Oregon State Capitol Totally Explained

Everything about The Oregon State Capitol totally explained

The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capital, Salem. The current building, constructed from 1936 to 1938, and expanded in 1977, is the third to house the Oregon state government in Salem. Two former capitol buildings were destroyed by fire, one in 1855 and the other in 1935.
New York architects Trowbridge & Livingston conceived the current structure's Art Deco design, in association with Francis Keally. Much of the interior and exterior is made of marble. It is the only Art Deco style state capitol. The Oregon State Capitol was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The Public Works Administration, part of the U.S. government, partially financed construction, which was completed during the Great Depression, in 1938. The building was erected at a cost of $2.5 million for the central portion of the building, which includes a dome of . The wings, which doubled the floor space of the building to about, were added later for $12.5 million. The grounds outside the capitol building contain artwork, fountains, and flora, including the state tree (Douglas-fir) and state flower (Oregon-grape).

Early capitol buildings

Before the creation of the Oregon Territory in 1848, the Oregon Country provisional government, through legislation on June 27 1844 and December 19 1845, selected Oregon City as the capital. Thus Oregon's first capitol was in Oregon City. One of the private buildings used by this government was constructed by John L. Morrison in 1850; it served as a capitol until the government moved to Salem. The designation of Oregon City as the seat of power was by proclamation of Governor Joseph Lane. In 1850, the legislature passed an act designating Salem the capital. However, Governor John P. Gaines refused to relocate and remained in Oregon City along with the Oregon Supreme Court (except justice Orville C. Pratt) until an act of Congress on May 14 1852 settled the matter in Salem's favor.
On January 13 1855, the Oregon Territorial Legislature passed a bill moving the seat of government from Salem to Corvallis. Governor George Law Curry and many others objected to the move, since public buildings in Salem were already under construction. Curry sent the matter to the Secretary of the Treasury in Washington, D.C., where Secretary James Guthrie declared the move invalid unless acted on by the United States Congress. Thereafter, Curry and Oregon Secretary of State Benjamin Harding moved back to Salem. of which Salem is the seat.

First capitol

The land developed for the permanent capitol buildings was Salem block 84, sold to the state for this purpose by pioneer and Salem founder W. H. Willson. Construction of the first capitol building began in 1854, shortly after Congress confirmed Salem as the capital city. However, with the capital moving to Corvallis the next year, construction was temporarily halted. After the capital's return to Salem, the building was nearly completed by late 1855. stood 50 feet wide and 75 feet long (15 by 23 m), with a stone facade and a 10-foot (3 m) portico. Built of native ashlar blocks, the exterior walls, two stories high, ranged in color from a deep sky blue to white. The first floor was tall and the second tall with an eight-foot (2.4-meter) entablature. The building was decorated with four Ionic columns on the front (west) end. The building housed a variety of rooms, including a federal courthouse with a chamber measuring 20 by 27 feet (6 by 8 m) and an executive office of 18 by 20 ft (5.5 by 6 m) on the first floor. Also on the first floor was the House chamber, measuring 36 by 46 feet (11 by 14 m) and having three entrances. The first floor also held the main hall, which included an entrance wide. On the second floor was the Senate chamber, 26 by 36 feet (8 by 11 m). Additionally, the Territorial Library was housed in a room that was 20 by 36 feet (6 by 11 m). The second story also had a gallery viewing area for the House, three committee rooms, and several rooms for government clerks. The site of the burned-out capitol building remained a pile of stones for several years after the fire. A downtown building, Nesmith’s Building (later named the Holman Building), served as a temporary capitol from 1859 until 1876. The legislature met on the second and third floors of that building, which also housed the other state offices.

