The Ohio Statehouse is the
state capitol building and
seat of government
The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority".
In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...
for the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. The
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
building is located on
Capitol Square
Capitol Square is a public square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The square includes the Ohio Statehouse, its Capitol Grounds, as well as the buildings and features surrounding the square. The Capitol Grounds are surrounded on the north and west ...
in
Downtown Columbus. The capitol houses the
Ohio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...
, consisting of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
and the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
.
It also contains the ceremonial offices of the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
,
lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
, state
treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury o ...
, and state
auditor
An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and au ...
. Built between 1839 and 1861, it is one of the oldest working statehouses in the United States. The statehouse grounds include two other buildings, the Judiciary Annex or Senate Building, and the Atrium; the three are collectively referred to as the Ohio Statehouse into the present day.
The statehouse's prominent architecture has earned it several landmark designations, including as a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. The building sees about 500,000 visitors per year.
History
Chillicothe was Ohio's first state capital, from 1803.
Due to political fighting among state leaders, the
Ohio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...
temporarily moved the capital to
Zanesville
Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, down ...
in 1810.
Legislation enacted in that year provided for the selection of a new state capital "not more than from what may be deemed the common center of the state."
In 1812, the General Assembly restored
Chillicothe as the temporary state capital until the new capitol could be built.
State leaders faced ongoing pressure to make the capital city more accessible by moving it closer to the center of the state.
In response, the legislature appointed a committee to evaluate potential options for the new capital city.
Four prominent Franklinton area land owners proposed a largely empty tract of land across the river from
Franklinton.
The land owners offered to donate two parcels of land to the state and proposed spending up to $50,000 to build structures and make other improvements to the area.
On February 14, 1812, the General Assembly created a new capital city on the "High Banks opposite Franklinton at the Forks of the Scioto most known as Wolf's Ridge". Approximately a week later, after intense debate, the legislature selected
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
as the name of the new town.
In the following months the new town was surveyed and laid out in rectangular grid.
The layout set aside two 10-acre parcels of land, one for a statehouse, at the location of the present day Statehouse, and the other parcel would become the site of the
Ohio Penitentiary
The Ohio Penitentiary, also known as the Ohio State Penitentiary, was a prison operated from 1834 to 1984 in downtown Columbus, Ohio, in what is now known as the Arena District. The state had built a small prison in Columbus in 1813, but as the ...
.
Public sale of town lots for the new city began in June 1812.
In 1816, the General Assembly met in Columbus for the first time in a brick building on the corner of
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
and State Streets.
The land for the eventual permanent statehouse was planned during the initial platting of the city. 10 acres were selected, and
Jarvis Pike
Jarvis W. Pike (1795–September 12, 1854) was the first mayor of Columbus, Ohio.
Pike died September 12, 1854. He was buried in a private or family graveyard. He was later reinterred at Union Grove Cemetery located at Canal Winchester, Ohio ...
was hired to clear the land and enclose it in a
stake-and-rider fence. In return, Pike was allowed to grow corn and wheat on the plot for years.
Design and construction
![Ohio Statehouse from Rhodes Tower 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Ohio_Statehouse_from_Rhodes_Tower_2018.jpg)
In 1838, Ohio's government announced a competition to select the design for a new Statehouse. This strategy was not unusual at the time, as important public buildings such as the
U.S. Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is form ...
had resulted from similar contests. From about fifty entries, three winners were selected: first prize was awarded to Henry Walter of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, the second to Martin Thompson of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and the third to painter
Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintin ...
, also of New York. However, the organizing commission responsible for choosing the winners was unable to agree on a final design for construction.
When the
cornerstone
The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.
Over time ...
was laid on July 4, 1839, the commission was still without a final design. Consultation with New York architect
Alexander Jackson Davis
Alexander Jackson Davis, or A. J. Davis (July 24, 1803 – January 14, 1892), was an American architect, known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style.
Education
Davis was born in New York City and studied at t ...
resulted in a composite design that merged some key features of the three winning entries, but it was rejected as being too expensive. Henry Walter, the first-place winner of the design contest, was chosen to supervise construction of the new capitol and he began working on another composite design that was based largely on the design of third-place winner, Thomas Cole. Cole had a personal friendship with one of the commissioners, a man named William A. Adams who was from Steubenville. Cole's nephew, William Henry Bayless, a Steubenville native, was apprenticed in the office of Alexander Jackson Davis.
