The Beaux Arts-style Capitol Building in Madison, Wisconsin was built between 1906 and 1917 and designed by architect George B. Post. The state capitol building replaced the previous structure, which burned down in 1904. The current building is the fourth capitol to house the state government and the third building to stand at the present site. The building houses the Wisconsin State Assembly, the Wisconsin State Senate, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the Office of the Governor of Wisconsin.
The first capitol of Wisconsin was located in the village of Belmont, Wisconsin. The legislature met in a wooden building until the future site of Madison was designated as the state capitol. The first capitol building on the present site was constructed in 1837 and was a Greek Revival-style building with doric columns and a rusticated fieldstone exterior. In 1857, the building was replaced by a larger Classical Revival-style structure with Romanesque Revival elements. The building was modified and extended in 1882 with new wings that increased its Classical Revival aspects.
By the turn of the 20th century, the old capitol had become inadequate for the growing needs of Wisconsin, which had become wealthy, industrialized, and heavily populated. The construction process of the current building was focused on completing each wing one at a time to provide space to the state government with as much fiscal efficiency as possible due to financial limitations. The north wing was built last to allow the remaining portion of the previous capitol to serve as space for the state government during the construction period, with the central rotunda and dome being built after the other three wings had been completed.
The building stands 284 feet tall, including the statue on the dome. The exterior is clad in Bethel white granite, sourced from Vermont, and an additional 42 types of stone from a total of eight states and six countries were utilized on the interior of the building. The dome is the largest in the world to be entirely clad in granite and is the tallest building in Madison. The building has a Greek cross footprint with four five-story wings that are aligned with the compass directions and radial streets. This places the building at a unique 45-degree angle orientation relative to the edges of Capitol Square and most buildings on adjacent streets.
The exterior of the building’s 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. The sides of the wings feature simpler cornices with dentils, pilasters, and recessed window openings.
Inside the building, each wing houses different functions of government. The east wing is home to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, with the sculpture known as Law located on the portico pediment. The west wing houses the chamber of the Wisconsin Assembly, with Karl Bitter’s sculpture Agriculture on the portico pediment. Adolph Alexander Weinman’s sculpture Virtues and Traits of Character is located on the north wing, which is home to a hearing chamber. Attilio Piccirilli’s sculpture Wisdom and Learning of the World is located on the south wing, which houses the chamber of the Wisconsin Senate.
The center of the building is the rotunda, which is topped with a large dome that rises from a tall base. The building underwent a major renovation in the 1970s that added modern features to the interior and covered up many original features. Later renovations between 1988 and 2002 restored the building while updating the building’s systems and functions for the modern needs of the state government.
In conclusion, the Beaux Arts-style Capitol Building in Madison, Wisconsin is the fourth capitol to house the state government and the third building to stand at the present site. Designed by architect George B. Post, the building replaced the previous structure, which burned down in 1904. With a unique 45-degree orientation, the building’s exterior is clad in Bethel white granite and an additional 42 types of stone were utilized on the interior of the building. The building underwent a major renovation in the 1970s and later renovations between 1988 and 2002 to restore the building while updating its systems and functions for the modern needs of the state government.