The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, the state capital of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The building houses the chambers of the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatu ...

, made up of the Assembly and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, along with the office of the

governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, t ...

. The Neoclassical structure, designed by Reuben S. Clark, was completed between 1861 and 1874. Located at the west end of Capitol Park and the east end of the

Capitol Mall The Capitol Mall or Capitol Mall Boulevard is a major street and landscaped parkway in the state capital city of Sacramento, California. It connects the city of West Sacramento in Yolo County to Downtown Sacramento. Capitol Mall begins at th ...

, the building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1973. The California State Capitol Museum is housed on the grounds of the capitol.

History

The structure was completed between 1860 and 1874, designed by architect Reuben S. Clark of Clark & Kenitzer, one of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

's oldest architectural firms, founded in 1854. Between 1949 and 1952, the Capitol's apse was demolished to make way for the building's expansion with the construction of the East Annex. The offices of the

are housed in the East Annex. The Capitol and grounds were listed on the office of the

in 1973, and listed as a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

in 1974, with a re-dedication on January 9, 1982, to commemorate the close of the bicentennial restoration project. The building underwent a major renovation known as the California State Capitol Restoration, from 1975 until 1982, involving an architectural restoration and structural reconstruction for earthquake safety. Although not generally considered earthquake country, Sacramento was hit by two earthquakes within days of each other in 1892 which damaged the Capitol. In 2012, many protesters stormed the building and were arrested.

Construction and design

Exterior

The building is based on the

U.S. Capitol building The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

in Washington, D.C. The west facade ends in projecting bays, and a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...

projects from the center of the building. At the base of the portico, seven

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

archways brace and support the porch above. Eight fluted

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order ( Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric ord ...

line the portico. A

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

supports the pediment above depicting

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the R ...

surrounded by

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, Industry and

Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

. Above the flat roof with

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

are two drums supporting a dome. The first drum consists of a colonnade of Corinthian columns; the second, Corinthian pilasters. Large arched windows line the drum walls. The dome is high, and supports a lantern with a smaller dome capped with a

gold-leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kar ...

ed orbed

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, towe ...

Interior

The

California Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. D ...

chamber seats its forty members in a large chamber room decorated in red, which is a reference to the

British House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

(also the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of a

bicameral legislature Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...

). The chamber is entered through a second-floor corridor. From the coffered ceiling hangs an electric reproduction of the original gas

chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent ...

. A hand-carved dais caps off a recessed bay framed by Corinthian columns. The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

phrase "''Senatoris est civitatis libertatem tueri'' ("It is the duty of the Senator to guard the civil liberties of the Commonwealth") lines the cornice. A portrait of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

Jane Stuart Jane Stuart (1812 – April 27, 1888) was an American painter, best known for her miniature paintings and portraits, particularly those made of George Washington. She worked on and later copied portraits made by her father, Gilbert Stuart, and ...

, the daughter of

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

, is on the wall above. The State Seal hangs above. Statues of the Roman goddess of wisdom

once overlooked both chambers. Today, Minerva, sculpted by Michael H. Casey, appears only in the senate chambers. Californian Legislature from Capitol Mall

Californian Legislature from Capitol Mall

Gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

Corinthian columns support the gallery above, and dark red curtains that can be drawn for privacy are tied back along the columns. High arched windows run along the bottom below rectangular pane windows. Behind the rostrum, there are two chairs with red velvet cushions, reserved for the president ''pro tempore'' of the senate and the speaker of the assembly, but they are never used. The

California Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Ass ...

chamber is located at the opposite end of the building. Its green tones are based on those of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 65 ...

, the lower house. The dais rests along a wall shaped like an "E", with the central projection housing the rostrum. Along the cornice is the Assembly motto, in Latin: ''Legislatorum est justas leges condere'' ("It is the duty of legislators to establish just laws").

California Capitol Museum

The California State Capitol Museum is a museum housed within the capitol and on the grounds of Capitol Park, run by California State Parks. The Capitol Museum includes the historic offices of the governor and legislature.

Capitol Park

The capitol's grounds are known as Capitol Park, an area of 10 undivided city blocks running from 10th to 16th and from L to N Streets. The entire Capitol Park area is included in the National Register historic district listing. With Capitol Park contains numerous monuments and memorials, including the California Firefighters Memorial and El Soldado Monument.

Gallery

File:California State Capitol Dome Interior, June 2019.jpg, Interior of the Capitol Dome File:CaliforniaStateCapitolGovernorOffice.JPG, Office of the

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, t ...

File:Assembly Chamber at the California State Capitol.JPG, Chamber of the

File:California Senate chamber p1080899.jpg, Chamber of the

File:California Grizzly Bear Statue Capitol Museum.jpg,

California Grizzly Bear The California grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos californicus'') is an extinct population or subspecies of the brown bear, generally known (together with other North American brown bear populations) as the grizzly bear. "Grizzly" could have meant " ...

Monument File:California State Capital Building Sacramento.jpg, Capitol Dome File:California State Capitol in Sacramento.jpg, View from the Southwest File:Sacramento capitol (23294571196).jpg, South façade File:California State Capitol during blue hour-3982.jpg, Night view

References

External links

Capitol restoration collection, 1979–1980. Collection Guide, California State Library, California History Room.

California State Capitol Museum
{{Authority control 1874 establishments in California Beaux-Arts architecture in California California Historical Landmarks Government buildings completed in 1874 Government buildings in California

State Capitol This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...

Government buildings with domes Capitol Historic district contributing properties in California National Register of Historic Places in Sacramento, California Neoclassical architecture in California Office buildings in Sacramento, California State capitols in the United States Terminating vistas in the United States Tourist attractions in Sacramento, California