Work on the building's foundation and lower level had only just begun when the Statehouse project encountered the first of many difficulties. The legislation that made Columbus the official capital city of Ohio was set to expire. While various factions within the government engaged in debate over relocating the capitol to another city, construction of the Statehouse was stopped. Open excavations were refilled with earth, and
Capitol Square
Capitol Square is a public square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The square includes the Ohio Statehouse, its Capitol Grounds, as well as the buildings and features surrounding the square. The Capitol Grounds are surrounded on the north and west ...
became open pasture for livestock.
The Statehouse remained neglected until February, 1848, when William Russell West and J.O. Sawyer of Cincinnati were appointed architects and general supervisors of the project. By May of that same year construction had resumed. A
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic began in Columbus, prompting widespread flight to the countryside by residents. Once the epidemic subsided, work on the Statehouse continued, interrupted only by intermissions during the harsh Ohio winters. Comparing plans of the various architects it is apparent that perhaps the most striking change and one that has endured in the finished building, was the fact that West and Sawyer eliminated the rounded dome that all previous designers had suggested for the building, instead replacing it with a low conical roof.
![Funeral obsequies of the late Pres't A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Funeral_obsequies_of_the_late_Pres%27t_A._Lincoln-crop.jpg)
Fire consumed the old two-story capitol building in 1852, which created a new urgency to complete the Statehouse project as government offices were forced to relocate to various buildings around Columbus. While some suspected arson, the exact cause of the fire remains a mystery to this day. With the Statehouse exterior nearing completion by 1854, Columbus architect
Nathan Kelley
Nathan B. Kelley (February 26, 1808 – November 20, 1871) was an American architect and builder. He was a prolific architect whose designs dominated the cityscape of Columbus, Ohio at the middle of the 19th century.
Life and work
Little person ...
was hired to supervise the design and construction of the building's interiors. One of his major tasks would be to provide a system for heating and ventilation in the building, which had not been considered previously. An innovative steam heating system was constructed, with warmed air moved through the building in what Kelley called "air sewers"—small passages made of bricks that linked the various floors of the building. With great fanfare, the new Statehouse opened to the public on January 7, 1857, and soon thereafter the
Ohio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...
convened in their new chambers. Most of the building was completed, with the notable exception of the
rotunda. Although actual work on the building was proceeding smoothly, government officials were deeply dissatisfied with Kelley, citing problems with his working methods and aesthetic choices.
Isaiah Rogers
Isaiah Rogers (August 17, 1800 – April 13, 1869) was an American architect from Massachusetts who eventually moved his practice south, where he was based in Louisville, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio. He completed numerous designs for hotels, ...
, a well known architect based in Cincinnati at the time, was recruited to supervise the final stages of the Statehouse's construction. During his tenure, Rogers oversaw completion of the building's interior and coordinated work on the distinctive rotunda and its enclosing
cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome.
The word derives, via Italian, from ...
. One of the building's most distinctive exterior features is the low, conical roof atop the cupola, positioned where many viewers expect to see a dome. In the long span between beginning construction on the Statehouse and its completion, the "finished" design changed many times and various proposals included a round dome atop the building. Rogers, in deciding not to use a dome, was actually reverting to a design scheme by architects West and Sawyer. In the end, the building featured a low conical roof that some critics would deride as "a Chinese hat." Construction of Capitol Square, including its buildings, grounds, and landscaping, was finally completed in 1861.
Changes and expansion
![Ohio State House, Columbus, OH - 48310705042](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Ohio_State_House%2C_Columbus%2C_OH_-_48310705042.jpg)
As the function of state government changed and expanded, changes and expansions occurred at the Ohio Statehouse. Originally, the building was the main location for all aspects of state government. As more offices and work rooms were required, large spaces would be subdivided into smaller areas. The most prominent example was the conversion to offices of the four open courts that occupied areas on the interior of the building. These open areas were from top to bottom of the structure and were intended to admit light and fresh air to the inner reaches of the building. The advent of electric lighting coupled with the need for space meant that levels of offices would come to occupy these large open areas. The fifty-four rooms the building originally held increased to 317 rooms by 1989.
