The Wisconsin State Capitol Building, built in the Beaux Arts style between 1906 and 1917, was designed by architect George B. Post. The building is the third to be located on the site, replacing the previous state capitol that was destroyed by fire in 1904. The present building houses the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the Office of the Governor of Wisconsin.
The first state capitol was located in Belmont, Wisconsin in a hastily constructed wood-frame building before designating Madison as the state capital. A small Greek Revival-style building was constructed in Madison in 1837 to serve as the capitol, which was replaced by a larger Classical Revival-style structure with Romanesque Revival elements in stages between 1857 and 1869. The building was expanded in 1882 with new wings that increased the Classical Revival aspects of the building.
The present building has a greek cross footprint with four five-story wings, aligned to the compass points and sitting at a 45-degree angle to the surrounding street grid. The wings feature porticoes on the ends with corinthian columns, arched windows on the third floor, rusticated bases with entrance doors and decorative keystones, decorative reliefs, cornices with modillions and dentils, and pediments with sculptural reliefs, created by several sculptors, that have different symbolism embodied by their design.
The exterior of the building is clad in Bethel white granite and 42 types of stone from eight states and six countries are utilized in the interior. The dome is the largest in the world to be entirely clad in granite and stands at 284 feet tall. The statue on top of the dome was sculpted by Daniel Chester French in 1920 and is a personification of the state of Wisconsin, with the outstretched arm of the statue representing the state motto, “Forward”.
The building underwent a major renovation in the 1970s that covered up many original features but later restoration projects between 1988 and 2002 updated the building’s systems and functions for the modern needs of the state government. The exterior of the wings feature porticoes on the ends with corinthian columns, arched windows on the third floor, rusticated bases with entrance doors and decorative keystones, decorative reliefs featuring festoons over the windows on the porticoes, cornices with modillions and dentils, and pediments with sculptural reliefs, which were created by several sculptors, and have different symbolism embodied by their design.
On the east wing, the sculpture known as Law, created by Karl Bitter, is located on the portico pediment, on the west wing is a sculpture known as Agriculture, also created by Karl Bitter, on the north wing is the sculpture known as Virtues and Traits of Character, created by Adolph Alexander Weinman, and on the south wing is a sculpture known as Wisdom and Learning of the World, created by Attilio Piccirilli. The sides of the wings feature simpler cornices with dentils, pilasters and recessed window openings with arched openings at the ground floor, windows with decorative pedimented headers on the second floor, arched windows on the third floor, two small two-over-two windows on the fourth floor, and a recessed fifth floor features small paired windows, hidden behind a balustrade that runs around the entirety of the building minus the ends of the wings, concealing a low-slope roof at the setbacks on the sides of the wings and above the corner porticoes.
In the center of the building is the rotunda, which is topped with a large dome that rises from a tall base. The building showcases the grandeur and elegance of the Beaux Arts-style architecture, and is a testament to the state’s history and heritage.