Iowa State Capitol

Not long after achieving statehood, Iowa recognized that the Capitol should be moved farther west than Iowa City, and the 1st General Assembly, in 1846, authorized a commission to select a location. In 1847, the town of Monroe City, in Jasper County, was selected as the new location of the capitol and platted out, but the 1848 Legislature decided not to move the capitol from Iowa City.[3] In 1854, the General Assembly decreed a location “within two miles of the Raccoon fork of the Des Moines River.” The exact spot was chosen when Wilson Alexander Scott gave the state nine and one-half acres where the Capitol now stands. Final legislative approval for the construction of a permanent statehouse was given on April 8, 1870.[4]

Old Capitol in Des Moines

A three-story brick building served as a temporary Capitol and was in use for 30 years, until destroyed by fires: in the meantime, the permanent Capitol was being planned and built.

In 1870, the General Assembly established a Capitol commission including local businessman and politician Peter A. Dey to employ an architect, choose a plan for a building (not to cost more than $1.5 million), and proceed with the work, but only by using funds available without increasing the tax rate.[5]

John C. Cochrane and Alfred H. Piquenard were designated as architects, and a cornerstone was laid on November 23, 1871. However, much of the original stone deteriorated through waterlogging and severe weather, and had to be replaced. The cornerstone was relaid on September 29, 1873.[4]

Although the building could not be constructed for $1.5 million as planned, the Cochrane and Piquenard design was retained, and modifications were undertaken. Cochrane resigned in 1872, but Piquenard continued until his death in 1876. He was succeeded by two of his assistants, Mifflin E. Bell and W.F. Hackney. Bell redesigned the dome so that it better fit the proportions of the building.[6] Hackney was the only architect who stayed on the project until the end.[5]

The capitol building was dedicated on January 17, 1884, and it was completed sometime in 1886.[6] The building commission made its final report on June 29, 1886, with a total cost of $2,873,294.59. The audit showed that only $3.77 was unaccounted for in the 15 years of construction.[4]

On January 4, 1904, a fire was started when the gas lights were being converted into electricity. The fire swept through the areas that housed the Supreme Court and Iowa House of Representatives. A major restoration was performed and documented, with the addition of electrical lighting, elevators, and a telephone system. Little information is available about who performed the actual restoration during these early years.[4] However, Elmer Garnsey created the ceiling artwork in the House Chamber.[5]

These earlier efforts to preserve the Capitol mostly dealt with maintaining and upgrading its interior. It was not until 1965, when the dome was regilded, that legislators made significant investments in preserving the building's exterior.

By the early 1980s, the exterior of the Capitol had noticeably deteriorated. Sandstone pieces had begun falling from the building, prompting the installation of steel canopies at all entrances of the building to protect pedestrians. Decorative stone, whose deterioration had first been documented as early as the start of the 20th century, had also eroded.

Work on the exterior restoration began in the spring of 1983 and was completed in nine phases. Phase 9 work began in the spring of 1998, and the entire project was completed in the fall of 2001, at a cost of $41 million.[4]

North side view of Capitol building

While its primary use is as the house of the legislative branch of Iowa government, the Capitol also functions as a living museum and state and international cultural facility.

Since 1987, the World Food Prize laureate award ceremony is held annually in October in the House of Representatives chamber of the statehouse. The ceremony rivals that of the Nobel Prize, drawing over 800 people from more than 75 countries. Each year, world-class performers take the stage to honor the World Food Prize Laureate. Past performers have included Ray Charles, John Denver, and Noa to name a few. Following the ceremony, the celebration continues at a laureate award dinner held in the Capitol rotunda.[7]

Iowa State Capitol dome as viewed inside from rotunda

Around the rotunda on the frieze above the columns is the famous quotation from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: "This nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Extending the full width of the east wall over the staircase is the great mural painting Westward, an idealized representation of the coming of the people who made Iowa. The painting was completed shortly after the start of the 20th century. Edwin H. Blashfield, the artist, wrote of it: "The main idea of the picture is a symbolical presentation of the Pioneers led by the spirits of Civilization and Enlightenment to the conquest by cultivation of the Great West."[4]

In the central rotunda, suspended beneath the ceiling on wires is a very large banner of the insignia of the Grand Army of the Republic, which between 1894 and 1953 had a room in the state capitol dedicated for their use. They are the only non-state agency to have ever occupied space in the capitol.[9]

The battle flags carried by the Iowa regiments in various wars are preserved in niches on the main floor: Civil War, 1; Spanish–American War, 13; World War I, 26. In the west hall is a plaque done by Nellie V. Walker in commemoration of the work of Iowa women in the fight for political equality and a memorial to those Iowans killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.[4]

Also in the west hall is a model of the battleship USS Iowa on loan from the U.S. Department of the Navy. The model is 18 feet 7 inches long and weighs about 1,350 pounds. It is a perfect scale model, 1⁄4 inch equaling 1 foot.[4] The Iowa was the lead ship of her class of battleship and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 29th state. It is also the last lead ship of any class of United States battleships, and was the only ship of her class to have served in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. On July 7, 2012, the retired Iowa opened to the public as a floating educational and naval museum at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California.

In the south hall across from the Governor's office is a collection of porcelain dolls representing the 41 Iowa First Ladies in miniature replicas of their inaugural gowns. Where actual descriptions of the gowns could not be found, they are typical of the period. As future First Ladies take their place, they, too, will be represented.