Пенсильвания штатының астанасының тарихы

State capitol building of the U. S. state of Pennsylvania

The legislature voted in 1810 to relocate the capital again and moved the seat of government to Harrisburg in October 1812 onto the land originally given by Harris a decade earlier. An additional was also purchased from United States Senator William Maclay. The legislature met in the old Dauphin County courthouse for the next decade until a new capitol was constructed. A competition was held to determine the design of the capitol starting in 1816, which "was the first formal contest for [designing] an American statehouse." The designs submitted, including one from William Strickland, were rejected as being too expensive. Another contest was started in January 1819. Of the seventeen designs submitted, two were selected as semifinalists. One was from Harrisburg architect Stephen Hills, and the other was from the designer of the Washington Monument, Robert Mills; Hills' design was selected. Hills had designed a "red brick, Federal style" capitol to "architecturally represent the function of democratic government." Construction began on the Hills Capitol in 1819, and it was completed in 1822. The capitol's construction and subsequent furnishing were estimated to have cost $244,500. The Hills Capitol was visited by famous people, including the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825 and Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, (later King Edward VII) in 1860. Abraham Lincoln visited the capitol in 1861 as president elect, and then his body lay in state thereafter his 1865 assassination. Pennsylvania's collection of Civil War battle flags, which were accumulated in 1866, was moved from the State Arsenal to the second floor of the capitol in 1872. The flags were moved, again, in 1895 to the Executive, Library, and Museum Building. On February 2, 1897, smoke was discovered from the Lieutenant Governor's offices around noon. By early evening, the Hills Capitol had been reduced to a "smoldering mass of debris".

After the destruction of the Hills Capitol, the now "homeless" legislature moved to a nearby Methodist Church. There were soon demands that the capital be relocated to Pittsburgh or Philadelphia; the legislature quickly appropriated money to build a new capitol in Harrisburg. Governor Daniel H. Hastings opted for a pay as you go policy to allow the construction costs to be spread over multiple annual budgets. Governor Hastings also figured that $550,000 was enough to build "a small legislative building" that could be added onto as needed over time. After building designs were submitted by various architects in another competition, Henry Ives Cobb was chosen in 1897 to design the new capitol. Construction of the Cobb Capitol began on May 2, 1898. The legislature met in the finished building, which they had deemed complete, even though it was an "unadorned, unfinished, several story brown brick structure that looked like a factory" on January 3, 1899. Cobb himself described the building simply as "ugly" but believed that he would be able to finish it eventually when more funding became available.

Governor William A. Stone appointed a new Capitol Building Commission in 1901. The commission then held another design competition for Pennsylvania architects only, which prevented Cobb, a Chicagoan, from submitting a design or finishing his capitol. The Building Commission also stipulated that parts of the unfinished, current capitol were to be used in the new capitol. The General Assembly had appropriated $4 million for the construction of the capitol. It did not limit the total amount to be used in furnishing the building. This caused problems after the construction completion of the capitol. The American Institute of Architects was opposed to competition, citing that the terms of the competition were "calculated to only 'encourage favoritism and injustice' and that they in no way obligated the Capitol [Building] Commission to select the best design or the best architect." The Institute also advised that no Pennsylvania architects enter the competition; Philadelphia architect Addison Hutton was subsequently expelled from the organization after submitting an entry. Pennypacker tried to demonstrate that costs associated with the capitol were reasonable in comparison with similar notable structures. He pointed out that the United States Capitol cost $18 million, but had "fifty five less [rooms] than the Capitol at Harrisburg." Pennypacker also showed how the New York State Capitol had cost $24 million, and was still unfinished. After an investigation, a total of five people, including Huston, were convicted on December 18, 1908, and sentenced to two years in prison for "conspiring with State officials to defraud the State in the erection and furnishing of the Capitol." The Superintendent of Public Ground and Buildings James Shumaker and Auditor General William Preston Snyder were also convicted. Among the convicted, John H. Sanderson and William L. Mathues died before going to prison. The capitol was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 14, 1977. In 1982, the Capitol Preservation Committee (CPC) was created "to supervise and coordinate the historic preservation of the State Capitol Building". One of the CPC's first projects was the preservation of the 390 Civil War flags and 22 flags from the Spanish–American War, which had been undisturbed since being placed in the rotunda in 1914. Between 1985 and 1987, scaffolding was erected in the rotunda and the murals removed for restoration. The statue atop the capitol dome was removed for restoration via helicopter in the summer of 1998, being returned in September of the same year. It was decided to restore the Senate Chamber after it was flooded with of water on February 14, 1999. The capitol was declared a National Historic Landmark on September 20, 2006, during its centennial. On February 27, 2013, the boundaries of the designation were revised to encompass the grounds and surrounding buildings.

