Colorado State Capitol

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NRHP

File:Closing of an Era statue in Denver, CO.jpg

CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Colorado State Capitol Building, located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, United States, is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, and the Colorado State Treasurer.

HistoryEdit

The building is intentionally reminiscent of the United States Capitol. Designed by Elijah E. Myers, it was constructed in the 1890s from Colorado white granite, and opened for use in November 1894. The distinctive gold dome consists of real gold leaf, first added in 1908, commemorating the Colorado Gold Rush. The building is part of Denver's Civic Center area. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Civic Center Historic District in 1974,<ref name="nom">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="nrhpdoc-NPS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} With Template:NRHP url</ref><ref name=nrhpdoc-NARA>Template:Cite report Includes __ photos. (Template:NationalArchivesNote)</ref> and became part of the Denver Civic Center National Historic Landmark District in 2012.<ref name="weekly">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A major safety upgrade project, funded by the Colorado State Historical Fund, was started in 2001 and completed in 2009.<ref>History Colorado Template:Webarchive. Coloradohistory-oahp.org. Retrieved 2013-09-18.</ref> The design by Fentress Architects added modern safety features, like enclosed stair towers, that blended in with the original architecture.<ref>Fentress completes work on Capitol's safety project - Denver Business Journal. Bizjournals.com (2009-02-01). Retrieved 2013-09-18.</ref> The Colorado Capitol Building is featured on many of Denver's architectural tours.<ref name="LetsRoam">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Rocky Mountain Tours">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

BuildingEdit

Serving as the beginning of the Capitol Hill district, the historic building sits slightly higher than the rest of downtown Denver. The main entrance hall is open 180 feet (55 m) to the top of the dome, about the height of an 18-story building. Additionally, the official elevation of Denver is measured outside the west entrance to the building, where the fifteenth step is engraved with the words "One Mile Above Sea Level". From this step, at Template:Convert, the sun can be seen setting behind the Rocky Mountains. A second mile high marker was set in the 18th step in 1969 when Colorado State University students resurveyed the elevation. In 2003, a more accurate measurement was made with modern means, and the 13th step was identified as being one mile (1.6 km) high, where a 3rd marker was installed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

MaterialsEdit

The superstructure of the building was constructed using granite from the Aberdeen Quarry near Gunnison, Colorado. Approximately Template:Convert or 24,000 tons of the granite were quarried for the building. This gray granite forms the exterior of the building. The interior of the building uses a large amount of Colorado Rose Onyx, a rare rose marble from a quarry near Beulah, Colorado. The amount used in the building consumed the entire known supply. White Yule Marble from the quarries near Marble, Colorado was also used throughout the capitol for the floors. Many designs have been found in the marble including an image resembling George Washington and another of Molly Brown.<ref name="Everett">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Colorado">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Many of the windows are made of stained glass, depicting people or events related to the history of Colorado. The halls are decorated with portraits of every president of the United States, with all the presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush being painted by Lawrence Williams. Painter Sarah A. Boardman took over from Williams, and has since painted Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Colorado artist Kirsten Savage painted President Joe Biden's portrait. <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> President Trump's portrait was removed from the gallery after he publicly criticized it on social media.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One of the contractors for the construction of the Colorado State Capitol building was Illinois building contractor William Douglas Richardson, who was the president of the W. D. Richardson Construction Company.<ref name="colorado">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Richardson had participated in numerous major building contracts throughout the United States, and was interconnected with the Jacob Bunn and John Whitfield Bunn network of corporations.<ref>William Douglas Richardson was the father of Jacob Bunn's daughter-in-law.</ref>

GalleryEdit

Coloradocapitolhill1.JPG

Colorado State Capitol (back view)
ColoradoStateCapitolSupremeCourtChambers gobeirne.jpg

Old Colorado Supreme Court chambers
Denver Capitol IMG 20180416 150216.jpg

Rotunda interior
COCapitolDirectView.jpg

Rotunda interior direct view
ColoradoStateCapitolSenateChamber gobeirne.jpg

Colorado Senate Chamber
ColoradoStateCapitolHouseOfRepresentatives gobeirne.jpg

Colorado House of Representatives
ColoradoStateCapitolGalleryOfPresidents gobeirne.jpg

Gallery of Presidents
Colorado state capitol aerial 1.jpg

Aerial view
Colorado - Denver - NARA - 23936019 (cropped).jpg

Aerial view, 1932

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:Sister project

Template:US state navigation box Template:US State Capitols Template:Denver Template:Authority control