Indiana Statehouse

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The Indiana Statehouse (or State House)^[1] is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. Housing the Indiana General Assembly, the Governor of Indiana, the state courts, and other state officials, it is located in the state capital Indianapolis at 200 West Washington Street. It is the fourth state capitol building.

Construction

With Indiana's rapid increase in population during the mid nineteenth century, the state's government also increased in size. The third state capitol building became cramped and was no longer able to house all of the state government functions. The administration of Governor James D. Williams proposed the construction of the fourth state capitol building the Indiana General Assembly in the legislative session of 1878. The third state capitol building was razed and the new building was constructed on the same site. Two million dollars was appropriated for construction and the new building and it was completed in 1888. Governor Williams, who was famed for his frugality, was able to complete the project for 1.8 million and returned the extra $200,000 to the general fund.Gray, Ralph D.: Indiana History: A Book of Readings. Indiana University Press, Indiana 1995, ISBN 0-253-32629-X, S. 184 (google.com).

The structure was designed by Edwin May, an Indianapolis architect. The legislature had instructed that the new capitol be built on a solid foundation so that it would last for many decades. The building is laid out in the shape of a cross with a large central rotunda with a domed ceiling. The building was built four stories high. The first floor housed the executive offices of the administration. The Indiana House of Representatives offices and chambers where placed on the second floor's east side. The Indiana State Senate offices where placed on the second floor's west side. The Indiana Supreme Court's office where put on the north end of the second floor.

The building was constructed with the intention that it was to house the entire government of the state. For several decades all the government bureaus were established in the building until the government again outgrew the structure and several bureaus were moved to separate office buildings.

A team of commissioners, including former Civil War general and civil engineer Thomas A. Morris, planned and oversaw the project. The design of Indianapolis architect Edwin May was selected in 1878, and a cornerstone was laid on September 28 1880. Construction was completed in October 1888, supervised by architect Adolph Scherrer, May's chief draftsman, following May's death in February 1880.

Previous State Capitols

When Indiana first became a state in 1816, the capital was located in Corydon. The Old Capitol Building there is now a state historic site. In 1825, the general assembly moved the capital to Indianapolis and met in the Marion County Courthouse. In 1831, the general assembly authorized construction of a state house on the same site as the current state house. This building, designed by the firm of Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis, had a design inspired by the Greek Parthenon and opened circa 1840. By the 1860s, it was becoming dilapidated, and it was demolished in 1877 to make way for the current building.^[2]