North Carolina State Capitol | |
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![]() Interactive map showing North Carolina State Capitol's location | |
Location | 1 E Edenton St, Raleigh, North Carolina |
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Coordinates | 35°46′49.3″N78°38′20.8″W / 35.780361°N 78.639111°W |
Built | 1833 |
Architect | Multiple |
Architectural style | Greek Revival |
Part of | Capitol Area Historic District (ID78001978) |
NRHP reference No. | 70000476 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | February 26, 1970 [1] |
Designated NHL | November 6, 1973 [2] |
Designated CP | April 15, 1978 |
The North Carolina State Capitol is the former seat of the legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina which housed all of the state's government until 1888. The Supreme Court and State Library moved into a separate building in 1888, and the General Assembly moved into the State Legislative Building in 1963. Today, the governor and his immediate staff occupy offices on the first floor of the Capitol.
The building was built following the destruction by fire of the first North Carolina State House in 1831, [3] and today houses the offices of the Governor of North Carolina. It is located in the state capital of Raleigh on Union Square at One East Edenton Street. The cornerstone of the Greek Revival building was laid with Masonic honors by the Grand Master of North Carolina Masons Simmons Jones Baker on July 4, 1833. [4] Construction was completed in 1840. [5] It was designed primarily by the architectural firm of Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis. Often credited solely to that team, the design of the capitol was actually the result of a sequence of work by William Nichols Sr. and his son William Nichols Jr., Town and Davis, and then David Paton. [6] The Capitol housed the entire state government until 1888, and the North Carolina General Assembly met in the capitol building until 1961. The Grand Lodge of North Carolina laid a second cornerstone on the centenary of the first on July 4, 1933. [7] The legislature relocated to its current location in the North Carolina State Legislative Building in 1963. The North Carolina Supreme Court has also convened in the building in the past, most recently meeting in the capitol's senate chamber in 2005 while the Supreme Court Building was undergoing renovations. The Governor and the governor's immediate staff has continued to occupy offices in the building. [8] The Capitol remains largely unaltered from its 1840 state. Only three rooms have been significantly altered through remodeling: the two committee rooms in the east and west wings of the second floor, which were divided horizontally to provide space for restrooms, and the office in the east wing of the first floor, part of which had to be cut away to permit space for an elevator to be installed in 1951. [9] The Capitol was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973 and the building is located in the Capitol Area Historic District. [2] [10]
The first assembly to meet in this building was the 63rd North Carolina General Assembly of 1840–1841 on November 16, 1840. The last assembly to meet in this building was the 124th North Carolina General Assembly of 1961, which met from February 8 to June 22, 1961. [11]
Following the heated protests for racial equality of 2020, Governor Roy Cooper ordered the removal of the largest Confederate statue on the State Capitol Grounds. [12]
The 2021 state budget included $10 million to repair the roof, including the dome. Replacement of the roof is planned for 2023. [13]
The North Carolina General Assembly may have initially met in Tryon Palace after being vacated by the British in 1776. The assembly met in various locations until a building dedicated for use by the state government was completed in 1794 in Raleigh. This building was destroyed by fire in 1831. The North Carolina State Capitol building was the home to the assembly from 1840 to 1961. [11]
Name | First Occupied (Assembly) | Last Occupied (Assembly) | Picture |
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Tryon Palace | 1777 (1st) | 1777 | |
North Carolina State House | 1794 (19th) | 1810 (35th) | ![]() |
Renovated North Carolina State House | 1811 (36th) | 1831 (55th) | ![]() |
North Carolina State Capitol | 1840 (63rd) | 1961 (124th) | ![]() |
North Carolina State Legislative Building | 1963 (125th) | still in use | ![]() |
In the rotunda is a statue of George Washington. The rotunda statue is a replica of the original statue by Antonio Canova, which was destroyed by a fire in 1831. A bust of the 29th Governor of North Carolina (1841–1845), John Motley Morehead, sits inside the capitol. A statue of George Washington is on the south side of the capitol. On the east side of the capitol sits a statue of the three Presidents of the United States from North Carolina: James Knox Polk of Mecklenburg County, Andrew Jackson of Union County sitting on horse, and Andrew Johnson of Wake County. The grounds of the capitol also include statues honoring women of the Confederacy, veterans of the Civil War and Viet Nam War. [14]
Raleigh is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeast, the 41st-most populous city in the U.S., and the largest city of the Research Triangle metro area. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees, which line the streets in the heart of the city. The city covers a land area of 147.6 sq mi (382 km2). The U.S. Census Bureau counted the city's population as 467,665 in the 2020 census. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. The city of Raleigh is named after Sir Walter Raleigh, who established the now-lost Roanoke Colony in present-day Dare County.
John Motley Morehead was an American lawyer and politician who became the 29th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina. He became known as "the Father of Modern North Carolina."