In 1901, facing significant crowding several changes were considered including a completely new statehouse designed to more closely resemble the national Capitol building in Washington. Cost prohibitive, it was decided that the
Ohio Supreme Court
The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...
would move to a separate building on the east side of Capitol Square, and to give the court the prestige of its own building. The new building, named the Judiciary Annex, was constructed of the same Columbus
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
as the Statehouse. Neoclassical on the exterior, the interior spaces, especially the grand central staircase are Beaux Arts in style. The building was the work of Cincinnati architect
Samuel Hannaford
Samuel Hannaford (10 April 1835 – 7 January 1911) was an American architect based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some of the best known landmarks in the city, such as Music Hall and City Hall, were of his design. The bulk of Hannaford's work was do ...
, and was completed in two years at the cost of $375,000. By comparison, the Statehouse itself took 22 years from start to finish and cost approximately $1.3 million. The difference in cost and time to completion indicates differences in how the buildings were constructed. The Statehouse is more akin to a castle or cathedral, with thick load-bearing walls of stone. The Annex was a modern building with a metal girder skeleton and was planned for the use of electric light. The building retains many of its original light fixtures, while those in the Statehouse are reproductions of the gas lights that were removed to make room for electrical appliances in the 1890s.
Murals painted by
William Mark Young for the Ohio State Exhibit at the 1933
A Century of Progress International Exposition
A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositio ...
, (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) were subsequently moved to the building.
Restoration
![Ohio State House 1963 Parking Garage Excavation 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Ohio_State_House_1963_Parking_Garage_Excavation_2.JPG)
The two buildings became crowded, and decay from heavy usage and inadequate maintenance was evident. Both buildings survived despite proposals made to either demolish one or both buildings, or remodel them substantially. In 1989, a massive project commenced to restore the buildings to the splendor their original builders envisioned as well as make them useful and practical government buildings. Original furniture was sought for return to the building when possible and modern reproductions of long gone items such as carpets and light fixtures were created. The large scale light fixtures in the House and Senate were based in large part on surviving period fixtures in the
Vermont State House
The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier, is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Vermont. It is the seat of the Vermont General Assembly. The current Greek Revival structure is the third building on the same site to be used as the Sta ...
, which was being restored at the same time. The restoration project also resulted in the addition of a third building to Capitol Square. The Atrium, which connected the Statehouse with the Judiciary Annex, was completed in 1993. After the renovation, the Judiciary Annex became the Senate Building.
Description
The Ohio Statehouse is located on Capitol Square, a plot of land donated by four prominent landowners. The Statehouse stands upon foundations deep, built in part by prisoners sentenced to hard labor.
The Statehouse features a central recessed porch with a colonnade of a forthright and primitive
Greek Doric mode, built of Columbus
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
that was quarried on the west banks of the
Scioto River
The Scioto River ( ) is a river in central and southern Ohio more than in length. It rises in Hardin County just north of Roundhead, Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets t ...
. A broad and low central pediment supports the windowed drum, referred to as a cupola, which contains an oculus that lights the interior rotunda.
Unlike many U.S. state capitol buildings, the Ohio Statehouse owes little to the architecture of the
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
. It was designed and built before the U.S. Capitol was enlarged to its present form, with the large white dome that would be imitated on many US state capitol buildings.
The Ohio Statehouse has been termed a supreme example of Greek Revival style. It is not patterned on one single building, but is a combination of stylistic elements from Greek sources, melded with contemporary needs and functions. The cupola shows direct influence by the
Tholos of Delphi
The Tholos of Delphi is among the ancient structures of the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia in Delphi. The circular temple, a tholos, shares the immediate site with other ancient foundations of the Temple of Athena Pronaia, all located less than a ...
, a circular temple built about 360 BC. The
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
of Athens is also an influence. No ancient Greek building would have contained windows, but they were a major part of Greek Revival for a more practical reason: before electric light, sunlight was the major source of illumination.
The ceremonial offices of the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
,
lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
,
treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury o ...
, and
auditor
An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and au ...
are located on the first floor of the building. The relocation of the governor's working office to the
Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts
The Vern Riffe State Office Tower is a skyscraper on Capitol Square in downtown Columbus, Ohio. It was completed in 1988 and has 32 floors. NBBJ designed the building, which is the fifth-tallest in Columbus, and has 102,192 m² of floor area. A ...
