The Rhode Island State House, the capitol of the state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, is located at 900 Smith Street just below the crest of Smith Hill, on the border of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

. It is a neoclassical building designed by

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...

which features the fourth largest structural-stone dome in the world, topped by a gilded statue of "The Independent Man", representing freedom and independence. The building houses the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower house, lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 re ...

– the state House of Representatives is located in the west wing, and the Senate in the east – and the 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 ...

, secretary of state, and general treasurer of Rhode Island. Other state offices are located in separate buildings on a campus just north of the State House. The structure was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1970. __TOC__

History

The current Rhode Island State House is Rhode Island's seventh state house and the second in Providence after the Old State House. The structure was designed by

, a prominent firm from New York. The building was constructed from 1891 to 1901. The structure underwent a major renovation in the late 1990s. A private organization, the State House Restoration Society, raises funds and advocates for the landmark building.

Architecture

The Rhode Island State House is constructed of of white

Georgia marble Creole marble, also called Georgia creole or Georgia marble, is a marble from quarry, quarries in Pickens County, Georgia, United States. It is coarse-grained, displays a white or gray background while veins or clouds are black or dark blue. Based ...

, 15 million bricks, and of iron floor beams. The dome is "the fourth largest self-supported marble dome in the world".

''Independent Man'' (1899)

On top of the dome stands a gold-covered bronze statue of a male figure known as ''The Independent Man''. The statue, originally named "Hope," was designed by George Brewster and installed in 1899. The statue weighs more than , is tall, and stands above the ground. The Independent Man represents freedom and independence and alludes to the independent spirit which led

Roger Williams Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...

to settle and establish

Providence Plantations Providence Plantations was the first permanent European American settlement in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was established by a group of colonists led by Roger Williams and Dr. John Clarke who left Massachusetts Bay ...

and later the

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded by Roger Williams. It was an English colony from 1636 until ...

. The chamber of the Rhode Island Senate is located in the east wing of the building, and the chamber of the Rhode Island House of Representatives is located in the west wing. Other notable rooms include the rotunda (beneath the dome), the State Library (north end), and the State Room (south end). The State Room is an entrance area for the office of the governor and contains a full-scale portrait of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

by Rhode Island native

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

. This room is also where the governor has press conferences and bill signings at the State House. The State House was one of the first public buildings to use electricity. It is currently lit by 109 floodlights and two searchlights at night.

Controversy

In 2013, Governor

Lincoln Chafee Lincoln Davenport Chafee ( ; born March 26, 1953) is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island from 1993 to 1999, a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007, and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a m ...

's administration started to remove grass from the eastern side of the State House lawn in order to provide extra parking for employees. The move was opposed by the Capital Center Commission, the public board designated to oversee zoning requirements within the district. Supporters of the proposed parking say that there is demand from employees and visitors to the building. Opponents point to existing zoning requirements that make the surface lot illegal, point to the expense of providing parking, and advocate an increased presence for transit, biking, walking, and

carpool Carpooling (also car-sharing, ride-sharing and lift-sharing) is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves. By having more people usi ...

ing instead. The state spent $3.1 million on an adjoining piece of land on Francis Street next to I-95 for parking, which provides 100 parking spots at around $30,000 a space.

Christmas at the State House

It is an annual State House tradition to feature a

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

and community and cultural holiday displays each December. A

Fraser fir The Fraser fir (''Abies fraseri'') is a species of fir native to the Appalachian Mountains of the Southeastern United States. ''Abies fraseri'' is closely related to ''Abies balsamea'' (balsam fir), of which it has occasionally been treated a ...

Balsam fir ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

is erected in the rotunda and decorated. The tree, donated by a local family or tree farm, is typically between 17 and 25 feet tall. It has become a holiday tradition in local media to feature stories about problems with Rhode Island's state tree, often meriting front page treatment: Christmas_Tree_at_Rhode_Island_State_House_2013

Christmas_Tree_at_Rhode_Island_State_House_2013

* In 2005, the tree was removed from the rotunda after a treatment with flame retardant caused the needles to fall out. * In 2007, a "sickly-looking" tree was replaced a few weeks before Christmas. * In 2011 Bishop

Thomas J. Tobin Thomas Joseph Tobin (born April 1, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island since 2005. Tobin previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Young ...

and others objected to the wording on tree-lighting ceremony invitations, which referred to the tree as a "holiday" tree. Protestors at the tree-lighting ceremony lit a protest tree of their own and sang “O, Christmas Tree,” drowning out the official music provided by a local children's chorus. * In 2012, the official tree lighting ceremony was canceled. * In 2013, Governor Chafee changed the wording to "Christmas" tree. * In 2016, a 14-foot

was deemed too small for the rotunda. A replacement 20-foot tree was placed in the rotunda, and the smaller tree moved to the south steps. * In 2017, the rotunda's 25-foot Fraser fir made national headlines when it began dropping needles "at an alarming rate," after being on display for three weeks. The ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' called it "the saddest state capital Christmas tree." The sickly tree was replaced with a smaller (12-foot) tree. * The 2018 tree was an 18-foot tall

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

donated by a

South Kingstown South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...

tree farm. * For 2019, state staff assembled and decorated 18-foot artificial tree, described as a "replica of a California Baby Redwood." Since 2014, holiday displays from "any Rhode Island area-based religious or secular group" have been featured on the first and second floors. Participating groups have included local religious, ethnic, and secular organizations.

In popular culture

The building served as the United States Capitol exterior in the 1997 film '' Amistad'' and the City Hall of Capital City in Disney's ''

Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

''.

Gallery

File:Main entrance of Rhode Island State House crop.jpg, North facade (2014) File:Rhode Island State House - Atrium & Dome.jpg, Rotunda ceiling, under the dome File:Rhode Island State House - State Room ceiling.jpg, State Room ceiling File:Gallery view of the Rhode Island State House - House Chamber.jpg, House chamber File:Senate chamber at the Rhode Island State House.jpg, Senate chamber File:Rhode Island State House - Library.jpg, Rhode Island State Library File:Nathanael Greene Statue at RI State House.jpg, Statue of

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...

by Henri Schönhardt (1931) File:State House at Sunset - Providence - RI - USA (7097632111).jpg, The state house dome, the 4th largest structural stone dome in the world

References

External links

Rhode Island State House Visitor Center

Rhode Island Historical Society (RIHS)
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Providence, Rhode Island Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Government of Rhode Island McKim, Mead & White buildings Neoclassical architecture in Rhode Island Government buildings with domes State capitols in the United States Tourist attractions in Providence, Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Providence, Rhode Island