Colorado State Capitol

History

The building is intentionally reminiscent of the United States Capitol. Designed by Elijah E. Myers, it was constructed in the 1890s from Colorado white granite, and opened for use in November 1894. The distinctive gold dome consists of real gold leaf, first added in 1908, commemorating the Colorado Gold Rush. The building is part of Denver's Civic Center area. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Civic Center Historic District in 1974, and became part of the Denver Civic Center National Historic Landmark District in 2012.

A major safety upgrade project, funded by the Colorado State Historical Fund, was started in 2001 and completed in 2009. The design by Fentress Architects added modern safety features, like enclosed stair towers, that blended in with the original architecture. The Colorado Capitol Building is featured on many of Denver's architectural tours.

Building

Serving as the beginning of the Capitol Hill district, the historic building sits slightly higher than the rest of downtown Denver. The main entrance hall is open 180 feet (55 m) to the top of the dome, about the height of an 18-story building. Additionally, the official elevation of Denver is measured outside the west entrance to the building, where the fifteenth step is engraved with the words "One Mile Above Sea Level". From this step, at 5280 ft, the sun can be seen setting behind the Rocky Mountains. A second mile high marker was set in the 18th step in 1969 when Colorado State University students resurveyed the elevation. In 2003, a more accurate measurement was made with modern means, and the 13th step was identified as being one mile (1.6 km) high, where a 3rd marker was installed.

Materials

The superstructure of the building was constructed using granite from the Aberdeen Quarry near Gunnison, Colorado. Approximately 280000 cuft or 24,000 tons of the granite were quarried for the building. This gray granite forms the exterior of the building. The interior of the building uses a large amount of Colorado Rose Onyx, a rare rose marble from a quarry near Beulah, Colorado. The amount used in the building consumed the entire known supply. White Yule Marble from the quarries near Marble, Colorado was also used throughout the capitol for the floors. Many designs have been found in the marble including an image resembling George Washington and another of Molly Brown.

Many of the windows are made of stained glass, depicting people or events related to the history of Colorado. The halls are decorated with portraits of every president of the United States, with all the presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush being painted by Lawrence Williams. Painter Sarah A. Boardman took over from Williams, and has since painted Barack Obama and the original portrait of Donald Trump, which was removed after Trump criticized it and replaced with one by Arizonan artist Vanessa Horabuena. Colorado artist Kirsten Savage painted President Joe Biden's portrait. One of the contractors for the construction of the Colorado State Capitol building was Illinois building contractor William Douglas Richardson, who was the president of the W. D. Richardson Construction Company. Richardson had participated in numerous major building contracts throughout the United States, and was interconnected with the Jacob Bunn and John Whitfield Bunn network of corporations.

Gallery

Image:Coloradocapitolhill1.JPG|Colorado State Capitol (back view) Image:ColoradoStateCapitolSupremeCourtChambers gobeirne.jpg|Old Colorado Supreme Court chambers Image:Denver Capitol IMG 20180416 150216.jpg|Rotunda interior Image:COCapitolDirectView.jpg|Rotunda interior direct view Image:ColoradoStateCapitolSenateChamber_gobeirne.jpg|Colorado Senate Chamber Image:ColoradoStateCapitolHouseOfRepresentatives_gobeirne.jpg|Colorado House of Representatives Image:ColoradoStateCapitolGalleryOfPresidents_gobeirne.jpg|Gallery of Presidents Image:Colorado_state_capitol_aerial_1.jpg|Aerial view Colorado - Denver - NARA - 23936019 (cropped).jpg|Aerial view, 1932

References

References

1. "Closing Era statue". Public Art Around the World.
2. (December 10, 1973). ["National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Civic Center"]({{NRHP url). [[National Park Service]].
3. Barbara Norgren. (December 10, 1973). ["National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Civic Center Historic District"]({{NRHP url). [[National Park Service]].
4. Barbara Norgren. (December 10, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Civic Center Historic District". [[NARA]].
5. (November 2, 2012). "Weekly list of actions taken on properties: 10/22/12 through 10/27/12". [[National Park Service]].
6. [http://coloradohistory-oahp.org/programareas/shf/articles/2003s/mars.htm History Colorado] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-05-15. Coloradohistory-oahp.org. Retrieved 2013-09-18.)
7. [http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/02/02/story14.html Fentress completes work on Capitol's safety project - Denver Business Journal]. Bizjournals.com (2009-02-01). Retrieved 2013-09-18.
8. "Denver Architectural Scavenger Hunt". letsroam.com.
9. "Rocky Mountain Cultural Tour=2020-01-14".
10. (2004). "Mile High Marker".
11. Everett, Derek R.. (2005). "The Colorado State Capitol: History, Politics, Preservation". The University Press of Colorado.
12. "Archives |". Colorado.gov.
13. (2025-07-02). "Colorado Capitol has new Trump portrait, after he railed over last one". The Washington Post.
14. Joella Baumann. (August 1, 2019). "A Gallery Complete: Portrait Of President Donald Trump Now Hangs In The State Capitol".
15. "Archives |". colorado.gov.
16. William Douglas Richardson was the father of Jacob Bunn's daughter-in-law.