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{{Short description|State capitol building of the U.S. state of Georgia}}
{{Use American English|date = September 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name                    = Georgia State Capitol
| nrhp_type               = nhl
| image                   = Georgia State Capitol, Atlanta, West view 20160716 1.jpg
| caption                 = West side of the Georgia State Capitol
| location                = 206 Washington St SW, [[Atlanta, Georgia]]
| coordinates             = {{coord|33.74905|N|84.38813|W|type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-GA|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin                = USA Atlanta Downtown#Atlanta, Georgia#Georgia (U.S. state)#USA
| built                   = {{Start date and age|1889}}
| architect               = Edbrooke and Burnham<ref name=nrhp/>
| architecture            = [[Renaissance Revival architecture|Renaissance Revival]], [[Neoclassicism|Classical Revival]]<ref name=nrhp/>
| designated_nrhp_type    = November 7, 1973<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1015945455&ResourceType=Building |title=State Capitol Building (Georgia) |access-date=May 1, 2008 |department=National Historic Landmark summary listing |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131023125/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1015945455&ResourceType=Building |archive-date=January 31, 2009 }}</ref>
| added                   = December 9, 1971<ref name=nrhp>{{cite web| url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/GA/Fulton/state2.html| title=National Register of Historical Places - Georgia (GA), Fulton County| date=February 25, 2007| work=National Register of Historic Places| publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>
| refnum                  = 71001099
| designated_other1_name  = Atlanta Honorary Landmark Building
| designated_other1_date  = 1989
| designated_other1_abbr  = AHLB
| designated_other1_link  = List of historic buildings and districts designated by the City of Atlanta
| designated_other1_color = #aaccff
}}

The '''Georgia State Capitol''' is an architecturally and historically significant building in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], United States. The building has been named a [[National Historic Landmark]] which is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. As the primary office building of Georgia's government, the capitol houses the offices of the [[governor of Georgia|governor]], [[lieutenant governor of Georgia|lieutenant governor]], and [[Secretary of State of Georgia|secretary of state]] on the second [[storey|floor]], chambers in which the [[Georgia General Assembly|General Assembly]], consisting of the [[Georgia State Senate]] and [[Georgia House of Representatives]], meets annually from January to April. The fourth floor houses visitors' galleries overlooking the legislative chambers and a [[museum]] located near the rotunda in which a statue of ''[[Miss Freedom]]'' caps the dome.

==History==
[[File:Georgia - Atlanta - NARA - 23936979 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Georgia State Capitol in 1931]]
The capitol site was occupied previously by the first [[Atlanta City Hall]]. To encourage the state government to relocate the capital city to rapidly growing and [[industrialized]] Atlanta from rural [[Milledgeville, Georgia|Milledgeville]], the city donated the site. The 1877-79 Constitutional Convention voted in 1877 to permanently move the capital to Atlanta, and in 1879 accepted the city's offer of the five-acre City Hall/County Courthouse tract, which was conveyed to the state in 1880.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/departments/city-planning/office-of-design/urban-design-commission/georgia-state-capitol | title=Georgia State Capitol &#124; Atlanta, GA }}</ref>  The first capitol in [[Louisville, Georgia|Louisville]] no longer stands, while in [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]] and [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]] the legislature met in makeshift facilities, perhaps causing (or caused by) the alternation of those two cities as capital. The legislature also met at other places, including [[Macon, Georgia|Macon]], especially during and just after the [[Atlanta campaign]] of the [[American Civil War]], which resulted in the capture and [[burning of Atlanta]].

==Architecture==
[[File:Georgia-state-capitol-dome.jpg|thumb|left|Detail of the dome and statue of ''[[Miss Freedom]]''.]]

Like many [[U.S. state]] capitols, the Georgia State Capitol is designed to resemble the [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical architectural]] style of the [[United States Capitol]], in [[Washington, D.C.]]  Former Confederate general [[Philip Cook (general)|Philip Cook]] was a member of the commission that oversaw planning and construction of the building. The commission engaged [[architect]]s [[Willoughby J. Edbrooke]] and [[Franklin Pierce Burnham]], of [[Chicago]] to design the building and Miles and Horne of [[Toledo, Ohio]] for construction. Work completed in March 1889. Sculptor George Crouch executed all the ornamental work on the building.