The Wisconsin State Capitol, located in Madison, Wisconsin, houses both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor. Completed in 1917, the building is the fifth to serve as the Wisconsin capitol since the first territorial legislature convened in 1836 and the third building since Wisconsin was granted statehood in 1848. The Wisconsin State Capitol is the tallest building in Madison, a distinction that has been preserved by legislation that prohibits buildings taller than the columns surrounding the dome. The Capitol is located at the southwestern end of the Madison Isthmus. The streets surrounding the building form the Capitol Square, which is home to many restaurants and shops.
The Georgia State Capitol is an architecturally and historically significant building in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building has been named a National Historic Landmark which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As the primary office building of Georgia's government, the capitol houses the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state on the second floor, chambers in which the General Assembly, consisting of the Georgia State Senate and Georgia House of Representatives, meets annually from January to April. The fourth floor houses visitors' galleries overlooking the legislative chambers and a museum located near the rotunda in which a statue of Miss Freedom caps the dome.
The Kentucky State Capitol is located in Frankfort and is the house of the three branches of the state government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the third capital city of the U.S. state of Virginia. It houses the oldest elected legislative body in North America, the Virginia General Assembly, first established as the House of Burgesses in 1619.
The Alabama State Capitol, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. Located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery, it was declared a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960. Unlike every other state capitol, the Alabama Legislature does not meet there, but at the Alabama State House. The Capitol has the governor's office and otherwise functions as a museum.
The Connecticut State Capitol is located north of Capitol Avenue and south of Bushnell Park in Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. The building houses the Connecticut General Assembly; the upper house, the State Senate, and lower house, the House of Representatives, as well as the office of the Governor of the State of Connecticut. The Connecticut Supreme Court occupies a building across Capitol Avenue.
The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania located in downtown Harrisburg which was designed by architect Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative Renaissance themes throughout. The capitol houses the legislative chambers for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. It is also the main building of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex.
The Missouri State Capitol is the home of the Missouri General Assembly and the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Missouri. Located in Jefferson City at 201 West Capitol Avenue, it is the third capitol to be built in the city. The domed building, designed by the New York City architectural firm of Tracy and Swartwout, was completed in 1917.
The Mississippi State Capitol or the “New Capitol,” has been the seat of the state’s government since it succeeded the old statehouse in 1903. Located in Jackson, it was designated as a Mississippi Landmark in 1986, a National Historic Landmark in 2016 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
William Peace University is a private college in Raleigh, North Carolina. Formerly affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, it offers undergraduate degrees in more than 30 majors and the School of Professional Studies (SPS) offers accelerated bachelor degrees that are online or hybrid for working adults. The institution adopted its current name in 2012, concurrent with its decision to begin admitting men to its day program; it was previously known as Peace Institute, Peace Junior College, and Peace College.
The Old Mississippi State Capitol, also known as Old Capitol Museum or Old State Capitol, served as the Mississippi statehouse from 1839 until 1903. The old state capitol was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. In 1986, the structure was designated a Mississippi Landmark and became a National Historic Landmark in 1990.
The North Carolina State Legislative Building was opened in 1963 and is the current meeting place of the North Carolina General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina.
William Nichols, Sr. was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his early Neoclassical-style buildings in the American South. He designed statehouses for North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi.
George Washington was a life-size marble statue of George Washington, done in the style of a Roman general, by the Venetian-Italian Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova. Commissioned by the State of North Carolina in 1815, it was completed in 1820 and installed in the rotunda of the North Carolina State House on December 24, 1821. The building and the statue were destroyed by fire on June 21, 1831. This work was the only one created by Canova for the United States.
The North Carolina State House was built from 1792 to 1796 as the state capitol for North Carolina. It was located at Union Square in the state capital, Raleigh, in Wake County. The building was extensively renovated in the neoclassical style by William Nichols, the state architect, from 1820 to 1824. On December 24, 1821, the statue of George Washington by Antonio Canova was displayed in the rotunda. Both were destroyed by fire in 1831.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1860–1861 met in Raleigh, North Carolina in regular session from November 19, 1860, to February 25, 1861. They met in extra sessions from May 1, 1861, to May 13, 1861, and from August 15, 1861, to September 23, 1861. This General Assembly decided that each county should vote for special delegates who would decide whether North Carolina should secede from the Union. On May 20, 1861, those special delegates convened in Raleigh and voted unanimously that the state would no longer be a part of the United States of America.
Governor Morehead School (GMS), formerly North Carolina State School for the Blind and Deaf, is a K–12 public school for the blind in Raleigh, North Carolina. In the era of de jure educational segregation in the United States, it served blind people of all races and deaf black people.
The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, also known as the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, was founded 12 December 1787. Previously, it was the Provincial Grand Lodge of North Carolina, being under jurisdiction of the Premier Grand Lodge of England since 14 Jan 1771. It is currently composed of 360 active lodges across the 100 counties of North Carolina. The Grand Lodge recognizes its Prince Hall counterpart, The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of North Carolina and its Jurisdictions, Inc., and maintains co-territorial jurisdiction and encourages visitation between the two entities.