Second capitol

Plans for a new building began to take shape in 1872 when the state legislature appropriated $100,000 towards a new capitol building. This second capitol, built between 1873 and 1876, was a two-story structure with an additional first level that was partly underground; the total cost was $325,000. The cornerstone for the building was laid on October 5, 1873, during a ceremony that included a speech by Governor Stephen F. Chadwick and the music of several bands. Construction, on the same site as the 1855 building, was partly accomplished with convict labor from the Oregon State Penitentiary. Justus F. Krumbein and Gilbert, architects, designed the building.
   Built of stone and five million bricks, Oregon’s new capitol measured 275 by 136 feet (84 by 41 m) with a dome of . Additionally, the building had mullion-windowed wings. At that time, the capitol faced west toward the Willamette River.
   Flames could be seen as far away as Corvallis.At the time of the fire, the Oregon State Library was in the basement and first floor of the Supreme Court Building. Many books in the basement suffered water damage when water used to fight the fire flooded underground tunnels and seeped into the Supreme Court Building.
   Controversy occurred before construction began when Governor Martin suggested the new building be sited on a hill south of downtown (Candelaria Heights) and away from the busy center of town. Another proposal called for the purchase of the Willamette University campus and relocation of the capitol to that site. However, downtown merchants were able to keep the capitol building in downtown at the original location, though some Victorian homes were subsequently leveled to make way for the building. Another early complaint about the structure was that the cupola resembled a "paint can" rather than traditional domes on other capitols, including the earlier Oregon structures. It was even called a "squirrel cage", lacking in majesty. Additionally, the public was slow to admire the gold Oregon Pioneer atop the dome. The building cost $2.5 million, of which the federal government paid 45 percent through the Public Works Administration. Upon completion, the new capitol was 164 feet wide, 400 feet long, and 166 feet tall (50 by 122 by 51 m) and contained of usable space. The rotunda’s staircases and floor used Phoenix Napoleon marble quarried in Missouri and have borders of Radio Black marble that, like the exterior stone, is from Vermont. These rooms were added in 1977 as part of a $12.5 million expansion project to add new wings containing legislative offices, hearing rooms, support services, a first floor galleria, and underground parking. In 2002, the wings were remodeled at a cost of $1.3 million to upgrade items such as antiquated wiring and to install new carpeting and lighting. This "Spring Break Quake" shook the building enough to shift the statue on top and crack the dome. Additionally, the quake created a three-foot (one-meter) bulge on the west end of the building. Repairs cost $4.3 million and included reinforcing the structure with additional concrete and steel bars.
   In April 2002, the building became the first state capitol in the United States to produce solar power through the use of 60 photovoltaic panels generating 7.8 kilowatts. One-third of the power is used to light the Oregon Pioneer at night; the remaining electricity is sent into the power grid.

Exterior and interior

The Oregon State Capitol is home to both branches of the state legislature, the House and Senate, and has offices for the governor, treasurer, and the secretary of state. In its center, the floor of the prominent rotunda features an embedded Oregon State Seal sculpted in bronze by Ulric Ellerhusen. Ellerhusen also sculpted the Oregon Pioneer that rests atop the capitol dome's exterior. The dome rises above the state seal. The interior of the dome was painted by Frank H. Schwarz and features 33 stars, symbolizing Oregon's place as the 33rd state to join the Union. Eight medallions are painted near the top of the walls of the rotunda that represent the eight objects in the state seal. A variety of artwork is displayed on the exterior of the building. Sculptor Leo Friedlander used Vermont marble for the large relief sculptures on both sides of the main entrance. One sculpture depicts Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Sacagawea, with a map of their expedition's route on the reverse; the other shows pioneers and a covered wagon, with a map of the Oregon Trail on the reverse. Additionally, Ellerhusen created five marble relief sculptures on the exterior, and a metal sculpture by Tom Morandi sits above the south entrance. Ellerhusen also cast six bronze sculptures arranged above the building's main entrance, three on the inside and three on the outside.
   As of September 2007, the capitol wings are closed and undergoing a $24 million restoration. The restoration is expected to be completed by November 2008. Throughout the grounds are native trees and shrubs, including blue spruce, Oregon-grape (the state flower), giant sequoia, coast redwood, Japanese maple, dogwood species, Bradford pear, cherry tree species, English holly, rhododendron, and magnolia tree species. One Douglas-fir tree was grown using a seed that rode aboard Apollo 14 to the Moon in 1971 and was transplanted to the capitol in 1976 from Oregon State University. Lee established the Methodist Mission and what would become Willamette University. McLoughlin, of the Hudson's Bay Company, was proclaimed the Father of Oregon. The Circuit Rider was added in 1924 as a monument to early preachers. There is also a memorial to Oregon's recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. This memorial, dedicated on September 18 2004, has 13 pillars of granite and includes bronze plaques with images and medal citations for each recipient.
   To the west of the building is Willson Park, named for Salem founder William H. Willson and sited roughly at the center of his former landholdings. From 1853 to 1965 it was a Salem city park. After the park was turned over to the state, Lloyd Bond and Associates were asked to redesign the park. is at the far west end of the park. In 2005, a Walk of Flags feature was added that displays the flags of every state in the Union.
   Other features on the capitol grounds include Sprague Fountain and the Wall of Water. The Wall of Water is located across Court Street from the main entrance. It was added in 1990 and has 22 nozzles shooting water 12 feet into the air in a plaza that also has slabs of stone with information about Oregon's history. Added in 1985, the Capitol Beaver family represents the state animal. Additional features of the grounds include a peace pole donated by the Society of Prayer for World Peace, a large boulder that once lay along the Oregon Trail, a planter that spells out "Oregon" using shrubs, and a rose garden maintained by the Salem Rose Society.Further Information

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