Indiana Statehouse
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| Indiana Statehouse | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1878 |
| Architect: | May, Edwin; Scherer, Adolf |
| Added to NRHP: | August 28, 1975 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 75000043 [1] |
| Governing body: | State |
The Indiana Statehouse (or State House)[2] is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. Housing the Indiana General Assembly, the Governor of Indiana, the state courts, and other state officials, it is located in the state capital Indianapolis at 200 West Washington Street. It is the fourth state capitol building.
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[edit] Construction
With Indiana's rapid increase in population during the middle of the nineteenth century, the state's government increased in size. The third state capitol building became cramped and was no longer able to house all of the state's governmental functions. The building had also become dilapidated with age and was eventually condemned and demolished in 1877. The administration of Governor James D. Williams proposed the construction of the fourth state capitol building, which was approved by the Indiana General Assembly in the legislative session of 1878. The third state capitol building had been razed, and the new building was constructed on the same site. Two million dollars were appropriated for construction of the new building, and it was completed in 1888. Governor Williams, who was famed for his frugality, was able to complete the project for $1.8 million and returned the extra $200,000 to the general fund.[3]
A team of commissioners, including former Civil War general and civil engineer Thomas A. Morris, planned and oversaw the project. The structure was designed by Edwin May, an Indianapolis architect. The legislature had instructed that the new capitol be built on a solid foundation so that it would last for many decades. Construction began in 1880 and the cornerstone was laid on September 28. Edwin May had died in February of that year, and so another man, Adolph Sherrer, supervised the project for the entire construction period. The interior was modeled using the Italian Renaissance style. Wherever possible native materials were used. Doors were made of Indiana oak, and Indiana limestone was used throughout. The building's cornerstone is a ten ton block of limestone quarried in Spencer, Indiana. The central dome was completed in 1883. The building was also wired for electricity, even though no electrical power grid was available to power the building. In 1887 the new capitol was sufficiently finished for the first legislative session to be held there. Construction ultimately took eight years, and the building was finally completed in October 1888. At that time it was the second tallest building in the state.[4]
The building is laid out in the shape of a cross. A large central rotunda with a domed ceiling connects the four wings. The structure was built four stories high. The first floor housed the executive offices of the administration. The Indiana House of Representatives offices and chambers were placed on the second floor's east side. The Indiana State Senate offices were placed on the second floor's west side. The Indiana Supreme Court's offices were put on the north end of the second floor. The building was constructed with the intention that it was to house the entire government of the state. For several decades all the government bureaus were housed in the building, until the government again outgrew the structure, and several bureaus were moved to separate office buildings.[5]
A hole was bored in the cornerstone, and a time capsule was placed inside containing forty-two items. The items included annual reports from all the government agencies, a Bible, samples of several varieties of crops grown in Indiana, several new coins, local maps and newspapers, a book on the history of Indianapolis, and pamphlets from many of the city's institutions.[6]
[edit] Renovation
In 1988 the administration of Governor Robert D. Orr proposed that the Indiana General Assembly renovate the statehouse as part of "Hoosier Celebration 88", the building's one-hundredth anniversary. The General Assembly approved, and the building underwent an extensive renovation that continued until 1995. [7]
During the renovation all the statehouse's stonework, consisting of marble, granite, and limestone columns and blocks, underwent a cleaning and polishing. All of the buildings woodwork was repaired or replaced. The glass windowing in the central dome was largely replaced. The building's lighting was updated, and most of the walls were repainted. The building was wired for a new data network to make the building ready for twenty-first-century technology.[8]
[edit] Previous State Capitols
[edit] First statehouse
When Indiana first became a state in 1816, the capital was located in Corydon. The first capitol building was a humble two-story limestone building that was constructed in 1813 to house the legislature of the Indiana Territory. The building was constructed by a firm owned by Dennis Pennington, a leading man in the early territorial legislature. The building construction cost $1,500 and was completed in three years. The building was forty foot square, two stories high, with walls two feet thick and ten-foot-high ceilings. The building was made of limestone cut from a nearby quarry. At the time of its construction it was one of the largest buildings in the state.
The building contained three rooms and quickly became too small for the state government, who had to build office buildings for the state's administration. The lower floor of the statehouse was used by the Indiana House of Representatives. The upper floor was split into two rooms, one for the Indiana State Senate and another for the Indiana Supreme Court. The building was abandoned as the capitol in 1824 and was given to Harrison County to use as a courthouse. The old capitol building is still persevered and is now a state historic site.
[edit] Second statehouse
When the the state government relocated to Indianapolis in 1824 the government setup in Marion County Courthouse. The courthouse had been constructed with state funds in 1822 after Indianapolis was chosen as the site for the new capitol. The courthouse was intended to be used as a statehouse until such a time as a proper statehouse could be constructed. Indianapolis was at that time sixty miles from the nearest settlement and a large scale construction was impractical. The courthouse served at the state capitol building for twelve years.
[edit] Third statehouse
In 1831 the Indiana General Assembly approved construction of a new statehouse. The building was to be funded by the sale of lots of land in Indianapolis. A commission was established and Commissioner James Blake offered $150 prize to the architect who could design the best statehouse. The firm of Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis created the winning design. Their plans called for a structure that was inspired by the Greek Parthenon. The building looked very much like the Parthenon except for a large central dome. The firm of Town and Davis was awarded with a contract to construct the building and it was competed ahead of schedule in 1835.[9]
The building was popular after it's construction but by the 1860s Greek Revival architecture had fallen out style and the building was beginning to fall into decay. The building limestone foundation began to fail and many feared a general structural collapse of the building. The in 1867 the ceiling in the chambers of the Indiana House of Representative collapsed. A debate was held in 1873 about how to preserve the building but no solution was found. By the time the Governor James Williams was elected in the building was about to be condemned. It was finally demolished in 1877.[10]
[edit] See also
- List of state capitols in the United States
- Indiana General Assembly
- Indiana Supreme Court
- Governor of Indiana
- Indianapolis
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).
- ^ http://www.in.gov/jobs/calendar/2007hs.pdf
- ^ Gray, Ralph D. (1995). Indiana History: A Book of Readings. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 184. ISBN 025332629X.
- ^ Indiana Historical Bureau. In Clear Arrangement. IN.gov. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Indiana Historical Bureau. In Clear Arrangement. IN.gov. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Indiana Historical Bureau. In Clear Arrangement. IN.gov. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Indiana Historical Bureau. Restoration at its Best. IN.gov. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Indiana Historical Bureau. Restoration at its Best. IN.gov. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Indiana Historical Bureau. In Character with the Parthenon. IN.gov. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Indiana Historical Bureau. In Character with the Parthenon. IN.gov. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
[edit] External links
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