, located across High Street from the Statehouse, was originally a temporary action taken while the historic building was undergoing an extensive restoration and upgrading. At the completion of the project the governor,
George Voinovich
George Victor Voinovich (July 15, 1936June 12, 2016) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 1999 to 2011, the 65th governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998 and the 54th mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989, th ...
preferred the larger, more modern space and did not return to the Statehouse office except for occasional ceremonial use. Voinovich's successor
Bob Taft
Robert Alphonso Taft III (born January 8, 1942) is an American politician and attorney, who served as the 67th governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007 as a member of the Republican Party.
A member of the Taft political dynasty, Taft served first i ...
used the historic governor's office in a similar way, as did former governor
John Kasich
John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...
. Kasich's immediate predecessor,
Ted Strickland
Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who was the 68th governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ...
, however, used the Statehouse office on a regular basis. Strickland considered the presence of the Governor in a building where the Legislature also works as both symbolic and practical examples of how the parts of government relate to each other. Like Strickland, current governor
Mike DeWine
Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the O ...
uses the Statehouse office on a regular basis, although his staff remains based in the Riffe Center.
![Ohio Statehouse 2020 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Ohio_Statehouse_2020_01.jpg)
The
Ohio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...
chambers are on the second floor. Although in general their appearance is similar to their original appearance, the rooms have been modernized in many ways. Modern information and communication capabilities have been added.
The Atrium, which connects the Statehouse with the Senate Building, is a large open space which hosts government functions and ceremonies as well as various meetings and events. It is constructed of the same
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
as the two adjoining buildings.
There are a great number of portraits of governors and lieutenant governors contained in hearing rooms and offices throughout the building, and in public spaces there are several large scale artworks that memorialize individuals or events significant to the state or the nation. Ohio artist
Howard Chandler Christy
Howard Chandler Christy (January 10, 1872 – March 3, 1952) was an American artist and illustrator. Famous for the "Christy Girl" – a colorful and illustrious successor to the "Gibson Girl" – Christy is also widely known for his ico ...
is represented with two paintings that depict the signing of the
Treaty of Greenville
The Treaty of Greenville, formally titled Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., was a 1795 treaty between the United States and indigenous nations of the Northwest Territory (now Midwestern United States), including the Wyandot and Delaware peoples, ...
, a seminal event in state history, and a painting that honors another Ohio native,
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...
.
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
visited the building on three different occasions, and a large marble bust erected after his death memorializes him and also depicts the Union victory at
Vicksburg Vicksburg most commonly refers to:
* Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States
* The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign
* The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle
Vicksburg is also the name of ...
. The floor of the Statehouse rotunda is composed of almost 5,000 individual pieces of marble, all cut and fitted by hand. The design at the center of the floor traces the development of the United States: the 13 stones in the center represent the original colonies; the three rings symbolize areas of territory that enlarged the nation; surrounding the rings is a star burst with 32 points, one for each of the states in the Union when the floor was laid down; and surrounding the entire design is a gray band representing the U.S. Constitution.
Cupola
The statehouse is topped with a two-story
cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome.
The word derives, via Italian, from ...
, measuring 70 ft. tall and 64 ft. wide, which acts as an observation deck for viewing the surrounding city. The space is the last original, unrenovated area of the statehouse. In the present day, tours are only available by special request. Visitors traditionally sign their names on the cupola's walls; the oldest reads "J. Cook 1870".
Grounds
The Ohio Statehouse grounds, known as
Capitol Square
Capitol Square is a public square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The square includes the Ohio Statehouse, its Capitol Grounds, as well as the buildings and features surrounding the square. The Capitol Grounds are surrounded on the north and west ...
, are a large square park space surrounding the statehouse, bordered by Broad, High, State, and 3rd streets. The grounds have been remodeled several times, and a parking garage was constructed under the front lawn in the 1960s. Presently the northwest and southwest corners of the grounds have penthouses to access the garage, while the northeast and southeast corners have automobile drives down into the garage. The east lawn, beside the Senate Building, was used for parking during the 20th century.
The western portion of the statehouse grounds features a 3.5-ft-tall decorative metal fence. The fence was installed in 2012 as an additional security measure, though replicating the design of a prior fence in place from 1873 to 1964 (removed during construction of the underground parking garage). The eastern portion, the Veterans Plaza, remains open, and the fenced-off portion on the west side is never closed off except for special events.
The Statehouse contains many large scale artworks on the grounds of the building. A large statuary group by
Hermon MacNeil
Hermon Atkins MacNeil (February 27, 1866 – October 2, 1947) was an American sculptor born in Everett, Massachusetts. He is known for designing the ''Standing Liberty'' quarter, struck by the Mint from 1916-1930; and for sculpting ''Justi ...
