The Wisconsin State Capitol Building was designed by architect George B. Post in the Beaux Arts-style and constructed between 1906-1917. It replaced the previous state capitol building which burned down in February of 1904. The building houses the Wisconsin State Assembly, Wisconsin State Senate, Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the Office of the Governor of Wisconsin. The previous state capitol was a Greek Revival-style building constructed in 1837 which contained doric columns and a rusticated fieldstone exterior. Next, a new state capitol was constructed in stages between 1857-1869 to accommodate Wisconsin’s growing population and government. The new building had a Classical Revival-style with Romanesque Revival elements, and had features such as a dome and two short side wings with octagonal towers. An additional two wings with a focus on Classical Revival were added in 1882.
The current Wisconsin State Capitol building was built on the site of the previous building, with construction staged to maximize fiscal efficiency, with the north wing built last. The current building is 284 feet tall to the top of the statue on the dome, which is a personification of the state of Wisconsin, and the exterior is clad in Bethel white granite with an additional 42 types of stone from eight states and six countries being utilized in the interior. The greek cross-shaped building has four five-story wings that are aligned with the compass directions and radial streets following compass directions that slice through the surrounding street grid, instead paralleling the shorelines of nearby Lake Mendota and Lake Monona.
The exterior of the wings features porticoes with Corinthian columns, arched windows on the third floor, rusticated bases with entrance doors, and cornices with modillions and dentils, as well as pediments with sculptural reliefs created by several sculptors with different symbolic meaning. In the center of the building is the rotunda, which is topped with a large dome. The wings sit at a unique 45-degree angle orientation relative to the edges of Capitol Square and most buildings on adjacent streets. The building underwent a major renovation in the 1970s that covered up many original features, with later projects between 1988 and 2002 restoring the building and updating it for the modern needs of the state government.
Overall, the Wisconsin State Capitol building is an important part of Wisconsin’s history and government, serving as a symbol and functional workspace for the state’s elected officials and public servants.