The State Capitol Building

The State House was enlarged between 1820 and 1824 by state architect William Nichols who added a third floor, eastern and western wings, and a domed rotunda at the building's center. The rotunda housed a statue of President George Washington by sculptor Antonio Canova, acquired by the state in 1821. When the State House burned down on June 21, 1831, the statue was damaged beyond repair.

The General Assembly of 1832-33 ordered that a new Capitol be built as an enlarged version of the old State House. The new Capitol would be a cross- shaped building with a central, domed rotunda. The sum of $50,000 was appropriated, and a building commission appointed to initiate the plan. The Commissioners for Rebuilding the Capitol first employed William Nichols, Jr. to help them prepare plans for the building. In August of 1833, Nichols was replaced by the distinguished New York architects Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis. Town and Davis greatly improved upon the earlier design, and developed a plan which gave the Capitol its present appearance.

David Paton (1802-1882), an architect born in Edinburgh, Scotland and who had worked for the noted English architect Sir John Soane, was hired in September, 1834, to superintend the construction of the Capitol. Paton replaced Town and Davis as the Commissioners' architect in early 1835. The Capitol was completed under Paton's supervision except for the exterior stone walls which were largely in place when he arrived in Raleigh. Paton made several modifications to the Town and Davis plans for the interior. Among the changes were the cantilevered gallery at the second floor level of the rotunda, the groined masonry vaulting of the first floor offices and corridor ceilings, and the interior arrangement of the east and west porticoes.

After clearing away the rubbish of the old State House, excavations were made and a new foundation was laid. The cornerstone was set in place on July 4, 1833. After the initial foundation was laid, work progressed slowly and the original appropriation was soon exhausted. At the next session of the Legislature, an additional appropriation of $75,000 was made to continue construction. Many skilled immigrant Scottish artisans came to Raleigh and were involved in this phase of construction.

Most of the Capitol's architectural details, including the columns, mouldings, ornamental plasterwork, and ornamental honeysuckle atop the dome, were carefully patterned after features of Greek temples: the exterior columns are Doric in order and are modeled after those of the Parthenon; the chamber of the House of Representatives follows the semi-circular plan of Greek amphitheatre and its architectural ornamentation is in the Corinthian order of the Tower of the Winds; and the Senate Chamber is decorated in the Ionic order of the Erechtheum. The only non-classical parts of the building are two large rooms on the third floor which were finished in the Gothic style that was just beginning its popularity in American architectural circles.

The ornamental ironwork, plasterwork, chandeliers, hardware, and marble mantels of the Capitol came from Philadelphia. The desks and chairs in the House and Senate Chambers were made by Raleigh cabinetmaker, William Thompson.

The Capitol was completed in 1840 at a total cost (including furnishings) of $532,682.34, or more than three times the yearly general revenues of the State at that time.

Architect David Paton gave the following description of the new edifice:

"The State Capitol is 160 feet in length from north to south by

140 feet from east to west. The whole height is 971/2 feet in the

center. The apex of pediment is 64 feet in height. The stylobate is

18 feet in height. The columns of the east and west porticoes are 5

feet 21/2 inches in diameter. An entablature, including blocking

course, is continued around the building 12 feet high.

The columns and entablature are Grecian Doric, and copied

from the Temple of Minerva, commonly called the Parthenon,

which was erected in Athens about 500 years before Christ. An

octagon tower surrounds the rotunda, which is ornamented with

Grecian cornices, etc., and its dome is decorated at top with a

similar ornament to that of the Choragic Monument of

Lysicrates, commonly called the Lanthorn of Demosthenes.

The interior of the Capitol is divided into three stories: First,

the lower story, consisting of ten rooms, eight of which are appro-

priated as offices to the Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, and

Comptroller, each having two rooms of the same size--the one

containing an area of 649 square feet and four closets, the other

528 square feet--two committee rooms, each containing 200

square feet and four closets: also the rotunda, corridors,

vestibules, and piazzas, contain an area of 4,370 square feet. The

vestibules are decorated with columns and antae, similar to those

of the Ionic Temple on the Ilissus, near the Acropolis of Athens.

The remainder is groined with stone and brick, springing from

columns and pilasters of the Roman Doric.

The second story consists of Senatorial and Representatives'

chambers, the former containing an area of 2,545 and the latter

2,849 square feet. Four apartments enter from the Senate Cham-

ber, two of which contain each an area of 169 square feet, and the

other two contain each an area of 154 square feet; also, two rooms

enter from Representatives' chamber, each containing an area of

170 square feet; of two committee rooms, each containing an area

of 231 square feet; of four presses and the passages, stairs, lobbies,

and colonnades, containing an area of 3,204 square feet.

The lobbies and Hall of Representatives have their columns

and antae of the Octagon Tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes and

the plan of the hall is of the formation of the Greek theatre and

the columns and antae in the Senatorial chamber and rotunda

are of the Temple of Erectheus, Minerva, Polias, and Pandrosus,

in the Acropolis of Athens, near the above named Parthenon.

The third, or attic story, consists of rooms appropriated to the

Supreme Court and Library, each containing an area of 693

square feet. Galleries of both houses have an area of 1,300 square

feet; also two apartments entering from Senate gallery, each 169

square feet; of four presses and the lobbies' stairs,988 square feet.

These lobbies as well as rotunda, are lit with cupolas, and it is

proposed to finish the court and library in the florid Gothic

style."

Stairways in the east and west porticoes give access to the second floor, where the Senate and House Chambers and related offices are located. Rooms in the east and west wings, originally designated as legislative committee rooms, now serve other purposes. On the third floor are the galleries of the Senate and House Chambers, and in the east and west wings are the original State Supreme Court Chamber and State Library Room. Both are decorated in the Gothic Style. The domed, top-lit vestibules of these two rooms are especially noteworthy and based on designs by Soane.

The Capitol housed all of state government until the late 1880's. Today the only official occupants of the Capitol are the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor, and the Secretary of State. The Supreme Court moved to its own building in 1888 and in 1963, the General Assembly moved into the newly constructed Legislative Building. This was the first building erected by the State exclusively for use by the General Assembly.

• The Capitol Today

As our Nation celebrated its Bicentennial in 1976, our State Capitol was enjoying a celebration of its own. Several years of renovation work to the old Senate and House chambers and the executive offices on the first floor were completed and the Capitol was once again ready to receive occupants. Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. and some of his staff moved back in, as did long-time resident Secretary of State Thad Eure. Mr. Eure served in the Capitol longer than anyone in its history - 60 years as of his retirement in early 1989. The executives occupying the Capitol at present are Governor James G. Martin, Lieutenant Governor James C. Gardner, as well as Secretary of State Rufus L. Edmisten, who maintains a ceremonial office on the second floor.

During late 1988 and early 1989 extensive landscape and grounds renovations were begun to enhance the beauty of the Capitol and to improve its visibility. In an effort to make the Capitol more accessible to the people of North Carolina, the building has been opened to the public on weekends with guided tours available.

North Carolina. Secretary of State. North Carolina Manual, 1991-1992,

edited by Julie W. Snee. Raleigh, n.d.

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