Nevada State Capitol
Encyclopedia
The Nevada State Capitol is the capitol building of the U.S. state
of Nevada
. It is located in the state capital of Carson City
at 101 North Carson Street. The building was constructed in the Neoclassical
Italianate
style between 1869 and 1871. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
. It is also Nevada Historical Marker
number 25.
, the founder of Carson City, reserved an area equivalent to four city block
s (10 acres or 4.04 ha) at the center of the town for the future state capitol. When the Capitol building was constructed, it was naturally located on "the plaza", which had, some ten or eleven years earlier, been designated for it, and given for that purpose.
As Mark Twain
wrote in his book Roughing It
, the capitol site was during 1861, "a large, unfenced, level vacancy, with a liberty pole
in it, and very useful as a place for public auctions, horse trades, mass meeting
s, and likewise for teamsters to camp in."
The "act to provide for the erection of a State Capitol" was passed by the Nevada Legislature
and signed into law by Governor Henry G. Blasdel
during 1869. The Board of Capitol Commissioners received bids of $84,000 to $160,000 for construction and they chose the lowest bid, submitted by Peter Cavanaugh and Son of Carson City. The 1869 act authorized $100,000 for construction, with money to come from a special tax levy, plus the proceeds from the sale of some public land. To reduce costs, the building sandstone
was obtained free of charge from the Nevada State Prison quarry
, just outside of Carson City. In spite of this, the construction costs increased to some $170,000, exceeding even the high bid.
The cornerstone
was laid on June 9, 1870. A brass box that served as a time capsule
was deposited in the stone. However, which stone is the actual cornerstone is currently unknown.
The fourth session of the state legislature met in the still-incomplete building at the beginning of 1871. Construction was completed by May 1, 1871. Several of the architect's original drawings are preserved in the state archives.
The original building was cruciform
, with a central rectangle 76 feet (23.2 m) wide by 85 feet (25.9 m) deep (23 x 25.8 m). It had with two wings, each 35 feet (10.7 m) wide by 52 feet (15.8 m) deep (10.6 x 15.8 m). The windows' glass panes are made of 26-ounce (737 g) French crystal
, as are those above the doors. Floors and wainscotting are of Alaska
n marble
, shipped to San Francisco in 20-ton (18,144 kg) blocks and there cut and polished for installation.
The first floor contained a major office at each corner connected by central halls, while the wings of the second floor were filled by the two legislative chambers—the Assembly
and the Senate
. The octagonal dome topped with a cupola
admitted light to the second story. During 1906, an octagonal Annex was added to the rear (east) of the capitol to house the State Library.
By the early 20th century, the legislature had outgrown the capitol, and prominent Nevada architect Frederic DeLongchamps was contracted to design northern and southern legislative wing-annexes, completed in time for the 1915 session. These compatible wings used stone from the same quarry as the original portion of the capitol, and provided more office space and expanded legislative chambers.
met here until 1937, when it relocated into an adjacent building, and the Nevada Legislature
met here until 1971, when it relocated to its new Legislative Building just south of the Capitol. Every Nevada governor except the first has had his office in the capitol. Nowadays, the Capitol continues to serve the Governor, and contains historical exhibits on the second floor.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. It is located in the state capital of Carson City
Carson City, Nevada
The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City is the capital of the state of Nevada. The words Consolidated Municipality refer to a series of changes in 1969 which abolished Ormsby County and merged all the settlements contained within its borders into Carson City. Since that time Carson City has...
at 101 North Carson Street. The building was constructed in the Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
style between 1869 and 1871. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It is also Nevada Historical Marker
Nevada Historical Markers
Nevada Historical Markers identify significant places of interest in Nevada's history. The Historic Marker Program was initiated by the Nevada State Legislature in 1967 to bring the state's heritage to the public's attention with on-site markers...
number 25.
Construction
Abraham CurryAbraham Curry
Abraham Van Santvoord Curry is considered the founding father of Carson City, Nevada. A native of the state of New York, he traveled to the West Coast during the California Gold Rush and settled in Nevada's Eagle Valley, where Carson City was established.Curry served as an assemblyman of the...
, the founder of Carson City, reserved an area equivalent to four city block
City block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
s (10 acres or 4.04 ha) at the center of the town for the future state capitol. When the Capitol building was constructed, it was naturally located on "the plaza", which had, some ten or eleven years earlier, been designated for it, and given for that purpose.
As Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
wrote in his book Roughing It
Roughing It
Roughing It is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature written by American humorist Mark Twain. It was written during 1870–71 and published in 1872 as a prequel to his first book Innocents Abroad...
, the capitol site was during 1861, "a large, unfenced, level vacancy, with a liberty pole
Liberty pole
A liberty pole is a tall wooden pole, often used as a type of flagstaff, planted in the ground, which may be surmounted by an ensign or a liberty cap. They are associated with the Atlantic Revolutions of the late 18th century.-American Revolution:...
in it, and very useful as a place for public auctions, horse trades, mass meeting
Mass meeting
In parliamentary law, a mass meeting is a type of deliberative assembly, which in a publicized or selectively distributed notice known as the call of the meeting - has been announced:...
s, and likewise for teamsters to camp in."
The "act to provide for the erection of a State Capitol" was passed by the Nevada Legislature
Nevada Legislature
The Nevada Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house Nevada Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house Nevada Senate, with 21 members. All 63 members of the Legislature are elected from an equal amount of...
and signed into law by Governor Henry G. Blasdel
Henry G. Blasdel
Henry Goode Blasdel was an American politician. He was the 1st Governor of Nevada, serving during the American Civil War and the first years of the Reconstruction era. He was a member of the Republican Party.-Biography:...
during 1869. The Board of Capitol Commissioners received bids of $84,000 to $160,000 for construction and they chose the lowest bid, submitted by Peter Cavanaugh and Son of Carson City. The 1869 act authorized $100,000 for construction, with money to come from a special tax levy, plus the proceeds from the sale of some public land. To reduce costs, the building sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
was obtained free of charge from the Nevada State Prison quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
, just outside of Carson City. In spite of this, the construction costs increased to some $170,000, exceeding even the high bid.
The cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
was laid on June 9, 1870. A brass box that served as a time capsule
Time capsule
A time capsule is an historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians...
was deposited in the stone. However, which stone is the actual cornerstone is currently unknown.
The fourth session of the state legislature met in the still-incomplete building at the beginning of 1871. Construction was completed by May 1, 1871. Several of the architect's original drawings are preserved in the state archives.
Architecture
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
, with a central rectangle 76 feet (23.2 m) wide by 85 feet (25.9 m) deep (23 x 25.8 m). It had with two wings, each 35 feet (10.7 m) wide by 52 feet (15.8 m) deep (10.6 x 15.8 m). The windows' glass panes are made of 26-ounce (737 g) French crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
, as are those above the doors. Floors and wainscotting are of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, shipped to San Francisco in 20-ton (18,144 kg) blocks and there cut and polished for installation.
The first floor contained a major office at each corner connected by central halls, while the wings of the second floor were filled by the two legislative chambers—the Assembly
Nevada Assembly
The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member districts. Each Assembly district contained approximately 47,400 people as of the 2000 census, although...
and the Senate
Nevada Senate
The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada. The Senate consists of 21 members from 19 districts, two of which are multimember. Each senator represented approximately 94,700 people as of the 2000 census, although 2006 Census Bureau...
. The octagonal dome topped with a cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
admitted light to the second story. During 1906, an octagonal Annex was added to the rear (east) of the capitol to house the State Library.
By the early 20th century, the legislature had outgrown the capitol, and prominent Nevada architect Frederic DeLongchamps was contracted to design northern and southern legislative wing-annexes, completed in time for the 1915 session. These compatible wings used stone from the same quarry as the original portion of the capitol, and provided more office space and expanded legislative chambers.
Usage
For more than 50 years, all three parts of the state government were housed in the Capitol. The Supreme CourtSupreme Court of Nevada
The Supreme Court of Nevada is the state supreme court of Nevada. It is the highest judicial body of the Nevada state government.There are seven Justices of the court, who are elected to six-year terms in officially nonpartisan elections. The Governor appoints Justices in the case of a vacancy...
met here until 1937, when it relocated into an adjacent building, and the Nevada Legislature
Nevada Legislature
The Nevada Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house Nevada Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house Nevada Senate, with 21 members. All 63 members of the Legislature are elected from an equal amount of...
met here until 1971, when it relocated to its new Legislative Building just south of the Capitol. Every Nevada governor except the first has had his office in the capitol. Nowadays, the Capitol continues to serve the Governor, and contains historical exhibits on the second floor.