Madison, WI – Capitol Square and the Wisconsin State Capitol

Wisconsin State Capitol, Capitol Square, Madison, WI

The Beaux Arts-style Capitol Building in Madison, Wisconsin, was built in stages from 1906 to 1917 to house the state council and government offices. It replaced a previous State Capitol, dating from 1857-1869 and extended in 1882, that burned down in February 1904. The third building to occupy the present site, the Capitol houses the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate, as well as the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Office of the Governor. The first Capitol for the Wisconsin Territory was located in Belmont, WI, before the state legislature met in Burlington, Iowa, and then Madison, where the first State Capitol, built in 1837, was modestly sized and of Greek Revival style. The present building, built with Bethel white granite from Vermont and 42 other types of stone from eight states and six countries, has a Greek cross footprint and is oriented at a 45-degree angle to Compass Points, while the street grid roughly parallels the shorelines of two nearby lakes. Designed by the architect George B. Post, who died before the building was completed, the Capitol underwent a renovation in the 1970s and later restoration between 1988 and 2002. The wings of the building feature pediments and decorative reliefs with varied symbolism, created by several sculptors, and integrated into the porticoes, cornices, modillions, and dentils that embellish the exterior.

Posted by w_lemay on 2023-03-08 12:50:48