Louisiana State Capitol
Encyclopedia
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, located in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
. The capitol houses the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
, the governor's office, and parts of the executive branch. At 450 feet (137 meters) tall, with 34 stories, it is the tallest capitol building in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the tallest building in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, and the seventh-tallest building in Louisiana. It is located on a 27 acres (109,265.2 m²) tract, which includes the capitol gardens. The Louisiana State Capitol building is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
The building features sculptures depicting scenes from Louisiana
History of Louisiana
The history of Louisiana is long and rich. From its earliest settlement by Native Americans to its status as linchpin of an empire to its incorporation as a U.S...
and U.S. history. Engraved into the stone around the main entrance is the quotation "We have lived long but this is the noblest work of our whole lives...The United States take rank this day among the first powers of the earth," said by Robert Livingston
Robert Livingston (1746-1813)
Robert R Livingston was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat from New York, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor," after the office he held for 25 years....
on the signing of the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
in 1803. Leading up to the main entrance are a series of steps with the names of all of the United States in the order of each state's admittance to the Union. After the first 13 steps (symbolizing the original 13 states
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
) there is a small platform. Behind this platform, the steps continue again with the rest of the 48 states. The 49th step lists both 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...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, which were admitted to the Union in 1959 after the Capitol was constructed.
As part of his gubernatorial
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
campaign in 1928, Huey Long
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
advocated the construction of a new, modern capitol building to replace the Old Louisiana State Capitol
Old Louisiana State Capitol
The Louisiana's Old State Capitol is a building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States that housed the Louisiana State Legislature from the mid-19th century until the current capitol tower building was constructed in 1929....
building, built in 1847. Ground was broken in 1930 after Long was elected governor of Louisiana, and the structure was completed in March 1932 (dedicated May 16, 1932) after 14 months at a cost of $5 million. In 1935, Long—then a U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
–was fatally wounded by an assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
in the Capitol building, where the bullet holes are still to be seen on the wall. He died two days later as a result of his wounds and is interred in the Capitol gardens.
Long contracted New Orleans architectural firm Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth
Leon C. Weiss
Leon Charles Weiss was the politically-connected architect who designed most major monuments of the Huey Pierce Long, Jr., gubernatorial administration in Louisiana, including the skyscraper-shaped capitol, the governor's mansion, and Louisiana State University buildings, all in Baton Rouge, and...
to design the building, and expressed interest in a tower. They took Bertram Goodhue
Bertram Goodhue
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue was a American architect celebrated for his work in neo-gothic design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for the Merrymount Press.-Early career:...
's Nebraska State Capitol Building
Nebraska State Capitol
The Nebraska State Capitol, located in Lincoln, Nebraska, is the house of the Nebraska Legislature and houses other offices of the government of the U.S. state of Nebraska....
as their model, which was still under construction at the time. The building includes integrated sculpture by Ulric Ellerhusen
Ulric Ellerhusen
Ulric Henry Ellerhusen first name variously cited as Ulrich or Ulrik, surname sometimes cited as Ellerhousen) was a German-American sculptor and teacher best known for his architectural sculpture....
, Lee Lawrie
Lee Lawrie
Lee Oscar Lawrie was one of the United States' foremost architectural sculptors and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II...
, Adolph Alexander Weinman
Adolph Alexander Weinman
Adolph Alexander Weinman was an American sculptor, born in Karlsruhe, Germany.- Biography :Weinman arrived in the United States at the age of 10. At the age of 15, he attended evening classes at Cooper Union and later studied at the Art Students League of New York with sculptors Augustus St....
, Corrado Parducci
Corrado Parducci
Corrado Giuseppe Parducci was an Italian-American architectural sculptor who was a celebrated artist for his numerous early 20th Century works.-Early life and education:...
and Lorado Taft
Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadoc Taft was an American sculptor, writer and educator. Taft was born in Elmwood, Illinois in 1860 and died in his home studio in Chicago in 1936.-Early years and education:...
, among others. The building also contains murals by Jules Guerin
Jules Guerin
Jules Guérin , American muralist, architectural delineator and illustrator.-Biography:Jules Vallée Guérin was born in St Louis, Missouri on November 18, 1866 and moved to Chicago to study art in 1880. In 1889 he is known to have shared a studio with Winsor McCay, the noted cartoonist...
. While Huey Long was senator he had an apartment made up for him on the twenty-fourth floor.
The Capitol was a major filming location for the film All The King's Men
All the King's Men (2006 film)
All the King's Men is a 2006 film adaptation of the 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. It was directed by Steven Zaillian, who also produced and scripted....
by Steven Zaillian
Steven Zaillian
Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian is an American screenwriter, film director, film editor, producer, and founder of Film Rites, a film production company. He won an Academy Award for his screenplay for Schindler's List and he has been nominated two times for Awakenings and Gangs of New York...
, based on the novel
All the King's Men
All the King's Men is a novel by Robert Penn Warren first published in 1946. Its title is drawn from the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. In 1947 Warren won the Pulitzer Prize for All the King's Men....
by Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the influential literary journal The Southern Review with Cleanth Brooks in 1935...
. Scenes from the films Everybody's All-American
Everybody's All-American (film)
Everybody's All-American is a 1988 motion picture directed by Taylor Hackford and based on the novel Everybody's All-American by longtime Sports Illustrated contributor Frank Deford.The film covers 25 years in the life of a college football hero...
and The Deadly Tower were also filmed here.
External links
- The Louisiana State Capitol Building
- National Register of Historic Places information
- History of the building, from the Louisiana State Legislature
- Governor Huey Long Memorial by La-Cemeteries
- Baton-Rouge-Guide.com photos and a review of a visit to the state capitol
- Additional Louisiana State Capitol Information