The Kansas State Capitol, known also as the Kansas Statehouse, is the building housing the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

branches of government for the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Located in the city of

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

, which has served as the capital of Kansas since the territory became a state in 1861, the building is the second to serve as the Kansas Capitol. During the territorial period (1854–1861), an earlier capitol building was begun but not completed in

Lecompton, Kansas Lecompton (pronounced ) is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 588. Lecompton, located on the Kansas River, was the ''de jur ...

, and smaller structures in Lecompton and Topeka were where the territorial legislatures met (see Capitols of Kansas). The dome, at , is taller than the

United States Capitol dome The United States Capitol features a dome situated above its rotunda. The dome is in height and in diameter. Designed by Thomas U. Walter, the fourth Architect of the Capitol, it was constructed between 1855 and 1866 at a cost of $1,047,291 ...

, although its diameter () is approximately half that of the national capitol (). It is one of the few capitols in the United States that continues to offer tours that go to the top of the dome. Visitors enter the dome by climbing 296 steps leading from the fifth floor to the top.

History

19th century

The land for Capitol Square was donated by Cyrus K. Holliday via his Topeka Town Company in 1862. The master architect was Edward Townsend Mix with the wings designed by John G. Haskell. Construction on the East Wing began in 1866, using "native" limestone from Geary County, Kansas. Construction began on the West Wing in 1879 using limestone from

Cottonwood Falls, Kansas Cottonwood Falls is the largest city and county seat of Chase County, Kansas, Chase County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 851. It is located south of Strong City, Kansa ...

and in 1881, the legislature authorized and appropriated funds for the construction of a central building to link the two wings. Construction of this central building began in 1886, and the contract for dome construction was let in May, 1889.

20th century

State capitol building ca1889 Topeka byConePhotography KansasStateHistoricalSociety

The building was declared officially complete in 1903, after 37 years of construction. It was not until 1988 that a design for a sculpture to stand atop the dome was finally approved. Ad Astra, a bronze sculpture weighing , was installed atop the dome on October 10, 2002. The sculpture, by Richard Bergen, depicts a Kansa Native American with bow and arrow pointed at the

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude t ...

and was chosen from 27 entries to adorn the dome. The title Ad Astra is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

shortening of the state motto

Ad Astra Per Aspera is a Latin language, Latin phrase meaning "to the stars". The phrase has origins with Virgil, who wrote in his ''Aeneid'': "''sic itur ad astra''" ('thus one journeys to the stars') and "''opta ardua pennis astra sequi''" ('desire to pursue t ...

''To the stars through difficulty''.

21st century

The building was featured prominently on Kansas license plates issued from January 2001 until April 2007. The Capitol dome and Native American Ad Astra statue are also featured on the standard license plate design that began issuance on August 19, 2024. In December 2001, the Statehouse began a $120 million (~$ in ) modernization project, led by Treanor Architects; the project included restoration of its first through fifth floors, the rehabilitation and expansion of its basement, restoration of its exterior masonry and copper roof/dome. By the time the project finished in spring 2014,

scope creep Scope creep (also called requirement creep, or kitchen sink syndrome) in project management is continuous or uncontrolled growth in a project's scope, generally experienced after the project begins. This can occur when the scope of a project i ...

and delays resulted in a total cost of $332 million (~$ in ), covering "new heating and cooling systems, greater security and restroom accessibility, a new parking garage, visitor center, underground office space and replacing the roof and dome."

Frescos and murals

In 1898, Jerome Fedeli painted

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s near the top of the dome in the rotunda. Fedeli's work depicted bare-breasted classical women. However officials referred to the paintings as "Nude Telephone Girls" and had them painted-over. In the 1930s,

John Steuart Curry John Steuart Curry (November 14, 1897 – August 29, 1946) was an American painter whose career spanned the years from 1924 until his death. He was noted for his paintings depicting rural life in his home state, Kansas. Along with Thomas Hart B ...

painted murals on the second floor including the building's most famous painting—''

Tragic Prelude ''Tragic Prelude'' is a mural painted by the American artist John Steuart Curry for the Kansas State Capitol building in Topeka, Kansas. It is located on the east side of the second floor Rotunda (architecture), rotunda. On the north wall it depi ...

''—which depicts an oversize and raging John Brown wedged between the warring sides of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, flanked by flames and a tornado. Curry's work gained considerable notoriety for depicting unsavory aspects of Kansas history and he left them unsigned and did not complete a commission to paint murals in the rotunda. Curry's depiction of Brown is believed to be the only instance of a person convicted of treason being featured in a state capitol. David Hicks Overmyer painted a series of murals in the first floor rotunda between 1951 and 1953 entitled The Coming of the Spaniards, The Battle of Arickaree, The Battle of Mine Creek, Building a Sod House, Lewis and Clark in Kansas, Westward Ho, Arrival of the Railroad, and

Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail ( ) was a stock trail and wagon route used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in southern Texas, across the Red River into Indian Territory, and northward to rail stops in Kansas. The trail cons ...

.“David Hicks Overmyer,” Kansapedia, Kansas State Historical Society, 2020, (https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/david-hicks-overmyer/15551) Accessed January 5, 2022. From 1976 to 1978, Lumen Martin Winter painted the murals in the rotunda.

References

External links

Kansas State Capitol
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Kansas Historical Society The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas. Headquartered in Topeka, it operates as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history and operates the Kansas Museum of Histor ...

Historic Guided Tour of Capitol

Photo Gallery
of Kansas Statehouse construction wrapping up, from ''

Lawrence Journal-World The ''Lawrence Journal-World'' is a daily newspaper published in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, by Ogden Newspapers. History Though the ''Journal-World'' title came into existence in 1911, the paper dates itself to 1858, according to the ...

'' * , from ''Hatteberg's People'' on

KAKE KAKE (channel 10) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on West Street in northwestern Wichita, and its transmitter is located i ...

TV news
Publications concerning the Kansas State Capitol building available via the KGI Online Library
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Topeka, Kansas Government buildings with domes State Capitol Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas State Capitol History museums in Kansas Museums in Topeka, Kansas State capitols in the United States Tourist attractions in Topeka, Kansas 1866 establishments in Kansas National Register of Historic Places in Topeka, Kansas Capitols of Kansas