, the ''
William McKinley Monument
The ''William McKinley Monument'', or ''McKinley Memorial'', is a statue and quotation array honoring the assassinated United States President William McKinley which stands in front of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. Created by Hermon Atk ...
'', honors and remembers Ohio governor and U.S. president
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
. The
Great Seal of Ohio
The Great Seal of the State of Ohio is the official insignia of the U.S. state of Ohio. All governmental offices, agencies, and courts in Ohio use variations of the state seal. Its primary feature is a circular coat of arms that depicts a sunrise ...
and the state motto, "
With God, all things are possible
With God, all things are possible is the motto of the U.S. state of Ohio. Quoted from the Gospel of Matthew, verse , it is the only state motto taken directly from the Bible (, ''para de Theō panta dynata''). It is defined in section 5.06 of the ...
", are engraved at the foot of the steps leading to the west entrance.
;Selected works
File:McKinley Memorial Ohio Statehouse.JPG, The ''William McKinley Monument
The ''William McKinley Monument'', or ''McKinley Memorial'', is a statue and quotation array honoring the assassinated United States President William McKinley which stands in front of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. Created by Hermon Atk ...
'' (1907)
File:These are My Jewels, Ohio Statehouse.JPG, ''These Are My Jewels
''These Are My Jewels'' (also known as ''Ohio's Jewels: Grant, Sheridan, Stanton, Garfield, Hayes, Chase, and Sherman'', or simply ''Ohio's Jewels'') is an 1893–1894 monument by Levi Scofield, installed outside the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, O ...
'' (1894)
File:Columbus, Ohio - Highsmith 06.jpg, '' The Doughboy'' (1930)
File:Ohio State House Spirit of '98 Monument 1.jpg, '' The Spirit of '98'' (1928)
Museum
![Ohio Statehouse 2020 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Ohio_Statehouse_2020_04.jpg)
The Ohio Statehouse functions both as a working government building that contains the activities of a legislature and governor's office, and as a museum. During calendar years 2007 and 2008 approximately 70,000 visitors participated with organized tours of the building each of the years. The tours, exhibits and other public
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
activities are organized by the Ohio Statehouse Museum Education Center, a non-partisan entity funded and staffed by the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, the government agency that is the manager of the physical structure.
Tours are available every day the building is open, and are provided at no cost. Tours for casual visitors, tourists or small groups are given on the hour seven days a week, and groups larger than ten persons can schedule throughout the day between the hours of 9:30 am and 3:15 pm weekdays.
The staff of the Ohio Statehouse Museum Education Center is assisted by more than 90 volunteers. Tour content could be tailored to the age range and interest level of each group. The largest demographic group of visitors are fourth graders who were learning both state history and government process in their classrooms, but tours targeting political process, Ohio presidential history and Art and Architecture are also available.
One of the most notable tour programs available at the Ohio Statehouse was named "The Portals of History", which used the building as a stage to introduce characters from the state's history. As a tour group made their way through the building, they encountered living history presenters portraying notable individuals from the past. It also holds a memorial sign on one of its pillars showing the exact location that Abraham Lincoln, prior to his run for president, stood to give a speech on the building's steps.
See also
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Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette''
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List of state and territorial capitols in the United States
This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
Cupolas of Capitalism — State Capitol Building Histories (NO-O)(1998–2005). ''Cupola.com''.
Ohio: Statehood to Statehouse. ''A Guidebook for Ohio Legislators'' Ohio Legislative Service Commission (2019).
* State Houses: America's 50 State Capitol Buildings (2005) Susan W. Thrane
External links
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{{National Register of Historic Places in Ohio
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1857 establishments in Ohio
Buildings in downtown Columbus, Ohio
Columbus Register properties
Government buildings completed in 1857
Government buildings in Columbus, Ohio
Government of Ohio
Greek Revival architecture in Ohio
History museums in Ohio
Limestone buildings in the United States
Museums in Columbus, Ohio
National Historic Landmarks in Ohio
National Register of Historic Places in Columbus, Ohio
Rotundas in the United States
State capitols in the United States
Tourist attractions in Columbus, Ohio
High Street (Columbus, Ohio)
Broad Street (Columbus, Ohio)