Assembly sessions. Students fill the galleries to watch the Senate and House of Representatives in action.
The exterior of the Missouri State Capitol is notable for its architectural features: the Baroque dome, loosely modeled after St. Peter’s basilica in Rome, rising 238 feet (73 m) above ground level, topped by sculptorSherry Fry’sbronze statue ofCeres, theRoman goddess ofagriculture; the eight 48-foot (15 m) columns on the south portico; the six 40-foot (12 m) columns on the north portico; the 30-foot (9 m)-wide grand staircase; and the bronze entrance doors, each 13 by 18 feet (4.0 m × 5.5 m)—at the time, the largest cast since the Roman era.[4]
The north facade is embellished by afrieze sculpted byHermon Atkins MacNeil illustrating the history of Missouri, a theme continued on the south facade by the artistAlexander Stirling Calder. The figures in thepediment over the main entrance were sculpted byAdolph Alexander Weinman.
Statuary is a prominent feature of the capitol’s grounds: heroicallegorical bronze figures sculpted byRobert Aitken (representing Missouri's two great rivers—theMississippi and theMissouri), and a 13-foot (4 m) tall statue ofThomas Jefferson made byJames Earle Fraser dominate the south entrance.The Sciences and The Arts Fountains, each with four representative figures, adorn the south lawn.
SculptorKarl Bitter’s bronze relief, depicting the signing of theLouisiana Purchase byLivingston,Monroe andMarbois, and Weinman’sFountain of the Centaurs are features of the north grounds.
The capitol’s first floor, home of the State Museum, is embellished with mural paintings and statuary. A prime attraction is a series of murals painted byThomas Hart Benton in the House Lounge. The grand staircase is flanked by large heroic bronze statues ofMeriwether Lewis andWilliam Clark, and the third-floor rotunda is the site of theHall of Famous Missourians, a group of bronze busts of prominent Missourians honored for their achievements and contributions to the state.
Awhispering gallery high within the dome, and a small viewing platform on the dome's roof beneath the statue of Ceres, are areas normally not open to the public except for school tours and other special tours.
The present capitol, completed in 1917 and occupied the following year, is the third capitol in Jefferson City and the sixth in Missouri history.
The first seat of state government was housed in the Mansion House, located at Third and Vine Streets inSt. Louis and the second one was in the Missouri Hotel located at Main and Morgan Streets in St. Charles.St. Charles was designated as the temporary capital of the new 24thState in 1821 and remained the seat of government for five more years until 1826.
It was decided that the capitol should be located more in the center of the state and specifically that it should be located on the Missouri River within 40 miles (64 km) of the mouth of theOsage River. A group was sent out to survey various locations. The present location on top of the bluffs in current Jefferson City was chosen because it afforded the best view of the Missouri River of any place which they had seen within the limits prescribed by the Constitution.
The fourth state capitol (and the first in Jefferson City) was made out of brick, two stories tall, measured approximately 40 by 60 feet (12 m × 18 m), and took two years to complete. It was built for approximately $18,500 (equivalent to $514,137 in 2024). It was called the "Governor's House and State Capitol." This building burned a decade later in 1837. The site is now occupied by the present-dayMissouri Governor's Mansion. It was designed byStephen Hills (1771-1844), and modeled on his similar designs for the earlier firstPennsylvania State Capitol (1821-1897), built of red brickFederal style of architecture inHarrisburg, Pennsylvania on the east bank of theSusquehanna River.[5] Architect Hills also designed other structures in the state such as theAcademic Hall of theUniversity of Missouri atColumbia; the remnant ruins of"The Columns" of sixGreekIonic style columns that still stand that survived the 1892fire that destroyed the historic building are now thecampus's landmark columns at theDavid R. Francis Quadrangle on the University's grounds.
The fifth capitol (which was at the current site) was completed in 1840 as designed by Stephen Hills for approximately $350,000 (equivalent to $11,023,833 in 2024), with some controversies and claims that there were bribes and kickbacks. This building also burned after 71 years on February 5, 1911 when it was struck by lightning. This building was approximately 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) and by 1911, was far too small to meet the then current needs of the legislators in the1910s. Missouri State SenatorWilliam Warner (1840-1916), was quoted saying, "I have no tears to shed over the fact that the building has been destroyed as it was totally inadequate and not in keeping with the requirements of our great state". He died just before the new massive huge replacement State Capitol was completed and dedicated the following year in 1917.
The original new state capitol design and construction budget called for a building to be constructed for $3 million (equivalent to $101.24 million in 2024), with an additional $500,000 (equivalent to $16,873,214 in 2024) allocated for the site and furnishings. This was approved in a general election / referendum by the public by a three-to-one margin, however, the state miscalculated on incoming revenue projections, and ended up collecting $4,215,000 (equivalent to $142,241,196 in 2024). All of this money was eventually used for the entire monumental project, which is one of the reasons why the sculptures and artwork are of such high caliber of quality and beauty.Edwin William Stephens of Columbia served as chair of the Capitol Decoration Committee along withUniversity of Missouri atColumbia art professor and archeologistJohn Pickard (1858-1937).
It was also decided that the architect would be selected from a design competition; names were redacted from the submissions so that there would be no local favoritism. A total of 69 architectural firms submitted for the competition, from which a short list of 11 were chosen.Tracy & Swarthout fromNew York City was ultimately selected.
The building is symmetrical in plan, giving equal symbolic weight to both legislative chambers of the House of Representatives and the state Senate (though the interiors and decoration of the two chambers differ greatly). The style makes many historical references to the nationalUnited States Capitol onCapitol Hill inWashington, D.C., as well as to ancientGreek andRoman temples; however, the typical column capital top is a unique variation on the canonical Corinthian style capital, replacing theacanthus leaves with local flora.
The stone for the exterior is a densemarble fromCarthage, Missouri. Some of the finer details have eroded after 100 years of freeze and thaw weather climate cycles. The state has committed $30 million[6] to study, restore, and prevent further deterioration. The building measures five stories high, 437 feet (133 m) long, 300 feet (90 m) wide in the center, and 200 feet (60 m) wide in the wings. The dome is 238 feet (73 m) high and the height of the wings is 88 feet (27 m). It includes 500,000 square feet (50,000 m2) of floor space.
In November 2006, the 9,000 lb (4,100 kg) domechandelier, which had been lowered almost to the floor for maintenance, fell the remaining five feet.[7] The chandelier was damaged by the impact and by the ornamental chains that fell on it. It was sent to a St. Louis company for repairs. Nearly a full year later, the chandelier was returned to Jefferson City and raised in the capitol. The upper lights were also restored, after they had been turned off for four decades due to light damage to the mural above. Created in 1918 by the Guth Lighting Company of St. Louis for a cost of $5,000 (equivalent to $104,524 in 2024), the chandelier cost $500,000 (equivalent to $779,878 in 2024) to be restored.[8]
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