The Wisconsin State Capitol Building was built in the Beaux Arts style between 1906 and 1917 to house the Wisconsin State Government. Designed by George B. Post, it replaced the previous state capitol, which was destroyed by a fire in 1904. The building’s four five-story wings are aligned with the compass directions, and the radial streets slice through the surrounding street grid, which is at a 45-degree angle to compass directions, paralleling the shorelines of nearby Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. The building has a unique 45-degree angle orientation relative to the edges of Capitol Square, and it is the tallest building in Madison at 284 feet (86 meters) to the top of the statue on the dome.
The exterior of the building is clad in Bethel white granite and features porticoes on the wings’ ends with corinthian columns, arched windows on the third floor, rusticated bases with entrance doors, decorative keystones, reliefs with 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 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 featuring small paired windows, hidden behind a balustrade that runs around the building’s entirety minus the ends of the wings.
The upper roofs of the wings are low-slope with front gabled portions in the middle punctured by skylights. The roof is almost entirely enclosed by a parapet. In the center of the building are semi-circular portions of the facade with semi-circular two-story ionic porticos with large terraces and grand staircases featuring decorative copper lampposts, decorative stone balustrades, concealed entrances to the ground floor underneath the terraces, and three doorways on the upper level, with drums surrounded by buttresses featuring small windows and domed roofs above the balustrade on the fifth floor. In the center of the building is the rotunda, which is topped with a large dome that rises from a tall base.
The building also features sculptures created by several sculptors, embodying different symbolism embodied by their designs. The east wing, which is home to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, features the sculpture known as Law, created by Karl Bitter. The west wing, which houses the chamber of the Wisconsin Assembly, features a sculpture known as Agriculture, also created by Karl Bitter. The north wing, which is home to a hearing chamber, features the sculpture known as Virtues and Traits of Character, created by Adolph Alexander Weinman. And on the south wing, which houses the chamber of the Wisconsin Senate, is a sculpture known as Wisdom and Learning of the World, created by Attilio Piccirilli.
The building’s construction 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. The central rotunda and dome were also built after the other three wings had been completed as they serve a more symbolic and less utilitarian purpose than the rest of the building.
In the 1970s, the building underwent a major renovation that added modern features to the interior while covering up many original features. Later projects between 1988 and 2002 restored the building while updating the building’s systems and functions for the modern needs of the state government.
Overall, the Wisconsin State Capitol Building is an impressive structure that is both functional and symbolic of the state of Wisconsin’s pride and history. Its unique design and ornate details make it a must-see for visitors to the city of Madison.