The Capitol faces west on Washington Street. The [[façade]] features a four-story [[portico]], with stone [[pediment]], supported by six [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] columns set on large stone piers. Georgia's [[coat of arms]], with two figures on each side, is carved on the pediment. The Capitol's interior represents the [[Victorian architecture|19th-century style]] of its time. It was among the earliest buildings to have elevators, centralized steam heat, and combination [[gas lighting|gas]] and [[electric lighting|electric]] lights. [[Classical architecture|Classical]] [[pilaster]]s and oak paneling are used throughout the building. The floors of the interior are marble from [[Pickens County, Georgia|Pickens County]], which still produces marble today.

The open central [[rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]] is flanked by two wings, each with a grand [[staircase]] and three-story [[atrium (architecture)|atrium]] crowned by [[clerestory]] windows. The Capitol building has undergone frequent [[renovation]]s to adapt to the growth and change of government. Originally constructed from [[terra cotta]] and covered with [[tin]], in a 1958 renovation<ref>{{cite book| url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1148| work=[[New Georgia Encyclopedia]]| title=Georgia State Capitol| last=Jackson| first=Edwin L.| date=September 11, 2014| access-date=March 9, 2011| archive-date=February 1, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201020015/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1148| url-status=dead}}</ref> the present dome was gilded with native [[gold|gold leaf]] from near [[Dahlonega]] in [[Lumpkin County, Georgia|Lumpkin County]], where the [[Georgia Gold Rush|first American gold rush]] occurred during the 1830s. For this reason, legislative business is often referred to as what is happening "under the Gold Dome" by media across the state. The statue ''[[Miss Freedom]]'' has adorned the dome since the building's opening.

In 1997, the House and Senate chambers were restored to their 1889 appearance with replicated decoration and color schemes. This included the demolition of damaged plaster, the reinstallation of flat plaster at the dome, columns, and walls, and a decorative painting in the House and Senate Chambers.<ref name=nhlsum /><ref>{{cite book| last=Crimmins| first=Timothy| title=Democracy Restored: A History of the Georgia Capitol| year=2007| publisher=University of Georgia Press| author2=Farrisee, Anne| isbn=978-0820329116}}</ref>

==Georgia Capitol Museum==
[[File:Georgia State Capitol Building.jpg|thumb|Georgia State Capitol with [[Turner Field]] in background]]

The museum within the Capitol, in existence since 1889, houses extensive collections representing the natural and cultural history of Georgia.  [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] artifacts, animals, rocks and minerals, and fossils illustrate the diversity of the collections. Removed during restoration or renovation, most of the collection remains in storage. The portraits of governors, statues of [[List of people from Georgia (U.S. state)|famous Georgians]], and historic flags from many wars are displayed throughout the Capitol. The portraits of all governors elected since 1850 are there, except for [[Rufus Bullock]].<ref>[https://politics.myajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/georgia-capitol-heavy-with-confederate-symbols/z051suEoa7bqO5cWhXlZnJ/ Atlanta Journal Constitution article]</ref>

The Georgia Capitol Museum is a [[public education]] institution housed in the Capitol building under the administration of the University of Georgia Libraries. The museum seeks to preserve and interpret the history of the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, the functions of the government, and the events that have occurred in the Capitol. To accomplish this, the museum collects, preserves, and interprets artifacts relating to the Capitol or associated with the events that have occurred there.

== Liberty Plaza ==
{{Main|Liberty Plaza (Atlanta)}}
In 2015, the state of Georgia unveiled a large public plaza just east of the Capitol named [[Liberty Plaza (Atlanta)|Liberty Plaza]]. After its opening, numerous monuments were relocated from other parts of the Capitol grounds to the plaza, including replicas of the [[Liberty Bell]] and [[Statue of Liberty]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/remake-capitol-hill-includes-new-liberty-plaza/vikfljpDQi4zYED60zlBzH/|title=Remake of Capitol Hill includes new, 'Liberty Plaza'|last=Salzer|first=James|date=April 26, 2014|website=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|publisher=[[Cox Enterprises]]|language=en|access-date=February 1, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/state-opens-liberty-plaza-across-from-capitol/7xZE2izHT6ySk2YddhftZM/|title=State opens Liberty Plaza across from Capitol|last=Bluestein|first=Greg|date=January 16, 2015|website=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|publisher=[[Cox Enterprises]]|language=en|access-date=February 1, 2020}}</ref>

