Pre-Construction
According to the Kansas Historical Society, the construction of the Kansas State Capitol began in 1866, what was already known as the "Capitol Square" was donated in 1862. This eventually would be the land of where the building would soon reside. The early design for the Kansas State Capitol Building was created by Edward Townsend Mix. Although, the statehouse committee also reviewed and later declared Kansas architect John G. Haskell as the hired architect for the project. Haskell made many changes to the original blueprint by Edward Mix as the final product. Haskell had a big task in the creation of the statehouse, as the committee wanted the building to be fire resistant, use natural lighting, and they also wanted the wings to all be attached like the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. All of these criteria were surprisingly met by Mr. Haskell with the implementation of the inner and outer domes as well as the open floor plan that was established inside the building.FUN FACT: You can find many plaques stating the important history of the statehouse on site, as Kansas is a very proud state of its history. This is also present in all of the memorials and donated items that are placed in the lawns surrounding the building.
Construction
As previously stated the construction of the building began in 1866 with the state legislature passing house bill number 34, which provided individuals to begin construction. You can find a plaque on the south side steps which tells its readers that Governor Samuel Crawford signed the passing of the bill and officially made it law. The statehouse had a rough beginning as there were troubles on finding materials that would be strong enough to support a building that was going to stand over 300 feet tall! They first used brown stone to begin construction on the east wing of the building. Unfortunately, the wall crumbled following the winter months. The construction resumed in the early portion of 1867 with the main material being that of limestone that happened to have a much harder core. The building took about 37 years to complete, but on March 24th of 1903 the building was ruled as complete with a total estimated cost of over $3,000,000.
Interior Artwork
Unfortunately, a lot of the original paintings and murals that were originally placed in the Kansas State Capitol were perceived to be controversial and were ultimately removed from the premises. The floor-plan for the building was discussed and changed several times. The original floor plan called for a fountain to be placed on the first floor in the middle of the rotunda. Which is very odd, as now it is home to a very decorative tile floor which directs its visitors with tiles that tell the visitors which direction they are looking, (North, East, South, and West) much like a compass.
FUN FACT: The Kansas State Capitol Building is actually taller than the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. by approximately 17 feet according to the Kansas Historical Society. The building also features many murals by several Kansas artists that were placed in the building in 2002.
Please refer to the following site for more information about the architecture and construction of our own state capitol building: Kansas State Capitol History and Architecture
Please note that this information was collected from the Kansas State Historical Society as well as taken from individuals on-site itself.
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