Louisiana State Capitol
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| Louisiana State Capitol Building and Gardens | |
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| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
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| Location: | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Built/Founded: | 1929 |
| Architect: | Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth |
| Architectural style(s): | Art Deco |
| Added to NRHP: | June 09, 1978 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 78001421[1] |
| Governing body: | State |
The Louisiana State Capitol (French: Capitole de l'Etat de Louisiane) building is the capitol building of the state of Louisiana, located in Baton Rouge. The capitol houses the Louisiana State Legislature, the governor's office, and parts of the executive branch. At 450 feet (137 meters) tall, with 34 stories, it is the tallest capitol building in the United States, the tallest building in Baton Rouge, and the seventh-tallest building in Louisiana. It is located on a 27 acre tract, which includes the capitol gardens. The Louisiana State Capitol building is a National Historic Landmark.
The building features sculptures depicting scenes from Louisiana and U.S. history. Engraved into the stone around the main entrance is the quotation "We have lived long but this is the noblest work of our whole lives...The United States take rank this day among the first powers of the earth," said by Robert Livingston on the signing of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803[2]. Leading up to the main entrance are a series of steps with the names of all of the United States in the order of each state's admittance to the Union. After the first 13 steps (symbolizing the original 13 states) there is a small platform. Behind this platform, the steps continue again with the rest of the 48 states. The 49th step lists both Alaska and Hawaii, which were admitted to the Union, in 1959, after the Capitol was constructed.
As part of his gubernatorial campaign in 1928, Huey Long advocated the construction of a new, modern capitol building to replace the Old Louisiana State Capitol building, built in 1847. Ground was broken in 1930 after Long was elected governor of Louisiana, and the structure was completed in March 1932 after 27 months at a cost of $5 million. In 1935, Long—then a U.S. Senator–was fatally wounded by an assassin in the Capitol building. He died two days later as a result of his wounds and is interred in the Capitol gardens.
Long contracted New Orleans architectural firm Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth to design the building, and expressed interest in a tower. They took Bertram Goodhue's Nebraska State Capitol Building as their model, which was still under construction at the time. The building includes integrated sculpture by Ulric Ellerhusen, Lee Lawrie, Adolph Alexander Weinman, Corrado Parducci and Lorado Taft, among others. The building also contains murals by Jules Guerin.
The Capitol was a major filming location for the film All The King's Men by Steven Zaillian, based on the novel All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. Scenes from the film Everybody's All-American were also filmed here.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ The Louisiana State Capitol Building
[edit] External links
- The Louisiana State Capitol Building
- National Register of Historic Places information
- History of the building, from the Louisiana State Legislature
- Governor Huey Long Memorial by La-Cemeteries
- Baton-Rouge-Guide.com photos and a review of a visit to the state captiol
- Additional Louisiana State Capitol Information
- Louisiana State Capitol is at coordinates Coordinates:
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| Preceded by Hibernia Bank Building |
List of tallest buildings in Louisiana 1932–1964 |
Succeeded by Plaza Tower |
