Virginia State Capitol

During Chaos & Focus' recent redesign, the first two posts were lost. The second post appeared as follows.

Recently, I had the opportunity to tour the Virginia State Capitol and its grounds. The Capitol is one of the finest buildings in Virginia, if not the finest.

The State Capitol was designed in 1875 by Thomas Jefferson during the time he was serving as the United States Minister to France. Jefferson was assisted by Charles-Louis Clerisseau, who was a respected French architect. The Capitol was modeled after the Maison Carree, which is an ancient Roman temple located in Nimes, France. In addition, Jefferson arranged the floor plan to accommodate the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of Virginia's government. Construction began on the State Capitol in 1785 and lasted thirteen years. The Virginia General Assembly, which is the oldest English-speaking representative legislature still meeting in the Western Hemisphere, began meeting in the Capitol in 1788 and members of the Virginia executive and judicial branches moved into the building in 1789.

In 1904, the decision was made to renovate and enlarge the State Capitol. John Kevan Peebles, a graduate of the University of Virginia, submitted the winning design which included new wings for both the House of Delegates and the Senate. The wings were completed in 1906 and remain in use today. In addition, Peebles completed Jefferson's original architectural intent by adding front steps to the Capitol.

Between 2004 and 2007, the State Capitol was restored, renovated and expanded. Original exterior brickwork and interior woodwork were preserved. Useable space was increased by over one third in the form of a 27,000-square-foot underground extension beneath the Capitol's South Lawn. The extension contains a gift shop, exhibit space, a café and multipurpose meeting rooms.

The Capitol is the second oldest working statehouse in America and was both the first public building in the New World built in the style of a Roman temple and the first state house designed after the American Revolution.

The State Capitol was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and has been nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage List. The Capitol is also on the Virginia Landmarks Register and on the National Register of Historic Places.