Iowa State Capitol
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Iowa State Capitol
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State Capitol
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| Location | Grand Ave. and E. 12th St. Des Moines, Iowa, United States |
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| Area | 17 acres (6.9 ha) |
| Built | 1871–1886 |
| Architect |
John C. Cochrane, Alfred H. Piquenard |
| MPS | State Capitol TR (AD) |
| NRHP Reference # | 76000799 |
| Added to NRHP | October 21, 1976 |
The Iowa State Capitol, seat of the Iowa General Assembly, is located in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines, and houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the Offices of the Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer, and Secretary of State. The building also includes a chamber for the Iowa Supreme Court, although court activities usually take place in the neighboring Iowa Supreme Court building. The building was constructed between 1871 and 1886, and is the only five-domed capitol in the country.
Located at East 9th Street and Grand Avenue, the Capitol is set atop a hill and offers a panoramic view of the city's downtown and the West Capitol Terrace. Various monuments and memorials are to its sides and front, including the Soldiers and Sailors' Monument and the Lincoln and Tad statue.
Not long after achieving statehood, Iowa recognized that the Capitol should be moved farther west than Iowa City, and the 1st General Assembly, in 1846, authorized a commission to select a location. In 1847, the town of Monroe City, in Jasper County was selected as the new location of the capitol and platted out, but the 1848 Legislature decided not to move the capitol from Iowa City. In 1854, the General Assembly decreed a location “within two miles of the Raccoon fork of the Des Moines River.” The exact spot was chosen when Wilson Alexander Scott gave the state nine and one-half acres where the Capitol now stands. Final legislative approval for the construction of a permanent statehouse was given on April 8, 1870.
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