Nebraska State Capitol

The Nebraska State Capitol, located in Lincoln, Nebraska, is the capitol and seat of the Nebraska Legislature, which houses other offices of the United States Federal Government and State of Nebraska. One of the most distinctive statehouses in the United States, its height is surpassed only by the Louisiana State Capitol, which rises 34 stories.

The building was designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and constructed between 1922 and 1932. The limestone structure draws on both Classical and Gothic architectural traditions, but represents major innovations in state capitol design.

[edit] History

The building is Nebraska's third state capitol building. Both the first and second, built in 1867 and 1889 respectively, had structural problems. Preceding the Lincoln state capitol buildings were two capitols of the Nebraska Territory in Omaha, both built in the 1850s, before Nebraska was admitted to the Union in 1867.

The architectural competition program was written by Omaha architect Thomas R. Kimball, who was then president of the AIA. The competition guidelines were innovative and progressive because they did not define plan, style, or material for the building. The program did specify, however, that they wanted an architect who would assemble a team (including sculpture, painter, and landscapist) to create a unified vision. There were entries from well-known architectural firms, including McKim, Mead, and White. However, the commission was immediately drawn to Goodhue’s innovative submission. His design drew on the Classical principles of austerity, abstract geometrical form, and hierarchical arrangements of parts, but broke away from the columns, pediment, and dome formula.

The capitol is often seen as a turning point in Goodhue’s career and the first major expression of what has been called his "freely interpreted classical style." The cross-axial plan is similar to a traditional Catholic church or cathedral. The building's four wings radiate from a central domed rotunda, architecturally separating the branches of government. The unarticulated windows and crisp flat surfaces anticipate the modern skyscraper. It is also the first U.S. state capitol with usable tower space.

On April 15, 1922 Governor Samuel R. McKelvie broke ground and construction began. The cost for the 122 m (400 ft.) Indiana limestone structure came in just under the $10 million budget. The funds were secured through a special capitol levy tax. The four-phase construction was completed in 10 years under the supervision of William Lefevre Younkin.

This article uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Nebraska_State_Capitol. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the CC by-sa 3.0 License.

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