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Kansas CapitolThe Kansas Capitol in Topeka is one of the most beautiful State Capitols in the country. It was constructed over a period of 37 years, from 1866 to 1903, at a total cost of $3.2 million. The state government of Kansas has been based in Topeka since the year that Kansas became a state, 1861. The first capital of Kansas was Fort Leavenworth, where territorial governor Andrew Reeder had his headquarters. Other state capitals during the territorial period were Shawnee Mission, Pawnee, Lecompton, Minneola, Leavenworth and Lawrence. Some of those towns served as the capital several times - the capital changed whenever the territorial leaders decided to move it. Kansas became a state January 29, 1861. In November of that year an election was held to decide on a capital and Topeka was selected over Lawrence and several other cities. In later years there were several attempts to move the capital to a more central location, but none came close to succeeding. The Cornerstone to the East Wing was laid October 17, 1866. After several setbacks in construction the wing was finished in 1873. Today the east wing houses the Senate Chamber. Work began on the West Wing in 1879 and the House of Representatives met in the new wing for the first time in 1880. The central domed section was authorized in 1881, and work began in 1885. All structural work on the Capitol was finished by 1903. Capitol Square consists of twenty acres donated by Cyrus K. Holiday and accepted by the legislature February 7, 1862. The legislature then authorized E. Townsend Mix's building design of French Renaissance architecture with Corinthian composite details. The Board of Statehouse Commissioners on March 26, 1866 approved a resolution which provided that the “wings of said building project east and west from the central building and that the construction of the east wing be commenced...immediately...” No sooner had the appropriation been made than there was a controversy among those desiring to furnish materials. It was decided to use a brown sandstone, obtained from the bluffs along Deer Creek, near Vinewood, in Shawnee County.
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Capitol Building John Steuart Curry’s "Tragic Prelude" Statehouse Restoration Project
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