The capitol is 158.50 m long and 82.91 m tall. It is 77.42 m wide at its center wing and its two side wings are 64.62 m. The facade of the capitol is constructed out of granite from Hardwick, Vermont. The 28.65 m dome is topped by the gilded brass statue of Commonwealth by Roland Hinton Perry. Standing 4.27 m tall atop a 1.22 m ball, the statue is the personification of a commonwealth. The dome features bright green Ludowici tiles and weighs and was architecturally inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Huston designed the large bronze doors at the capitol's main entrance. They were modeled by sculptor Otto Jahnsen and were both cast in one piece using the lost wax method of casting by the Henry Bonnard Bronze Company. The doors are decorated with scenes from the history of Pennsylvania, such as the arrival of William Penn and his peace treaty with the Lenape. Busts of people who were important in the construction of the capitol, like Governor Pennypacker, Boies Penrose, and Matthew Quay, decorate the edges of the doors. The bust of Huston hides the doors' keyhole. The entrance is flanked by two sculptures, entitled Love and Labor: The Unbroken Law and The Burden of Life: The Broken Law. Both were sculpted out of Carrara marble from models created by George Grey Barnard in 1909.

The Pennsylvania Capitol Grounds, officially the Capitol Park, comprises and 26.4 square perches (7,187 ft2; 668 m2). The grounds are bounded by North Street on the north, 7th Street on the east, Walnut Street on the south and 3rd Street on the west. Arnold Brunner designed the layout of the grounds, which originally totaled only from the land Harris and Maclay gave to the state. The remaining were added when the state bought the Eighth Ward. A 19.51 m monument, dedicated to the citizens of Pennsylvania who died in the Mexican–American War, was built in 1858. The monument was not placed onto the grounds until 1868 and was moved to the southeast corner of the grounds in 1893 when the Executive, Library, and Museum Building was built. In 1896–97, a monument, dedicated to former governor John F. Hartranft, was sculpted by Frederick Ruckstull. The 7.92 m monument was unveiled on May 18, 1899, and was placed in front of the capitol. It was moved in 1927 to in front of the Executive, Library, and Museum Building. Friends of Penrose in the General Assembly, who had died in 1921, passed legislation for a memorial to Penrose. The 4.88 m monument was dedicated on September 23, 1930, and is located near the corner of North 3rd and Walnut Streets.

The Pennsylvania State Capitol houses the chambers for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the Pennsylvania Senate, and the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The Capitol contains 475 rooms and has four floors, not including a mezzanine between the first and second floors, and a basement. The bronze entrance doors of the capitol lead into the rotunda on the first floor with the grand staircase in the center. The staircase in the rotunda is an imperial staircase, similar to the one in the Palais Garnier in Paris, France. The staircase leads to the mezzanine between the first and second floors before dividing into two staircases leading to the second floor. Edwin Austin Abbey painted four allegorical medallions around the base of the capitol dome, detailing the "four forces of civilization": Art, Justice, Science, and Religion. Four lunette murals were also painted by Abbey and "symbolize Pennsylvania's spiritual and industrial contributions to modern civilization." The lunettes are situated in the recesses of each arch in the rotunda. The rotunda is paved with tiles, hand crafted by Henry Chapman Mercer, from the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. Mercer produced of tile, which includes "377 mosaics, representing 254 scenes, artifacts, animals, birds, fish, insects, industries and workers from Pennsylvania history". The interiors of the rotunda and the dome are inscribed with a quote from William Penn made upon the foundation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:
There may be room there for such a holy experiment. For the nations want a precedent. And my God will make it the seed of a nation. That an example may be set up to the nations. That we may do the thing that is truly wise and just.

The lower house of the bicameral General Assembly, the House of Representatives, has 203 members, elected for a term of 2 years, and presided over by the Speaker of the House. The House Chamber, or Hall of the House, is the largest of the three chambers at 27.43 m wide and 36.58 m long. It is located on the south side of the rotunda. The House Chamber was designed with an Italian Renaissance theme. William B. Van Ingen created the fourteen circular, stained glass windows in the House Chamber, and Abbey painted its five murals. The largest of the murals is situated behind the Speaker's rostrum. Named the Apotheosis of Pennsylvania, it depicts 28 famous Pennsylvanians.

The Senate is the upper house of the state legislature and has 50 members, elected to four year terms. The Senate is presided over by the President of the Senate, who is also the Lieutenant Governor. The Senate Chamber, or Hall of the Senate, is the second largest chamber and was designed with a French Renaissance theme. It is located on the north side of the rotunda, opposite the House. Violet Oakley painted the murals in the Senate Chamber. Ingen also made 10 stained glass windows for the Senate Chamber. The Ryan Office Building is the oldest building in the complex and was initially designed to house the State Library and State Museum of Pennsylvania, as well as the Governor's Office and Reception Room. Today it houses the offices of the members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The seven story North and South Office Buildings are situated behind the capitol and overlook the East Wing. The South Office Building was renamed the K. Leroy Irvis Office Building on December 20, 2002, in recognition of former Speaker K. Leroy Irvis. The State Museum and State Archives buildings were constructed in 1964. A addition, called the East Wing, was dedicated on December 2, 1987. The East Wing replaced the decades old parking lot and fulfilled Brunner's plan of a People's Court. It was built partially underground, such that the tallest point on the East Wing barely reaches the first floor of the capitol.