South Dakota State Capitol

The South Dakota State Capitol is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of South Dakota. Housing the South Dakota State Legislature, it is located in the state capital of Pierre at 500 East Capitol Avenue. The building houses the offices of most state officials, including the Governor of South Dakota.

Construction

The building was constructed between 1905 and 1910. The plans for the building were designed by the Minneapolis architectural office of C.E. Bell and M.S. Detwiler, who gave the building similar features to the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Montana. The planning process and construction costs came to almost $1,000,000.cite web|url=http://www.state.sd.us/STATE/CAPITOL/CAPITOL/TOUR/intro.htm|title=Introduction to the Capitol Building|publisher=South Dakota Official Home Page|accessdate=2008-09-01]

Features

The floor in the capitol building is made of terrazzo tile. The floor is said to have been laid by 66 Italian artists. To give these artists a chance to place their signatures in the building (without allowing them to actually sign their names to the floor), each is said to have been given a blue stone to place in the floor. Only 55 of these tiles have been found, however. It is thought that the remaining stones may have been placed in locations now covered by walls, doors, or carpeting. [cite web|url=http://www.state.sd.us/STATE/CAPITOL/CAPITOL/TOUR/bltiles.htm|title=Legendary Blue Tiles|publisher=South Dakota Official Home Page|work=Welcome to the On-Line Tour of the State Capitol!|accessdate=2008-09-01]

From the first floor, a marble staircase leads upstairs. In front of the staircase, display cases house the First Lady Gown Collection. Miniature replicas have been made of the gown worn by each first lady to the state inaugural ball. These replicas are worn by dolls in the display case. Along with the doll, a picture of each governor's family and other mementos are also displayed. [cite web|url=http://www.state.sd.us/STATE/CAPITOL/CAPITOL/TOUR/firstlady.htm|title=First Lady Gown Collection|publisher=South Dakota Official Home Page|work=Welcome to the On-Line Tour of the State Capitol!|accessdate=2008-09-01]

On the second floor, the marble staircase opens onto a rotunda. The dome of the rotunda is 96 feet high. The bottom ring is designed to resemble a string of ribbons joined together, which is meant to symbolize the eternal nature of government. The interior of the dome is decorated with sixteen images of the Tree of Life. The dome also displays acanthus leaves to represent wisdom and a pasque flower, which is the state flower. [cite web|url=http://www.state.sd.us/STATE/CAPITOL/CAPITOL/TOUR/rotunda.htm|title=Second Floor Rotunda Area|publisher=South Dakota Official Home Page|work=Welcome to the On-Line Tour of the State Capitol!|accessdate=2008-09-01]

The third floor houses the state's House of Representatives and the state's Senate. The galleries for both, from which the public can observe the legislative process, are located on the fourth floor. [cite web|title=List of Capitol Building Tour Stops|url=http://www.state.sd.us/STATE/CAPITOL/CAPITOL/TOUR/stops.htm|accessdate=2008-09-02|publisher=South Dakota Official Home Page|work=Welcome to the On-Line Tour of the State Capitol!]

Outside memorials

Four memorials are found on the grounds of the capitol building. The Fighting Stallions Memorial is a sculpture build to honor the eight South Dakota residents, including Governor George S. Mickelson, that died in an airplane crash on April 19, 1993. [cite web|title=Fighting Stallions Memorial|url=http://www.state.sd.us/STATE/CAPITOL/CAPITOL/TOUR/stallions/stallions.htm|accessdate=2008-09-02|publisher=South Dakota Official Home Page|work=Welcome to the On-Line Tour of the State Capitol!] The Flaming Fountain Memorial is a fountain with a perpetually-burning natural gas flame. It was installed to honor South Dakotan veterans. [cite web|url=http://www.state.sd.us/STATE/CAPITOL/CAPITOL/TOUR/fountain.htm|title=Flaming Fountain Memorial|accessdate=2008-09-02|publisher=South Dakota Official Home Page|work=Welcome to the On-Line Tour of the State Capitol!] The Law Enforcement Officer Memorial pays tribute to police officers who have died in the line of duty. [cite web|title=Law Enforcement Officer Memorial|url=http://www.state.sd.us/STATE/CAPITOL/CAPITOL/TOUR/lawmem.htm|accessdate=2008-09-02|publisher=South Dakota Official Home Page|work=Welcome to the On-Line Tour of the State Capitol!] Six bronze figures on a peninsula in the Capitol Lake comprise the World War II Memorial; each represents one of the branches of service in which South Dakota residents served during World War II. [cite web|title=World War II Memorial|url=http://www.state.sd.us/STATE/CAPITOL/CAPITOL/TOUR/wwii.htm|accessdate=2008-09-02|publisher=South Dakota Official Home Page|work=Welcome to the On-Line Tour of the State Capitol!]

Renovation

In anticipation of South Dakota's state centennial in 1989, the building was extensively renovated and restored during the administrations of Governors Richard F. Kneip, Harvey L. Wollman, Bill Janklow, and George S. Mickelson. The renovation took 22 years and restored much of the building and its decoration, including the tile floor, to its original appearance. The tiled floor was also repaired; each of the tile workers who did the repairs is said to have been given a heart-shaped stone with which to "sign" the new floor, as the original workers had. [cite web|title=Capital city has culture, history and politics|url=http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060115/LIFE/301150002/1004|last=Callison|first=Jill|publisher=Sioux Falls Argus Leader|date=2006-01-15 A copy of this article can be found at [http://fanset3.blogspot.com/2006/01/capital-city-has-culture-history-and_31.html] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.state.sd.us/state/capitol/capitol/tour/ South Dakota Capitol Tour]