The Wisconsin State Capitol Building, located in Madison, was designed by George B. Post and constructed between 1906 and 1917. The building replaced a previous Capitol Building that burned down in February of 1904, and it is the fourth capitol building to house the state government since Wisconsin’s establishment in 1848. The building is a Beaux Arts-style structure that 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, with the legislature meeting in a wood-frame building. Later sessions of the legislature were held in Burlington, Iowa, until a capitol building could be created in the designated location of Madison. The second capitol was constructed in Madison in 1837 in the Greek Revival style, but it was replaced with a larger, Classical Revival-style building with Romanesque Revival elements in stages between 1857 and 1869. The building featured a dome, porticoes with Corinthian columns, and octagonal towers at the corners. The building was expanded in 1882, which increased the Classical Revival aspects of the building and minimized the Romanesque Revival elements.
By the early 20th century, the 1857-1869 capitol building was inadequate for the growing population and government of Wisconsin, and a replacement capitol building was studied in 1903. In February 1904, the old capitol building burned down when a gas jet ignited a newly varnished ceiling inside the building. The new capitol building was built on the site of the previous building, and each wing was constructed one at a time to provide space for the state government as efficiently as possible. The north wing was built last to allow the remaining portion of the previous capitol to serve as space during construction.
The building stands at 284 feet tall, and it has a Greek cross footprint with four five-story wings aligned with the compass directions. The building is oriented at a 45-degree angle to the surrounding street grid, which roughly parallels the shorelines of nearby Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. The exterior of the building is clad in Bethel white granite and features porticoes with Corinthian columns, arched windows, and decorative reliefs with different symbolism embodied by their design. The dome is the largest in the world to be entirely clad in granite, and it is the tallest building in Madison.
The exterior of the building’s wings feature decorations created by ADR Studio, including porticoes with Corinthian columns, cornices with modillions, and pediments with sculptural reliefs. The building also features four sculptures representing “Law,” “Agriculture,” “Virtues and Traits of Character,” and “Wisdom and Learning of the World.” In the center of the building is the rotunda, which is topped with a large dome that rises from a tall base.
The Wisconsin State Capitol Building underwent a major renovation in the 1970s that added modern features to the interior and covered up many original features, but 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. The building remains an iconic landmark of Madison and a symbol of Wisconsin’s history and government.