State Capitol #2

The Mississippi State Capitol is located in Jackson and has been the home of Mississippi's state legislature since 1903. It is the third capitol... more

by Maria Coulson

Title

State Capitol #2

Artist

Maria Coulson

Medium

Photograph - Digita Art

Description

The Mississippi State Capitol is located in Jackson and has been the home of Mississippi's state legislature since 1903. It is the third capitol building in Jackson.
The building was built on the site of the old state penitentiary and was created by Theodore Link, an architect from St. Louis, Missouri. The building cost $1,093,641, which was paid by the Illinois Central Railroad in the form of back taxes they owed to the state. The building, which is in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, was designed to house all branches of the Mississippi state government, although now the judicial branch is housed in the Gartin Justice Building across High Street. The walls of the rotunda are Italian white marble with a base of New York jet-black marble. Eight large columns are art marble known as scagliola. The dome interior contains 750 lights which illuminate the blindfolded female figure representing "Blind Justice" and four scenes: two Indians, a Spanish explorer and a Confederate general. Balustrades are cast iron and original to the building. An 8-foot-tall (2.4 m), 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) eagle soars above the dome, made of solid copper and gilded with gold leaf.
In 1979, it had a complete renovation, which cost $19 million. The renovation attempted to maintain the original design whenever practical. It was completed in 1983.

Proceeds from the sale of this photograph goes to help orphaned and abandoned children in Colombia South America.

Uploaded

December 20th, 2014