The Delaware Legislative Hall is the state capitol building of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. Located in the

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city of

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

on Legislative Avenue, it houses the chambers and offices of the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legi ...

. It was designed in the

Colonial Revival architecture The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

style by E. William Martin and Norman M. Isham, and built 1931–1933, with wings added in 1965–1970 and 1994.

Architects

The building was built of red brick with white wooden trim, designed in the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

style by E. William Martin and Norman M. Isham, under the direction of the State Buildings and Grounds Commission, created by Governor C. Douglass Buck in 1931 during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Initially the commission was awarded to Isham, but his appointment was protested by Alfred Victor Du Pont (on the grounds that Isham was not a resident of Delaware); therefore, local architect Martin was brought in. The influence of Isham is clear when one notes the resemblance of many architectural details to Old Colony House in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, a building which Isham had also restored in 1932.

History and structure

Old State House

The original capitol of Delaware was the State House (now known as the Old State House), located on The Green in Dover. It was commissioned originally by Kent County as the Kent County Court House, and was constructed from 1787 to 1791, when it became the State House. Kent County and the state government shared the building until 1873, when the Kent County government relocated. The State House was used until the completion of Legislative Hall. Today, the Old State House has been

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

to its 18th-century appearance and is now a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

that includes the site of a former

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

and the former chambers of the state legislature. The House chamber contains portraits by

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was an English-American portrait painter. He was born in England, became a naturalized American citizen in 1809, and lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including in the Thomas Sull ...

of Commodore Jacob Jones and Commodore Thomas Macdonough, of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, Delaware heroes who served in the

Barbary Wars The Barbary Wars were a series of two wars fought by the United States, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Sicily against the Barbary states (including Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli) and Morocco of North Africa in the early 19th century. Sweden had bee ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

Legislative Hall

Legislative Hall is opposite the Old State House on the mall. The structure was completed and dedicated in 1933. From 1965 to 1970, flanking north and south wings were added on the sides of the building, giving each member of the Assembly an office in addition to a desk in one of the legislative chambers. The architect George Fletcher Bennet of Dover designed the expansion. Two more wings, providing more office space for legislators and staff as well as hearing and caucus rooms, were added to the east side / rear of the building in 1994. This expansion was designed by the Wilmington-based firm The Architects Studio. In addition, the entire interior of Legislative Hall was renovated in a three-phase project during the next three years during the summers of 1995, 1996 and 1997, including refurbishment of both the House and Senate chambers as well as the lobby, cafeteria, and many offices. This project was designed by the Wilmington firm Moeckel Carbonell Associates. In addition to the chambers of the

Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...

and

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 ...

, the Legislative Hall also includes space used by the General Assembly's two nonpartisan staff agencies, the Division of Research and the Office of the Controller General, as well as offices for the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and

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 ...

while the General Assembly is in session. Legislative Hall is the home of the Hall of Governors, which includes portraits of all but one of Delaware's past governors. The building also houses other portraits, including of political and military figures such as James Frank Allee, James A. Bayard the elder, Bradford B. Barnes, James A. Bayard Jr., Henry Clay Conrad, Richard S. Cordrey, Samuel Francis Du Pont,

Vera Gilbride Davis Vera Gilbride Davis (July 22, 1894 – May 6, 1974) was an American educator and politician, known as the "Grand Dame of Delaware Politics". She was the first woman elected to statewide office in Delaware in 1956, after a long career in the state ...

, J. Allen Frear, Jr., Herman Holloway Sr., Calvin R. McCullough, Eli Saulsbury, John Wales, John Jay Williams, Presley Spruance, Willard Saulsbury, Sr., and Willard Saulsbury, Jr.

Notes

External links