==Dimensions==
[[File:Georgia State Capitol, Atlanta, Georgia.jpg|thumb|Georgia State Capitol front entrance]]
* '''Greatest north–south''': {{convert|347|ft|9|in|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}
* '''Greatest central depth''': {{convert|272|ft|4.5|in|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}
* '''Second-Floor Rotunda to ceiling''': {{convert|187|ft|4|in|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}
* '''Dome diameter''': {{convert|75|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}

==Monuments on the Capitol grounds==
[[File:Georgia State Capitol dome with Gordon statue.jpg|right|thumb|[[John Brown Gordon statue]]]]
;Governors:
* [[Equestrian statue of John Brown Gordon]] (erected in 1907).<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/g.pdf | title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=96 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}</ref>
* [[Joseph E. Brown]] (also U.S. Senator and Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court) and Elizabeth Brown (1928)
* [[Statue of Eugene Talmadge]] (1949)
* [[Richard B. Russell]] (also a U.S. Senator and in the Georgia legislature) (1975)
* [[Herman Talmadge]] (also a U.S. Senator) (1990)
* [[Statue of Jimmy Carter]] (also a U.S. president and member of the Georgia Senate) (1992)
* [[Statue of Ellis Arnall]] (also state Attorney General) (1997)<ref>{{cite web
|title=This Day in Georgia History. November 24, 1997. Ellis Arnall Statue Dedicated
|url=https://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/thisday/gahistory/11/24/ellis-arnall-statue-dedicated
|access-date=September 10, 2018
|publisher=GeorgiaInfo, an online Georgia almanac. [[Digital Library of Georgia]]}}</ref>

;Other persons: 
* Plaque and tree honoring [[William Ambrose Wright]], a lieutenant in the [[Confederate States Army]], and Georgia state comptroller for fifty years, as well as insurance commissioner. Erected by the Atlanta [[Ladies Memorial Association]], January 19, 1930.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Fulton County Historical Markers. To the Memory of William Ambrose Wright
|url=https://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/fulton/to-the-memory-of-william-ambrose-wright
|access-date=September 10, 2018
|publisher=GeorgiaInfo, an online Georgia almanac. [[Digital Library of Georgia]]}}</ref>
* [[Statue of Benjamin Harvey Hill]] (Confederate Senator, US Senator and US Representative).<ref name=Myajc>{{cite news
|title=Photos: Confederate memorials in metro Atlanta
|newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]
|first=Pete
|last=Corson
|access-date=May 25, 2018
|url=https://www.myajc.com/news/local/photos-confederate-memorials-metro-atlanta/4GRL1pq5JCvgl14heVFn8J/#p4n7UtNgEeaaFysXpM96yA
|archive-date=December 11, 2018
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211010119/https://www.myajc.com/news/local/photos-confederate-memorials-metro-atlanta/4GRL1pq5JCvgl14heVFn8J/#p4n7UtNgEeaaFysXpM96yA
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
* [[Statue of Martin Luther King Jr. (Atlanta)|Statue of Martin Luther King Jr.]] (2017)<ref>[https://atlanta.curbed.com/2017/8/28/16212490/georgia-state-capitol-mlk-statue-unveiling Atlanta Curbed]</ref>
*[[Drinking fountain]] with a [[bas-relief]] of [[Mary Latimer McLendon]], a [[Temperance movement|temperance]] and [[women's suffrage]] activist. Erected in October 1923.

;Others:
* U.S. Coast Guard Survey History Marker (1874)
* Reproduction of the [[Liberty Bell]] (1950)
* [[Statue of Liberty]] replica (1951)
* [[Spanish–American War|Spanish War]] Veterans Memorial (1967)
* Flame of Freedom ([[American Legion]]) (1969)
* ''[[Expelled Because of Color]]'', a {{convert|6|ft}} bronze statue, by John Thomas Riddle Jr., on the Capitol grounds (1978).<ref>{{cite web
|title=Expelled Because of Their Color
|publisher=Atlanta PlanIt ([[Georgia Public Broadcasting|Public Broadcasting Atlanta]])
|access-date=September 8, 2018
|url=https://atlantaplanit.wabe.org/attractions/expelled-because-of-their-color/
|archive-date=September 10, 2018
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910014904/https://atlantaplanit.wabe.org/attractions/expelled-because-of-their-color/
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> It was commissioned in 1976 by the [[Georgia Legislative Black Caucus]], and unveiled in 1978. The statue commemorates the [[Original 33]], the 33 African-American legislators who were expelled from the Georgia legislature in 1868.
* [[Vietnam War]] Memorial (1979)
* DOGNY Project Sculpture (2002): 9/11 memorial, across the street from the Capitol<ref>[http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMC86P_DOGNY_Project_Monument_Atlanta_Georgia Waymarks]</ref>

;Statue removed:
* [[Statue of Thomas E. Watson]] (erected in 1932, moved in 2013; [[Thomas E. Watson|Watson]] was a U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative, and nominee for vice president on the [[People's Party (United States)|People's Party]]). In 2013, Governor [[Nathan Deal]] ordered the statue moved across the street to Park Plaza.<ref>{{cite news
|first=Kristina
|last=Torres
|title=Tom Watson's statue removed from Georgia's Capitol steps
|newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] |date=November 29, 2013 |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/tom-watson-statue-removed-from-georgia-capitol-steps/lXsGyKnHtKqWHvabgEzNVP/}}</ref>

==Georgia's Old Capitol Museum==
[[Image:Old Georgia State Capitol.jpg|thumb|Georgia's second capitol building, 1937]]
The [[Old State Capitol (Milledgeville, Georgia)|Old State Capitol]] is at 201 East Greene Street, [[Milledgeville, Georgia]], and served as state capitol from 1807 until 1867. The building was severely damaged by a fire on March 24, 1941<ref>[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.ga0306 HABS Survey GA-137]</ref> and was rebuilt in its former design to serve as a part of [[Georgia Military College]].<ref>Edwin L. Jackson.
Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The University of Georgia. [http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/capital.htm The story of Georgia's capitols and capital cities] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009145856/http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/capital.htm |date=October 9, 2007 }}.</ref> The first floor of the old capitol is open as a museum.

==Appearances==
Some parts of filming of the premiere episode of the [[The Walking Dead (season 9)|ninth season]] of the television show ''[[The Walking Dead (TV series)|The Walking Dead]]'' were filmed around and within the Georgia State Capitol over a period of two days.<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://ew.com/tv/2018/10/07/the-walking-dead-season-9-premiere-greg-nicotero-questions/ | title = The Walking Dead director answers season premiere burning questions | first = Dalton | last = Ross |date = October 6, 2018 | access-date = October 6, 2018  |magazine =[[Entertainment Weekly]] }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Georgia state legislatures]]
*[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Fulton County, Georgia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Georgia State Capitol}}

* [http://www.sos.state.ga.us/state_capitol/ Georgia State Capitol] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012085951/http://www.sos.state.ga.us/state_capitol/ |date=October 12, 2007 }}
* [http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/monument.htm GeorgiaInfo.com listing/pictures of Statues and Monuments at the State Capitol complex] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515150139/http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/monument.htm |date=May 15, 2008 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070703230301/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/atlanta/ Atlanta, Georgia, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary]
* [http://vault.georgiaarchives.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/cac Capitol Art Collection from the Georgia Archives]
* [http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/fulton/historic-ground1 Historic Ground] historical marker

{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{Georgia (U.S. state)}}
{{Atlanta landmarks}}
{{US State Capitols}}
{{Atlanta history}}
{{Atlanta}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Government of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Government buildings completed in 1889]]
[[Category:State capitols in the United States]]
[[Category:Government buildings with domes]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Museums in Atlanta]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Atlanta]]
[[Category:History museums in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Government buildings in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:1889 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Atlanta]]
[[Category:City of Atlanta-designated historic sites]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta]]