Cupolas of Capitalism
State Capitol Building Histories

States from L to ME
View States: A-B,  C-E,  F-IL,  IN-K,  L-ME,  MI-MO,  N-NE,  NO-O,  P-S,  T-V,  W-Z

Oblique front elevation.

Oblique view of the Maine State House.
Historic postcard image courtesy of Chris Miller.

States with Capitol Buildings featuring prominent exterior cupolas are highlighted in yellow.  Historical information appearing on this page comes from the same sources acknowledged on the first page of this gallery.

Click on any picture to see an enlarged version, or to view the other historic images available in the Cupolas of Capitalism Picture Gallery.
 
STATE CITY STATE CAPITOL BUILDING DATE(s) / ARCHITECT(s) BLDG. DESCRIPTION(s), IMAGE(s) and SITE LINK(s)
Louisiana Baton Rouge
(Old and New Capitol Buildings)		 1847-1852, Old State Capitol designed and built (now a war memorial) / James Harrison Dakin.

1862, gutted by fire.

1880-82, rebuilt, adding fourth floor, spiral stairs and stained glass dome / William Freret.

1915, Larger turrets removed.

1937-39, WPA renovation of Old State Capitol, smaller turrets removed.

1982-94, restoration of Old State Capitol / E. Eean McNaughton Architects.

1930-32, New State Capitol designed and built / Weiss, Dreyfous, and Seiferth.

ca. 1985, restoration of Senate chambers / Charles E. Schwing & Associates.		 West elevation of the Old Louisiana State Capitol Building. Photo courtesy of Robert Dolton.
Old State Capitol is a Gothic Revival castle with a dome enclosed in a central tower block.  More info, pictures, historic postcards, and a virtual tour offsite with this official site.  A photo gallery is available from the architects behind the recent restoration.

Front view of the Louisiana State Capitol Building. Photo courtesy of Pat and Debbie Furrie.
New Capitol is an Art Deco skyscraper topped with a multi-tiered cupola.  450 feet tall.  More info offsite with virtual tours from the Louisiana State Legislature site.  Official photo essays are available here and here, and the National Park Service offers yet another one here.  The Louisiana State Library offers an informative article and slide show on its construction, More photos of the Old and New Capitols may be found through the Louisiana Office of Tourism Imagebase.  Unofficial photo essays that cover the New and the Old State Capitol Buildings appear on the Glass, Steel and Stone website.  Greg English offers a fine photo tour on his Louisiana101 website.  Still more capitol building photos are available on Edward Crim's site.
Maine Augusta 1828-32 Capitol designed and built / Charles Bulfinch.

1852 & 1860, interior remodeling / ? architect.

1889-91, west (rear) wing added / John C. Spofford.

1909-11, most of original building except front and rear walls demolished in a major remodeling and expansion.  North and south wings extended, and dome replaced with a much taller one in the Beaux Arts style / G. Henri Desmond.

1998-present, capitol building renovation, with new underground pedestrian tunnel and exhibition hall connecting west wing with a state office building / Weinrich + Burt.		 Historic drawing showing the Maine State Capitol Building, circa 1910. From a photocopy in the Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress). Original is in the collection of the Maine Historical Society, Portland, Maine.
Statehouse with original Greek Revival central core and later Neoclassical additions.  Central circular drum tower capped with dome and cupola.  185 feet tall.  The cupola is capped with a statue of Wisdom.  More info offsite with this official photo essay and this short building summary.  An extensive photo gallery is also available from photographer Edward Crim.
Maryland Annapolis 1772-79, State House designed and built  / Joseph Horatio Anderson (exteriors) and Joseph Clark (interiors).

1785-97, new dome added, replacing the original / Joseph Clark.

1858, semi-octagonal bay at rear replaced with a larger octagonal annex for the State Library; House of Delegates Chamber enlarged; two state archive rooms converted to committee use / ? architect.

1876-78, major remodeling, changing windows and modernizing Senate and House chambers.  Historic gallery and fireplace removed in the Senate Chamber / George Frederick.

1886, annex added to back of State Library annex / ? architect.

1902-05, removed the 1858 and 1886 annexes and new annex built to contain new Senate and House chambers.  Historic Senate chamber restored to its appearance when Congress met there in 1783-84 / Baldwin and Pennington.

1989-92, restoration work in Senate and House chambers / ? architect.

1996, dome restoration work & replacement of its acorn finial / Ziger/Snead Architects.

2007-09, restoration of original House of Delegates and Senate chambers.  Modernization of HVAC, lumbing, and electrical systems / Davis, Bowen & Friedel.
 Front view of the Maryland State Capitol Building. Photo courtesy of Pat and Debbi Furrie, taken in June of 2003.
Georgian style original State House has an octagonal wooden drum tower capped with a dome and cupola.  Neoclassical annex.  181 feet tall from grade to top of weathervane.  More info, pictures, a photo history, and a virtual tour from this official site.  A building description is available from the Maryland Historical Trust.  A few other views of the State House are available on the Maryland State Archive site.  A large photo gallery is available from photographer Edward Crim.
Massachusetts Boston
(Old and New Statehouses)		 1712-13, Old State House designed and built (now a museum) / ? Architect.

1747, remodeling after fire guts interior and damages exterior / ? Architect.

1795-98, New State House designed and built (central portion and dome) / Charles Bulfinch.

1830-40, Old State House renovated / Isiah Rogers and William Washburn.

1831, rear addition to New State House / Isiah Rogers.

1853-56, expansion of New State House rear addition / Gridley Bryant.

1881-82, Old State House restoration, lion and unicorn returned to East Facade / George Clough.

1889-95 extension to previous rear additions to New State House / Charles Brigham.

1907, Old State House restoration / Joseph Chandler.

1914-17, two side wings added to New State House / R. Clipson Sturgis, William Chapman, and Robert Andrew.

1921, attic fire damages upper two floors and cupola of Old State House.

1942-43, Old State House Council Chamber restoration / Perry, Hepburn & Shaw.

1956, sundial added to Old State House.

1990-92, extensive Old State House restoration / Goody Clancy.

1997, dome regilded on New State House.

2000-02, exterior cleaning and restoration of New State House / ? architect.		 Late 20th Century photo of the Old Massachusetts State House. From the Library of Congress's Historic American Buildings Survey.
Georgian style Old State House features a tower cupola.  More info and a couple photos are available offsite here, on the Boston Historical Society website, and here, part of the iBoston website.

Front view of the Massachusetts State Capitol Building. Photo courtesy of Pat and Debbi Furrie, taken in June of 2003.
Federal Style New State House sports a gold gilded dome and cupola.  59 feet tall.  More info offsite with official virtual tours here and here.  Also available are photo essays here, from the iBoston website, and here, from Valerie Mockaitis.  Edward Crim also offers many other building photos.

View States: A-B,  C-E,  F-IL,  IN-K,  L-ME,  MI-MO,
N-NE,  NO-O,  P-S,  T-V,  W-Z,  or Back to Building Galleries

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