Illinois State Capitol
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Illinois State Capitol
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East façade of the Capitol from Second Street
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| Location | Capitol Avenue and Second Street Springfield, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 39°47′54″N 89°39′16″W / 39.79833°N 89.65444°WCoordinates: 39°47′54″N 89°39′16″W / 39.79833°N 89.65444°W |
| Area | 9 acres (3.6 ha) |
| Built | 1868 |
| Architect | Alfred H. Piquenard, et al. |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 85003178 |
| Added to NRHP | November 21, 1985 |
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Old State Capitol
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South façade of the Old Capitol
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| Location | Bounded by 5th, 6th, Adams, and Washington Streets Springfield, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 39°48′4″N 89°38′53″W / 39.80111°N 89.64806°W |
| Area | 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) |
| Built | 1839 |
| Architect | John F. Rague |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000331 |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
The Illinois State Capitol, located in Springfield, Illinois, is the building that houses the executive and legislative branches of the government of the U.S. state of Illinois. The current structure is the sixth to serve as capitol since Illinois became a part of the United States in 1818. The capitol is in the architectural style of the French Renaissance and was designed by Cochrane and Garnsey, an architecture and design firm based in Chicago. Ground was first broken for the new capitol on March 11, 1868, and it was completed twenty years later for a total cost of $4,500,000.
The dome is covered in zinc to provide a silvery facade which does not weather. The interior of the dome features a plaster frieze painted to resemble bronze, which illustrates scenes from Illinois history, and stained glass windows (including a stained glass replica of the state seal in the oculus of the dome). The seal featured in the top of the dome is the seal used by Illinois prior to the American Civil War. It differs from the modern seal in that the phrase "State Sovereignty" is above the phrase "National Union." After the Civil War, the legislature voted to reverse these phrases as they professed that National Union was the more important of these two concepts.
With a total height of 361 ft (110 m), the Illinois capitol is the tallest non-skyscraper capitol, even exceeding the height of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. In contrast, the tallest skyscraper capitol stands a mere 241.67 feet (73.7 m) tall. The only state capitols taller than it are the non-classical designs of Louisiana and Nebraska, whose governments opted for modern structures. The dome itself is 92.5 ft (28.2 m) wide, and is supported by solid bedrock, 25.5 ft (7.8 m) below the surface. It is the highest (though not the tallest) building in Sangamon County. The Wyndham Springfield City Centre is taller than the capitol, however it is on lower ground, making the capitol building higher. A city statute does not allow buildings taller than the capitol. The building itself is shaped like a Latin cross aligned to the major compass directions, and measures 379 ft (116 m) from the north end to the south end, and 268 ft (82 m) from the east end to the west end. The capitol occupies a nine acre plot of land which forms the capitol grounds. William Douglas Richardson served as one of the principal contractors for the construction of the capitol building, and Jacob Bunn, an in-law of W. D. Richardson, served as chairman of the capitol construction steering committee.
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