Arkansas State Capitol

Arkansas State Capitol
National Register of Historic Places
The Arkansas State Capitol
location	Little Rock , Arkansas
Coordinates	34 ° 44 '48 "  N , 92 ° 17' 20"  W Coordinates: 34 ° 44 '48 "  N , 92 ° 17' 20"  W.
Built	1899-1915
architect	George R. Mann
Architectural style	Neoclassicism
NRHP number	74000494
The NRHP added	June 28, 1974

The Arkansas State Capitol Building in Little Rock is the seat of the state of Arkansas government .

history

Designed in 1896 for the Montana State Capitol by George R. Mann, after which the Arkansas State Capitol was built.

In 1899, St. Louis architect George R. Mann visited Daniel Webster Jones , the governor of Arkansas, and presented him with the winning design for the Montana State Capitol , which had not yet been built. The drawings were hung on the walls of the old Capitol to create interest in a new building. The attractiveness of the designs made it easier to pass the laws for the new building and drew attention to the architect. In 1899, a seven-member commission, which also included future governor George W. Donaghey , elected Mann as architect. Donaghey opposed Mann and was in favor of a national architectural competition, but the majority of the commission voted for Mann.

It took 16 years to build - from 1899 to 1915. The Capitol was built on the site of the State Prison and inmates helped build the building. They slept in a building that was left on the site during construction.

One interesting aspect is that the Capitol grounds were surveyed incorrectly because the builder and later Governor George Donaghey could not handle surveying equipment. Instead of measuring the property, he orientated himself on Fifth Street. But he did not notice that it did not run in an east-west direction, but parallel to the Arkansas River . Therefore, the building, which is oriented in a north-south direction, does not fit into the grid-shaped street pattern of the old town of Little Rock.

architecture

The building was constructed from sandstone extracted from the Batesville, Arkansas quarries . Construction costs were $ 2.2 million, which is $ 320 million today. The front entrance doors are made of bronze, are 3 m high and 10 cm thick. They were purchased from Tiffany's in New York for $ 10,000. The dome is covered with 24-carat gold leaf. Before that, the government resided in the Old State House .

Monuments and memorials

The Arkansas State Capitol is home to several monuments and memorials that reflect different areas of the state from the past and present. These include the Monument to Confederate Soldiers, the replica of the Liberty Bell , the Confederate War Prisoners Memorial, Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Arkansas Medal of Honor Memorial, Memorial Fountain, Monument to Confederate Women, and Little Rock Nine Civil Rights Memorial .

Web links

Commons : Arkansas State Capitol  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files

• Official website
  • Virtual tour of the Arkansas State Capitol

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture: George Richard Mann (1856–1939) , accessed March 3, 2010.