Illinois State Capitol
National Register of Historic Places

Illinois State Capitol

Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois
Listed
November 21, 1985
Type
Building
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
85003178

About this property

The Illinois State Capitol, located in Springfield, Illinois, houses the legislative and executive branches of the government of the U.S. state of Illinois. Becoming the seat of the legislature in 1876, the current building is the sixth to serve as the capitol building since Illinois was admitted to the United States in 1818. Built in the architectural styles of the French Renaissance and Italianate, it was designed by Cochrane and Garnsey, an architectural and design firm based in Chicago. Ground was broken for the new capitol structure on March 11, 1868, and the building was completed twenty years later for a total cost of $4.5 million. The building contains the two legislative chambers for the bicameral General Assembly of Illinois, which is made up of the lower chamber of the Illinois House of Representatives and the upper house of the Illinois Senate. A ceremonial office for the Governor of Illinois and additional executive branch offices, additional offices for legislators and staff, plus conference and committee rooms are also in the landmarked building. The Illinois Capitol's footprint is cross-shaped, with four equal wings. Its tall central rotunda and upper dome and tower roofs are covered in zinc metal alloy to provide a silvery facade which does not weather or corrode. (Zinc mining was productive in the state throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.) Architectural scholar Jean A. Follett describes it as a building that "is monumental in scale and rich in detail." The interior of the dome features a plaster circular frieze painted to resemble bronze, which illustrates scenes from Illinois state history, and stained glass windows, including a stained glass replica of the Illinois state seal in the center-top oculus of the dome, above the rotunda.

Location

Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois
39.79868, -89.65481

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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The Land
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Geology
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
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The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
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The Community
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Rivers & Rail
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Notable People
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Literature
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Questions about this property

When was Illinois State Capitol listed on the National Register?

Illinois State Capitol was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 1985.

What type of historic resource is Illinois State Capitol?

Illinois State Capitol is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Illinois State Capitol?

The period of significance for Illinois State Capitol is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1818.

Can I research the history near Illinois State Capitol?

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