Description
With a total height of 361 feet (110 m), the Illinois capitol is the tallest non-skyscraper capitol, even exceeding the height of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC. The only state capitols taller than it are the non-classical designs found in Florida, Louisiana and Nebraska, the governments of which opted for more modern buildings for their current capitols. The dome itself is 92.5 feet (28.2 m) wide, and is supported by solid bedrock, 25.5 feet (7.77 m) below the surface. It is the highest (though not the tallest) building in Sangamon County. The Hilton building is technically taller than the Capitol building, however it is on lower ground, making the Capitol building higher. A city statute does not allow buildings to be built higher than the Capitol building. The building itself is shaped like a Latin cross aligned to the major compass directions, and measures 379 feet (116 m) from the north end to the south end, and 268 feet (81.7 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.
When the capitol was constructed, several empty shafts were included for the future installation of elevators. The original water-operated elevators were installed in 1887 and were sometimes the subject of ridicule by local newspapers as they were deemed inadequate for a building with the prestige of the State Capitol. It is unknown when the first electric elevators were installed, but the first mention of them occurs in 1939, when the legislature appropriated $30,000 for repair of the electric elevators.
Read more about this topic: Illinois State Capitol
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