Indiana State House

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Indiana State House
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Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis
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LocationW. Washington St., Indianapolis, Indiana
Coordinates 39°46′7.54″N86°9′45.54″W / 39.7687611°N 86.1626500°W / 39.7687611; -86.1626500 Coordinates: 39°46′7.54″N86°9′45.54″W / 39.7687611°N 86.1626500°W / 39.7687611; -86.1626500
Built1878-1888
ArchitectMay, Edwin; Scherer, Adolf
NRHP reference # 75000043 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 28, 1975

The Indiana State House is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. Housing the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Supreme Court of Indiana, and other state officials, it is located in the state capital Indianapolis at 200 West Washington Street. Built in 1888, it is the fifth building to house the state government.

U.S. state constituent political entity of the United States

In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.

Indiana State of the United States of America

Indiana is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern and Great Lakes regions of North America. Indiana is the 38th largest by area and the 17th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th U.S. state on December 11, 1816. Indiana borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north, Ohio to the east, Kentucky to the south and southeast, and Illinois to the west.

Indiana General Assembly

The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. The General Assembly meets annually at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.

Contents

The first statehouse, located in Corydon, Indiana, is still standing and is maintained as a state historic site. The second building was the old Marion County courthouse which was demolished and replaced in the early 20th century. The third building was a structure modeled on the Parthenon, but was condemned in 1877 because of structural defects and razed so the current statehouse could be built on its location.

Corydon Historic District

The Corydon Historic District is a national historic district located in Corydon, Indiana, United States. The town of Corydon is also known as Indiana's First State Capital and as Historic Corydon. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, but the listing was amended in 1988 to expand the district's geographical boundaries and include additional sites. The district includes numerous historical structures, most notably the Old Capitol, the Old Treasury Building, Governor Hendricks' Headquarters, the Constitution Elm Memorial, the Posey House, the Kintner-McGrain House, and The Kintner House Inn, as well as other residential and commercial sites.

Corydon, Indiana Town in Indiana, United States

Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana. Located north of the Ohio River in the extreme southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana, it is the seat of government for Harrison County. Corydon was founded in 1808 and served as the capital of the Indiana Territory from 1813 to 1816. It was the site of Indiana's first constitutional convention, which was held June 10–29, 1816. Forty-three convened to consider statehood for Indiana and drafted its first state constitution. Under Article XI, Section 11, of the Indiana 1816 constitution, Corydon was designated as the capital of the state until 1825, when the seat of state government was moved to Indianapolis. During the American Civil War, Corydon was the site of the Battle of Corydon, the only official pitched battle waged in Indiana during the war. More recently, the town's numerous historic sites have helped it become a tourist destination. A portion of its downtown area is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Corydon Historic District. As of the 2010 census, Corydon had a population of 3,122.

Parthenon temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece

The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered the zenith of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy and Western civilization, and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments. To the Athenians who built it, the Parthenon and other Periclean monuments of the Acropolis were seen fundamentally as a celebration of Hellenic victory over the Persian invaders and as a thanksgiving to the gods for that victory. As of 2007 the Greek Ministry of Culture was carrying out a programme of selective restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially ruined structure.

History

First statehouse

The first capitol building in downtown Corydon Corydon old capital.jpg
The first capitol building in downtown Corydon

When Indiana became a state in 1816, the capital was located in Corydon. The first capitol building was a humble, two-story limestone building constructed in 1813 to house the legislature of the Indiana Territory. The building was constructed by a company owned by Dennis Pennington, a member of the early territorial legislature. Construction cost $1,500, paid for by the citizens of Harrison County, and was completed in three years. It measured forty-feet square with walls two-feet-thick and ten-foot ceilings. The building was made of limestone cut from a nearby quarry and, at the time of its completion, was one of the largest buildings in the state. [2]

Indiana Territory territory of the USA between 1800-1816

The Indiana Territory was created by a congressional act that President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, to December 11, 1816, when the remaining southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Indiana. The territory originally contained approximately 259,824 square miles (672,940 km2) of land, but its size was decreased when it was subdivided to create the Michigan Territory (1805) and the Illinois Territory (1809). The Indiana Territory was the first new territory created from lands of the Northwest Territory, which had been organized under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.

