The architect for the new Capitol was the winner of a design competition in which 69 firms submitted their best ideas. The list was narrowed down to 11, and then Tracy and Swarthout of New York was selected.
The groundbreaking was May 6, 1913. The new Capitol was completed in 1917 and occupied in 1918. It was officially dedicated on Oct. 6, 1924.
The new structure is the one we have today and is located on the same site as the second capitol building; but it is much larger and grander. Sitting on nearly three acres, the American Renaissance design is one of symmetry and elegance. It is five stories high, 437 feet long, 300 feet wide in the center, and 200 feet wide in the wings. The dome is 238 feet, and the height of the wings is 88 feet. The 500,000-square-foot building rests on 285 concrete piers which rest on solid limestone between 20-50 feet below the surface.
The exterior and all the floors of the corridors, rotundas and treads of stairways were made out of limestone marble from Carthage, Missouri. The grand staircase is 30 feet wide from front portico to the third floor. The front doors are bronze and measure 13-by-18 feet. A 9,000-pound bronze chandelier hangs in the dome 171 feet in the air. It was created in 1918 by the Guth Lighting Company, of St. Louis, for $5,000.
The budget called for a $3 million building with $500,000 for the site and decorations. It was decided a $1 million tax surplus be used to decorate the Capitol. Chairing the five-person Capitol Decoration Committee was Edwin William Stephens, of Columbia, with the help of MU art professor John Pickard. Art by Frank Brangwyn, N.C. Wyeth, Earle Fraser and Alexander Stirling Calder, to name just a few of the most notable artists of the day, filled the Capitol with stained glass, murals, carvings and statuary that displayed Missouri's history.
A ground-floor museum was part of the original plans. It was to showcase Missouri's cultural and natural history. This museum is now operated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. A museum, originally named the Missouri Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in 1919 to recognize Missourians who served during World War I, is now named History Hall. The Resources Museum was created in 1921 to display the products of the state's forests, fields and mines. Today, it is called Resources Hall.
Elizabeth Davis was born and raised in Cooper County and has written Historically Yours for the Boonville Daily News for over 10 years. She has covered the Civil War, U.S. history and Cooper County history. In celebration of Missouri's Bicentennial, she has syndicated her column statewide and encourages readers all over the Show-Me State to submit topic suggestions for future columns to [email protected].