Alabama State Capitol

Infobox_nrhp | name =First Confederate Capitol
nrhp_type =nhl


caption =The Alabama State Capitol
location= Montgomery, Alabama
lat_degrees = 32 | lat_minutes = 22 | lat_seconds = 38.81 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 86 | long_minutes = 18 | long_seconds = 3.39 | long_direction = W
area =
built =1849
architect= Barachias Holt
architecture= Greek Revival
designated= December 19, 1960cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=75&ResourceType=Building
title=First Confederate Capitol |accessdate=2007-10-28|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = October 15, 1966cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2006-03-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = State
refnum=66000152

The Alabama State Capitol, also known as First Confederate Capitol, is located on Goat Hill in Montgomery, Alabama. The structure was built in 1851.

History

The first Capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama was built in 1847, and was destroyed by fire in 1849. The current State Capitol was built on the previous Capitol's foundations, and was completed in 1851. The building has grown over time with an east wing added to the buildings rear in 1885, a south wing in 1906, a matching north wing in 1912, and along with a complete renovation to the whole building a modern addition to the rear in 1992.

The building served as home to the Alabama Legislature until 1985, when it moved to the Alabama State House, (formerly the State Highway Department Building.) Officially, this move is "temporary", since the Alabama Constitution requires that the Legislature meet in the Capitol. In 1984, a constitutional amendment was passed that allowed the Legislature to move to another building if the Capitol were to be renovated. The renovation started in 1985 and was completed in 1992 and upon the reopening of the building, the Governor of Alabama and numerous other state offices moved back into the building, but the Legislature remained at the State House, and has made no plans to return to the Capitol Building. The areas that are open for tourists are the entry foyer with twin opposing cantilever stairwells, the old Governors Office, the old State Supreme Court and the old Supreme Court Library, the Rotunda, the old House of Representatives, and the old Senate Chamber. If a convention is held to reform the current state constitution, the House of Representatives chamber has been suggested as the most likely place that the convention will meet.

The building also served as the Capitol of the Confederacy in 1861, and a commemorative brass marker in the shape of a six-pointed star is set at the precise location (on the top step, to the right of the door, between the middle columns) where Jefferson Davis stood on February 18, 1861, to take his oath of office as first (and only) President of the Confederate States of America.

The Capitol was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000152.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Confederate Capitol / Alabama State Capitol] |312 KiB |date=September 29, 1975 |last=Schroer |first=Blanche Higgins |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/66000152.pdf Accompanying 3 photos, 1 aerial and 2 exterior views, undated.] |728 KiB ] The building and grounds are maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission. One block west is the landmark Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr. organized actions of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, in opposition to Alabama's government policies.

In 1961 Governor George Wallace flew the Confederate battle flag over the Capitol in celebration of the centennial of the Civil War, and again in 1963 as a symbol of defiance to the federal government policies regarding desegregation.cite journal|last=Dedman IV|first=James M.|title=At Daggers Drawn: The Confederate Flag and the School Classroom - A Case Study of a Broken First Amendment Formula|journal=Baylor Law Review|volume=53|pages=877, 884|publisher=|location= |date=Fall 2001|url=|doi= |id= |accessdate= ] This flag was removed in 1993 after a state judge ruled that a 1895 state statute allows only the national or state flags to fly over the Capitol.

Architecture

The building is in the Greek Revival style, designed by Barachias Holt. Additions were made to the original building in 1885, 1906, 1911, and 1992. The rotunda is decorated with a painted masterpiece, depicting Alabama's history. The Capitol Building is also known for its distinctive spiral staircase.

ee also

*List of National Historic Landmarks in Alabama

References

External links

* [http://www.archives.state.al.us/capital/capitals.html Alabama State Archives]
* [http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/visitorsguide/visitorsguide.html Alabama State Legislature Visitor's Guide]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/133SEMO/133selma.htm "”The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation”", a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan]