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Minnesota State Capitol

Minnesota State Capitol

Cass Gilbert

Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Client / Owner
State of Minnesota
Year
Completed 1905
Access
Public

The Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul is the third capitol building on its site. Cass Gilbert won the commission from 41 other submissions. The cornerstone was laid on July 27, 1898, and the building opened to the public on January 2, 1905. It is in the Beaux-Arts or American Renaissance style, influenced by the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

The building is more than 430 feet (130 meters) long, and the dome lantern rises 220 feet (67 meters). The dome has three layers and is said to be the second-largest self-supported marble dome in the world, after St. Peter's Basilica. The exterior is Georgia white marble, and the rotunda floor shows an eight-pointed star for the state motto.

A restoration from 2013 to 2017 cost about 310 million dollars and replaced 6,000 pieces of marble. The Capitol houses the legislature and the governor's office, and the Minnesota Historical Society runs guided tours.

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