Dennis Pennington American politician

Dennis Pennington was a farmer and a stonemason who became known for his many years in public office as an early legislator in the Indiana Territory and in Indiana's General Assembly as a representative of Harrison County, Indiana. Pennington, a member of the Whig Party, became the first speaker of the Indiana territorial legislature's lower house in 1810, served as the territory's census enumerator in 1815, and represented Harrison County as one of its five delegates to the constitutional convention of 1816. Pennington was the first speaker of the Indiana Senate, and served in the state legislature for eighteen years, which included five years in the Indiana House of Representatives and thirteen years in the Indiana Senate. His major political contributions relate to his strong opposition to slavery. Pennington ran unsuccessfully for Indiana's Lieutenant Governor in 1825. In addition to his service in the state legislature, Penning was a Harrison County sheriff and a justice of the peace, a trustee of Indiana University, and a member of the Grand Lodge of Indiana. He also supervised construction of the limestone courthouse that served as Indiana's first state capitol building in Corydon, Indiana. The historic Old Capitol, the seat of state government from 1816 to 1825, is one of his most enduring legacies. Fondly remembered as "Old Uncle Dennis" or "Father Pennington," he was known for his common sense and strong character and became one of Harrison County's most influential citizens.

Harrison County, Indiana County in the United States

Harrison County is located in the far southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana along the Ohio River. The county was officially established in 1808. As of the 2010 census, the county's population was 39,364, an increase of 6.6% from 2000. The county seat is Corydon, the former capital of Indiana.

The capitol contained three rooms and quickly became too small for the state government, which had to erect additional office buildings across the street for the state's administration. The lower floor of the statehouse was used by the Indiana House of Representatives. The upper floor was split into two rooms, one for the Indiana State Senate and another for the Indiana Supreme Court, with a narrow hall between them. The building was abandoned as the capitol in 1824 and was given to Harrison County to use as a courthouse. The old capitol building is still preserved and is now a state historic site. [3]

Second statehouse

When the state government relocated to Indianapolis in December 1824, the government was housed in the Marion County Courthouse. The courthouse had been constructed with state funds in 1822 after Indianapolis was chosen as the site for the new capitol. The courthouse served as the state capitol building for twelve years. At the time Indianapolis was a frontier site, nearly 60 miles (97 km) from the nearest settlement of significance, making large scale construction impractical. [4]

The relocation to Indianapolis was an arduous task. At the time it was an eleven-day journey by horseback from Corydon to the new capital. To complicate matters, no road existed and a path for the wagons had to be cut through the dense forests during the winter transit as the long caravan moved north. The caravan was large because it contained the state treasury, state library, state records, the furniture of the General Assembly, Supreme Court, and ExecutIve Offices, along with a whole host of other implements to aid the caravan on its long journey. Colonel Samuel Merrill, the state treasurer, was authorized by the General Assembly to oversee the move. Ultimately, it took more than a month to relocate the government to Indianapolis. The first session of the General Assembly convened there in January 1825. [4]

Colonel is a senior military officer rank below the brigadier and general officer ranks. However, in some small military forces, such as those of Monaco or the Vatican, colonel is the highest rank. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.

Samuel Merrill (Indiana) American publisher and civic leader

Samuel Merrill, a native of Peacham, Vermont, was an early lawyer and leading citizen of Indiana, who served as state treasurer from 1822 to 1834. Merrill attended Dartmouth College, and in 1816 settled in Vevay, Indiana, where he established a law practice and served in the Indiana General Assembly as a representative from Switzerland County (1821–22). Merrill resigned his position as state treasurer in 1834 to become the president of the State Bank of Indiana (1834–44); he also served as the president of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad Company (1844–48) and head of the Merrill Publishing Company, which later became the Bobbs-Merrill Company. In addition to his government service and business ventures, Merrill was the second president of the Indiana Historical Society (1835–48), a founder and trustee of Wabash College, and an elder in the Second Presbyterian and Fourth Presbyterian churches in Indianapolis.

