North Carolina State Capitol

North Carolina State Capitol
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location:	Capitol Sq., Raleigh, North Carolina
Coordinates:	35°46′49″N 78°38′21″W / 35.78028°N 78.63917°W / 35.78028; -78.63917Coordinates: 35°46′49″N 78°38′21″W / 35.78028°N 78.63917°W / 35.78028; -78.63917
Built:	1833
Architect:	Multiple
Architectural style:	Greek Revival
Governing body:	State
NRHP Reference#:	70000476
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	February 26, 1970[1]
Designated NHL:	November 6, 1973[2]

The North Carolina State Capitol is the main house of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Housing the offices of the Governor of North Carolina, it is located in the state capital of Raleigh on Union Square at One East Edenton Street. The cornerstone of the Greek Revival building was laid with Masonic honors by the Grand Master of the State Simmons Jones Baker on July 4, 1833.^[3] Construction was completed in 1840.^[4] It was designed primarily by the architectural firm of Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis. Often credited solely to that team, the design of the capitol was actually the result of a sequence of work by William Nichols, Sr. and his son William Nichols, Jr., Town and Davis, and then David Paton.^[5] The Capitol housed the entire state government until 1888, and the North Carolina General Assembly met in the capitol building until 1963 when the legislature relocated to its current location in the North Carolina State Legislative Building. The offices of the state Lieutenant Governor were situated in the capitol building continuously until 1969, when the Lieutenant Governor relocated to the Hawkins-Hartness House a few blocks away on North Blount Street. The current Lieutenant Governor has reoccupied an office in the capitol building.

The Capitol as it appeared in 1861

The North Carolina Supreme Court has also convened in the building in the past. The Governor and the governor's immediate staff has continued to occupy offices in the building.^[6]

The Capitol was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973.^[2][7]

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Capitol (North Carolina)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1190&ResourceType=Building. Retrieved 2008-02-24. 
3. ^ Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. (1979). Powell, William S.. ed. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. 1. (A-C). Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 080781329X. 
4. ^ "North Carolina Historic Sites: State Capitol". Raleigh, North Carolina: North Carolina Historic Sites, a division of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. 6/14/2010. http://www.nchistoricsites.org/capitol/default.htm. Retrieved 2/4/2011. 
5. ^ "Nichols, William (1780-1853)". North Carolina Architects and Builders: A Biographical Directory. The NCSU Libraries Digital Scholarship and Publishing Center. http://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/people/P000026. Retrieved 2009-11-29. 
6. ^ www.ncstatecapitol.org/ NC State Capitol Foundation
7. ^ Jack Zehmer and Sherry Ingram (April 22, 1970). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: CapitolPDF (32 KB). National Park Service.  and Accompanying five photos, exterior and interior, from c. 1940 and 1969PDF (32 KB)

External links

Media related to North Carolina State Capitol at Wikimedia Commons

• North Carolina State Capitol
• NC State Capitol Foundation
• The North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan