Neoclassical legislative chambers and historic interiors that reflect the origins and continuity of American civic architecture.
General Information
Closed Sundays and state holidays
Guided tours offered during business hours
How to Get There
From Richmond, VA (downtown): Follow Broad or Main Street east toward Capitol Square, then walk uphill to the Capitol grounds via the designated pedestrian entrances.
Overview
The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the third capital city of Virginia. (The first two were Jamestown and Williamsburg.) It houses the oldest elected legislative body in North America, the Virginia General Assembly, first established as the House of Burgesses in 1619.
The Capitol was conceived of by Thomas Jefferson and Charles-Louis Clérisseau in France, based on the Maison Carrée in Nîmes. Construction began in 1785 and was completed in 1788. The current Capitol is the eighth built to serve as Virginia's statehouse, primarily due to fires during the Colonial period. In the early 20th century, two wings were added, leading to its present appearance. In 1960, it was designated a National Historic Landmark.
It is one of only twelve Capitols in the United States without an external dome. (The others are the Capitols of Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon and Tennessee.)
The area around the Capitol is known as Capitol Square. It contains several monuments to prominent Virginians and events in Virginia:
-
Washington Monument, 1858
In 1869, the monument was completed, with statues of the following encircling the base:- Patrick Henry
- Thomas Jefferson
- Andrew Lewis
- John Marshall
- George Mason
- Thomas Nelson Jr.
- General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson Statue, 1875
- Governor William "Extra Billy" Smith Statue, 1906
- Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire Statue, 1904
- Zero Milestone, 1929, for measuring highway distances from the city of Richmond
- Edgar Allan Poe Statue, 1958
- Harry F. Byrd Sr. Statue, 1976
- Virginia Civil Rights Memorial, 2008
- The Bell Tower was built in 1824–1825. It is still used for ceremonial ringing.
- Oliver Hill Building (1892-1894)
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Virginia State Capitol", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
