Kansas State Capitol facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Kansas State Capitol
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The Statehouse, in 2015
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 Location in Kansas
Location in the United States
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| Location | SW 8th & SW Van Buren, Topeka, Kansas |
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| Area | 20 acres (8.1 ha) |
| Built | 1866–1903 |
| Architect | E. Townsend Mix |
| Architectural style | French Renaissance |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000330 |
| Added to NRHP | September 3, 1971 |
The Kansas State Capitol, also known as the Kansas Statehouse, is where the government of Kansas works. It's where the state's leaders make laws and decisions. This includes the Governor and the lawmakers.
The Capitol is located in Topeka, Kansas, which has been the capital city since 1861. This building is actually the second state capitol. Before Kansas became a state, earlier government meetings happened in smaller buildings.
The dome of the Capitol is very tall, reaching 304 ft (93 m) high. This makes it taller than the 288 ft (88 m) dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.! You can even take tours to the very top of the dome. Visitors climb 296 steps from the fifth floor to reach the top.
Contents
History of the Kansas State Capitol
Building the Capitol: A Long Journey
The land for the Capitol building was given by Cyrus K. Holliday in 1862. He was a founder of Topeka. The main architect for the building was Edward Townsend Mix.
Construction started in 1866 on the East Wing. Workers used local limestone from Geary County, Kansas. The West Wing began construction in 1879. It used limestone from Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.
In 1881, the state government approved money to build the central part of the building. This part would connect the two wings. Work on the central building started in 1886. The contract for building the dome was signed in May 1889.
Completing the Capitol and Adding Art
The Kansas State Capitol was officially finished in 1903. It took 37 years to build!
Many years later, in 1988, a design for a sculpture to go on top of the dome was finally chosen. This sculpture is called Ad Astra. It is a bronze statue that is 22+2⁄12-foot (6.756 m) tall. It weighs 4,420 pounds (2,000 kg)!
The Ad Astra sculpture was placed on top of the dome on October 10, 2002. It was created by Richard Bergen. The sculpture shows a Kansa Native American aiming a bow and arrow at the North Star. The name "Ad Astra" is Latin. It is a shorter version of the Kansas state motto, "Ad Astra Per Aspera". This means "To the stars through difficulty."
Modern Updates and Restoration
The Capitol building was featured on Kansas license plates from 2001 to 2007.
In December 2001, a big project began to modernize the Statehouse. This project cost about $120 million at the start. It included fixing the first five floors and expanding the basement. The outside stone and copper roof were also repaired.
By the time the project finished in 2014, the total cost was $332 million. The work included new heating and cooling systems. It also added better security and easier access to restrooms. A new parking garage, visitor center, and underground office space were built too.
Amazing Art: Frescoes and Murals
Inside the Capitol, you can see beautiful art. In 1898, Jerome Fedeli painted frescos near the top of the dome. These are paintings done on wet plaster.
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In the 1930s, John Steuart Curry painted murals on the second floor. His most famous painting is Tragic Prelude. It shows a very large and angry John Brown between the two sides of the American Civil War. Flames and a tornado are in the background. Curry's paintings were famous for showing parts of Kansas history that were not always happy. He left them unsigned.
Later, David Hicks Overmyer painted a series of murals between 1951 and 1953. These paintings show important moments in Kansas history. Some titles include "The Coming of the Spaniards," "The Battle of Arickaree," and "Building a Sod House."
From 1976 to 1978, Lumen Martin Winter also painted murals in the rotunda, which is the round area under the dome.
See also
In Spanish: Capitolio del Estado de Kansas para niños
- List of state and territorial capitols in the United States
- List of tallest domes
- Kansas Museum of History
