Cupolas of Capitalism
State Capitol Building Histories

States from MI to MO
View States: A-BC-EF-ILIN-KL-MEMI-MON-NENO-OP-ST-VW-Z

Front Elevation.

View of the Minnesota State Capitol Building.
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.  Note as previously mentioned, the 3D links from Google and MS Bing may require a browser plug-in and repeated loading to display correctly.

 
STATE CITY STATE CAPITOL STREET ADDRESS(es) / BUILDING DATE(s) / ARCHITECT(s) BLDG. DESCRIPTION(s), IMAGE(s) and SITE LINK(s)
Michigan Lansing 100 N. Capitol Ave. (at W. Michigan Ave.) / bird's eye view rotated to show front from MS Bing; street and 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

1871-78, Capitol designed and built / Elijah E. Myers.

1989-92, restoration / Richard C. Frank FAIA (restoration architect) with Wigen, Tincknell, Meyer and Assoc., Architects Four, Inc., and Quinn Evans Architects.
Exterior view of the Michigan State Capitol Building. Historic postcard image courtesy of Chris Miller.
Italian Renaissance Revival capitol building
features a central circular drum tower with dome and cupola.  267 feet tall from the ground to the top of the dome's finial.  More info offsite with this official virtual tour from the State Legislature.  The State Senate's website offers many articles on the capitol building and its contents.  Still more offsite with this animated virtual tour, a building summary, and this short photo essay covering Michigan's succession of capitol buildings.
Minnesota St. Paul 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (at W. University Ave.) / bird's eye view from MS Bing; street and maybe forthcoming 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

1893-1905, Capitol planned, designed, and built / Cass Gilbert.

1937, Capitol's rathskeller (a basement restaurant of Germanic origin and design) remodeled / ? architect.

1944, Capitol Approach (Mall) designed / Clarence Johnston.

1999, Rathskeller restored to original appearance.  New kitchen & serving area constructed under north stairs / Kenneth Schwartz of Miller Dunwiddie Inc.

2001, pre-design restoration study developed / Miller Dunwiddie Inc.

2005, 3rd floor ceiling renovation and paint restoration / Miller Dunwiddie Inc.

2005, Legislature appropriated $2.4 million for repair and restoration of Capitol dome and for continued work on restoration plan.

2005-present, restoration plan work continues based on 2001 study / Hammel Green Abrahamson (HGA) and Schooley Caldwell Associates.
General view of the Minnesota State Capitol Building. Photo courtesy of Pat and Debbi Furrie, taken in June of 2003.
Italian Renaissance Revival state capitol building
.  Central circular drum tower capped with dome and cupola.  223 feet tall.  More offsite with building info, photos, and video from the Minnesota state legislature site.  The Minnesota Historical Society provides its own coverage of the capitol complex.  Highlights include a building history, a visitor's guide (in Adobe Acrobat format), and articles about the rathskeller and 3rd floor ceiling paint restorations.  The Minnesota Department of Administration website offers much more about the restoration work completed, underway or still needed.  Other capitol building photos are available from the Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate.  Also available are picture galleries from photographer Edward Crim and from the 2havefun site, and interior views here and here from the Panorama Factory.
Mississippi Jackson
(Old & New State Capitols)
Old State Capitol at 100 S. State St. (at E. Capitol St.) / bird's eye view rotated to show front from MS Bing; and street and 3D view from Google Maps.

1836-39, Old State Capitol designed and built / started by John Lawrence, completed by William Nichols.

ca. 1916, nearly abandoned Old State Capitol renovated for state offices / ? architect.

1959-61, Old State Capitol renovated and reopened as Museum of Mississippi History / ? architect.

2006-09, Old State Capitol restoration after severe damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita / Robert Parker Adams, preservation architect.
 
 
New State Capitol at 400 High St. (between N. West & N. President Streets) / bird's eye view from MS Bing; street and 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

11901-03, New State Capitol designed and built / Theodore C. Link.

1979-83, restoration of New State Capitol / ? architect.
Historic photo showing the front elevation of the Old Mississippi State Capitol Building. From the Library of Congress's Historic American Buildings Survey.
Greek Revival Old Capitol
with dome and cupola.  More info offsite with this picture and brief description at the Old Capitol Museum website.

20th century photo showing an oblique front view of the Mississippi State Capitol Building. From the Library of Congress's Historic American Buildings Survey.
Beaux Arts style New Capitol Building
.  Central circular drum tower capped with dome, cupola and statue of an eagle.  180 feet tall.  More info offsite with this official picture and building data from the state legislature website, and pictures and building histories of past and present capitols from the Mississippi Library Commission.  A building photo album is available from photographer Edward Crim.
Missouri Jefferson City 201 W. Capitol Ave. (at W. Main St.) / aerial view and bird's eye view (in one direction, other directions may be forthcoming) from MS Bing; bird's eye (available in four directions), street and 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

1911-17, Capitol designed and built / Evarts Tracy and Egerton Swartout.

1917-28, ongoing building improvements (mostly cosmetic) / Tracy and Swartout.
Historic photo showing the west front of the Missouri State Capitol Building. From the Library of Congress's Historic American Buildings Survey.
Beaux Arts style capitol building
with central circular drum tower that is capped with a dome and cupola.  Approx. 262 feet tall (from top of basement to top of dome per a state website; other sources claim 238 feet tall from ground to top of dome).  A statue of Ceres, the mythological Greek Goddess of Agriculture, tops the cupola.  More capitol building info, photos and tour info offsite available from the Missouri State Museum.  A gallery of construction photos and historic postcards tenuously cling to life via the Internet Archive's partial backup of a phased out portion of the MissouriNet.com site.  A building description is on view here.  Bob Priddy posted a substantial collection of historic capitol postcards on Flickr.com.  A handsome photo album is available from Edward Crim.
Montana Helena 1301 E. 6th Ave. (at N. Montana Ave.) / aerial view and bird's eye view (in one direction, other directions may be forthcoming) from MS Bing; street and maybe a forthcoming 3D view from Google Maps; and 3D model from 3D Warehouse.

1896-1902, Capitol's central portion and dome designed and built / Charles Emlen Bell and John Hackett Kent.

1909-1912, East and West Wings added / Frank M. Andrews with Link and Hare.

1995-2000, major restoration / A&E Architects.

2006, Century old mystery to name the sculpture capping the capitol dome put at rest.  Positively identified as the work of Edward J. Van Landeghem of Philidelphia, PA.  He had titled it Montana.  Prior to this time, people had referred to it as Lady (or the Goddess of) Liberty.
Front view of the Montana State Capitol Building. Photo courtesy of Pat and Debbi Furrie, taken in June of 2003.
Greek / Italian Renaissance Revival capitol building
.  Features a cubical central cupola tower block carrying a copper covered dome and a statue named Montana.  The capitol building is 165 feet tall.  More info offsite with a photo essay from A&E Architects; an official tour booklet (archived here too) and capitol tour info from the Montana Historical Society; and historic images from Kennon Baird's informative Helena As She Was site.  More about visiting the capitol here.  A photo essay and an article on Montana government are available from the official Montana travel site.

View States: A-BC-EF-ILIN-KL-MEMI-MO,
N-NENO-OP-ST-VW-Z,  or Back to Building Galleries

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