Montana State Capitol
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Montana State Capitol is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Montana. Housing the Montana State Legislature, it is located in the state capital of Helena at 1301 East Sixth Avenue. The building was constructed between 1896 and 1902 with wings added between 1909 and 1912.
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[edit] Description
[edit] Architecture
The building, constructed of Montana sandstone and granite, is a reflection of Greek neoclassical architecture, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The exterior of the dome is covered in copper. Atop the dome is a statue of a woman affectionately dubbed "Lady Liberty."
[edit] Art
The most notable feature inside the center of the Capitol building is the massive rotunda, painted in gold with four circular paintings surrounding it. These paintings depict four important archetypes of people in Montana's early history: the native American, the explorer, the gold miner, and the cowboy. They were painted for the Capitol opening in 1902 by Charles A. Pedretti.
The western arch of the rotunda features the semi-elliptical painting "Driving the Golden Spike", painted by Amedee Joullin. Directly in front of the painting is a large statue of Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to be elected to the United States House of Representatives.
The most significant piece of art in the Capitol is by Montana's famous Western artist Charles M. Russell. The painting, titled "Lewis and Clark Meeting Indians at Ross' Hole", is 25 feet long and twelve feet high. It depicts the scene where the explorers Lewis and Clark asked Montana's Salish Indians for the safest route to cross the mountains to the Pacific Ocean. It is now displayed above the Speaker's chair in the House of Representatives' chamber.
[edit] External links
- Montana State Capitol is at coordinates Coordinates:
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