Third statehouse

Indiana's third statehouse had a design inspired by the Parthenon Indiana statehouse 1860.JPG
Indiana's third statehouse had a design inspired by the Parthenon

In 1831, the Indiana General Assembly approved construction of a new statehouse. The building was to be funded by the sale of lots of land in Indianapolis. A commission was established and Commissioner James Blake offered a $150 prize to the architect who could design the best statehouse. The firm of Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis created the winning design. Their plans were for a structure that was inspired by the ancient Greek Parthenon. The building looked very much like the Parthenon except for a large central dome. Town and Davis was awarded the contract to construct the building, and completed it ahead of schedule in 1835. [5]

The statehouse was built of blue limestone, two stories high. The governor and the Supreme Court occupied the lower floor, and the legislature occupied the upper floor, with each house in its own wing. The building was the site of many great events in its history, including a bier for Abraham Lincoln. The building was popular after its construction but by the 1860s Greek Revival architecture had fallen out of style, and the building was beginning to become decrepit. The building's limestone foundation began to fail, and many feared a general structural collapse of the building. In 1867 the ceiling in the chambers of the Indiana House of Representative collapsed. A debate was held in 1873 about how to preserve the building but no solution was found. By the time that Governor James Williams was elected to office, the building was about to be condemned. It was finally demolished in 1877. [5] [6]

Fourth statehouse

When the third statehouse was condemned in 1876 the government abandoned the building. The General Assembly relocated to a large office building that had been built in 1865 and was already housing the Supreme Court. The Governor and the executive staff relocated to another office building. The office building was used as the statehouse during the interim period that the new statehouse was being built. In 1887, before the new statehouse had been completed, enough of the lower floors were usable for the government to move out of the cramped office space and begin holding sessions in the new structure. [7] [8]

Current Statehouse

Indiana Historical Marker at the current Statehouse StateCapitolIndiana 08.JPG
Indiana Historical Marker at the current Statehouse
Statue of George Washington on the south side StateCapitolIndiana 15.jpg
Statue of George Washington on the south side
Historical National Road once ran straight through the Statehouse NationalRoadMarker 03.jpg
Historical National Road once ran straight through the Statehouse

Construction

With Indiana's rapid increase of population during the middle of the 19th century, the state's government increased in size, causing the previous capitol building to become crowded. In 1865, a state office building had to be constructed to house some of the burgeoning government, and the Supreme Court and several bureaus were relocated into the new building. [9] When the statehouse was condemned in 1877, the state was without a real capitol building, and the administration of Governor James D. Williams proposed the construction of the current state capitol building. The plan was approved by the Indiana General Assembly during the legislative session of 1878. After the third state capitol building had been razed, the new building was constructed on the same site. Two million dollars (USD) were appropriated for construction of the new building, and it was completed in 1888. Governor Williams, who was famed for his frugality, was able to complete the project for $1.8 million and returned the extra $200,000 to the general fund. [10]

Map of the Statehouse from the Statehouse Guide Book Indiana statehouse blueprint.jpg
Map of the Statehouse from the Statehouse Guide Book

A team of commissioners, including former Civil War general and civil engineer Thomas A. Morris, planned and oversaw the project. The structure was designed by Edwin May, an Indianapolis architect. Not wanting to repeat the mistakes made in the construction of the previous statehouse, the legislature required the new capitol to be built on a solid foundation, so that it would last for many decades. Construction began in 1880 and the cornerstone was laid on September 28. Edwin May died in February of that year, and Adolph Sherrer supervised the project for the entire construction period. The interior was modeled in the Italian Renaissance style. Wherever possible, materials native to Indiana were used. Doors were made of Indiana oak, and Indiana limestone was used throughout the structure. The building's cornerstone is a ten-ton block of limestone quarried in Spencer, Indiana. The central dome was completed in 1883. The building was also wired for electricity, even though Indianapolis did not yet have an electrical power grid. In 1887, the new capitol was sufficiently finished for the first legislative session to be held there. Construction ultimately endured eight years, and the building was finally completed in October 1888. [11] With the pinnacle of the building reaching 256 feet (78 m) high, it was the second tallest building in the state at the time of its completion. [12]

