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Texas State
Capitol Building
Austin, Texas
Recorded Texas
Historic Landmark
1100 Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-0063 |
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Historical Marker:
The Texas Capitol
Austin
became the capital of Texas Jan. 19, 1840, and this hill was
platted as Capitol Square. A modest statehouse
built here in the 1850s soon developed structural flaws. The Constitutional
Convention of 1876 set aside 3,000,000 acres of public land to finance
another building. This was authorized after the 1850s capitol burned
on Nov. 9, 1881.
Architect E.E. Myers of Detroit won a national competition with his
plans for this capitol. The contractor was Mattheas Schnell of Rock
Island, Ill. Basement excavation began early in 1882. Railroads built
especially for this project hauled limestone from the Oatmanville
quarries in Travis County
as well as stone donated by the owners of the Granite Mountain in
Burnet County. The
900 workmen on the project included 86 granite cutters brought from
Scotland. Charles B. and John V. Farwell, Chicago bankers, funded
the construction and were repaid in land in ten Panhandle counties,
on which they founded the famous XIT
Ranch.
At dedication ceremonies on May 18, 1888, the capitol was accepted
on behalf of the people by state senator Temple
Houston, son of Texas hero Sam
Houston. He called it "a structure that shall stand as a sentinel
of eternity."
(1976) |
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Dedication Of
Fire Fighters Monument
Courtesy Texas State Library & Archives |
Building
during construction in 1886
Courtesy Texas State Library & Archives |
Elijah
Meyers Blueprint
Courtesy Texas State Library And Archives |
Capitol Dome
Under Construction
Courtesy Texas State Library & Archives |
Texas
State Capitol Building Today
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Texas State
Capitol Building
TE Photo, 2006 |
Capitol Dome
TE Photo, 2004 |
Capitol Dome
Looking Up
TE Photo, 2004 |
Capitol Interior
- People In Line
TE Photo, 2004 |
Capitol In Scaffolding
TE Photo, August, 2010 |
Capitol Capital
TE Photo, 2004 |
Capitol Clock
TE Photo, 2004 |
Columns Details
TE Photo 2004 |
Capitol Interior
- Wooden Capital
TE Photo, 2004 |
Texas Capitol
Cornerstone - Left Side Inscription
"Commenced Feb 1, 1882"
TE Photo
More Texas Cornerstones |
Capitol Building
Vintage Postcards
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Birds
Eye View of Austin with distant view of
the Capitol
Courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/ |
Congress Avenue
showing the Capitol building
Courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Congress Ave,
Austin, Texas, From Dome of Capitol
Courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/ |
Capitol
At Night
Courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/ |
Texas State
Capitol Related Stories:
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The
State Capitol Dome Mike Cox
Land Commissioner W.C. Walsh had been watching the construction
of the new Capitol since the first shovel of dirt was tossed on
Feb. 1, 1882... As the new Capitol slowly took shape, so did Walsh’s
layman’s knowledge of architecture. Now, with construction about
to begin on the dome, Walsh grew increasingly uneasy...
Rusk’s
Capitol Role by Bob Bowman
This month, Texans will quietly celebrate the 117th anniversary
of the completion of the Texas Capitol in Austin.
But, as in past observances, there will be little acknowledgment
of the role that East
Texas, especially the town of Rusk,
played in the capitol’s completion.
Goddess
of Liberty
The statue that sits atop the Capitol in Austin
is something of a mystery.
Protecting
the Capitol from tourists by Mike Cox
German
Artists Draw First Hill Country Images by Michael Barr 12-1-22
"The portraits of these paintings (Crockett and Houston) were done
by the artist Huddle, but the landscapes are the work of Hermann
Lungkwitz."
Cartoons by Roger T. Moore
Laughing
Contest
1882
Capitol Building
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"Austin
became the capital of Texas Jan. 19, 1840, and this hill was platted
as Capitol Square. A modest statehouse built here in the 1850s
soon developed structural flaws. The Constitutional Convention of
1876 set aside 3,000,000 acres of public land to finance another building.
This was authorized after the
1850s capitol burned on Nov. 9, 1881..." - from Historical
Marker
Capitol
No. 1 by Mike Cox
The story of a civil engineer from San Antonio who earned less than
the value of a good mule for designing a new capitol for Texas...
The
Fire in the State Capitol by Mike Cox
The
Missing Cornerstone by Mike Cox
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Old Capitol during
the funeral of Gov. Andrew Jackson Hamilton, April 12, 1875.
He was a known Union sympathizer.
Hamilton
Pool in Austin is named after him.
Courtesy
Murray
Montgomery Collection |
Original Capitol
building as it appeared after it burned on Nov. 9, 1881.
Courtesy
Murray
Montgomery Collection |
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First
Texas State Capitol Building
Courtesy Texas State Library And Archives
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