A hole was bored in the cornerstone, and a time capsule was placed inside containing forty-two items. The items included annual reports from all the government agencies, a Bible, samples of several varieties of crops grown in Indiana, several new coins, local maps and newspapers, a book on the history of Indianapolis, and pamphlets from many of the city's institutions. [11]

The building is designed in the shape of a cross. A large central rotunda with a glass domed ceiling connects the four wings. The structure is four stories high. The first floor houses the executive offices of the administration. Offices for the Indiana House of Representatives are on the second floor's east side, while those for the Indiana State Senate are on the second floor's west side. Offices of the Indiana Supreme Court are on the north end of the second floor. [13] The seventy-thousand volume Supreme Court Law Library is located on third floor. The third floor also holds the House, Senate, and Supreme Court chambers, and the fourth floor holds the Indiana Court of Appeals courtroom and the offices of nine of the fifteen judges on the Court. Additional executive office and storage space. [14] The building was constructed for the purpose of holding the entire government of the state. For several decades all the government bureaus were housed within the building, until the government again outgrew the structure; most of the state's bureaus have gradually been moved out of the building. [11] In front of the Statehouse stands a statue of Oliver Morton, governor of Indiana during the Civil War.

Renovation

Dome in the Statehouse Indiana State Capitol dome interior.JPG
Dome in the Statehouse

In 1988, the administration of Governor Robert D. Orr proposed that the Indiana General Assembly renovate the statehouse as part of "Hoosier Celebration '88", the building's one-hundredth anniversary. The General Assembly approved, and the building had an extensive, 11 million dollar [15] renovation that continued until 1995. [16]

During the renovation process, all of the statehouse's stonework, consisting of marble, granite, and limestone columns and blocks, was cleaned and polished. All of the buildings woodwork was repaired or replaced. Broken glass in the central dome skylight was replaced. The building's lighting was updated with new chandeliers based on the original designs, and most interior walls were repainted. The building was wired for a new data network to make the building ready for 21st-century technology. [16]

In 1984 the statehouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and it remains a protected building. [17] The statehouse is open for public tours during the work week and with limited tours during weekend mornings. [18]

Public artworks

Located inside and around the Statehouse property are more than 40 works of public art that depict many important individuals and events related to the state of Indiana. The collection spans more than 130 years of artistic activity in a variety of mediums.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2006-03-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Dunn, p. 295
  3. ↑ Dunn, pp. 309–310
  4. 1 2 Dunn, pp. 367–370
  5. 1 2 Indiana Historical Bureau. "In Character with the Parthenon". IN.gov. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  6. ↑ "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-08-01.Note: This includes Eric Gilbertsen and Charles Reed (July 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Indiana State Capitol Building" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-01. and Accompanying photographs
  7. ↑ Gray, p. 223
  8. ↑ Indiana Historical Bureau. "History and Origins". IN.gov. Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  9. ↑ Gray, p. 181
  10. ↑ Gray, p. 184
  11. 1 2 3 Indiana Historical Bureau. "In Clear Arrangement". IN.gov. Archived from the original on 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  12. ↑ Statehouse Guidebook, p. 16
  13. ↑ Statehouse Guidebook, p. 9–10
  14. ↑ Statehouse Guidebook, p. 11–12
  15. ↑ Price, Nelson (2004). Indianapolis Then & Now. San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press. p. 143. ISBN   1-59223-208-6.
  16. 1 2 Indiana Historical Bureau. "Restoration at its Best". IN.gov. Archived from the original on 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  17. ↑ Indiana Historical Bureau. "First One Hundred Years". IN.gov. Archived from the original on 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  18. ↑ "Statehouse Tours Office". IN.gov. Archived from the original on 2008-08-17. Retrieved 2008-08-25.

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References

Preceded by
Unknown		 Tallest Building in Indianapolis
1888–1962
(78 metres (85 yd))		Succeeded by
City-County Building

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