Boise, in the southwestern Idaho area known as the Treasure Valley, became the territorial capital in 1865 and the state capital when Idaho was admitted to statehood in 1890.
TERRITORIAL CAPITOL
More than twenty years after the Idaho legislature located the capital in Boise, and after several unsuccessful attempts to get the U.S. Congress to build a capitol, territorial secretary D.P.B. Pride persuaded the legislature to appropriate $80,000 for a territorial capitol building in Boise. The legislature approved the act authorizing the issuance of bonds on February 2, 1885. However, construction was delayed when residents of the city of Hailey obtained an injunction. They felt that the capitol should be located at Hailey.
The building of red brick in the Norman style of architecture was finally completed in 1886. It measured 123' X 81' with five floors including the basement, but it had no indoor plumbing. It was used for the remainder of the territorial days and for the first few years of statehood.
STATE
CAPITOL
In 1905 the legislature created the Capitol Building Commission, with the power to issue bonds, negotiate and sign contracts, and approve architectural plans. The commission purchased Central School which stood in the block next to the territorial capitol and also negotiated the closure of seventh street between Jefferson and State streets in order to enlarge the building site.
Construction of the present building was begun in 1905. The original phase included only the central section and dome. The architectural design was supplied by J.E. Tourtellotte and Company. It is in the standard neoclassic style, patterned after the U.S. Capitol. Construction of the central section and dome was completed in 1912. Tourtellotte and Hummel were awarded a contract in 1912 to design wings for the building and construction began in 1919. The Central School building was demolished to make way for the west wing and the Territorial Capitol building was razed for construction of the east wing. The project was completed in 1920.
The final cost of construction was $2,098,500. The building has a total floor area of 201,720 square feet and, including the dome with the 5'7" bronzed solid copper eagle on top, is 208 feet high. The original plans called for a flag atop the dome, but in the course of construction the eagle was substituted. The outside walls are faced with sandstone from state owned Tablerock east of Boise. Convict labor was used to quarry and deliver the sandstone blocks, some weighing up to ten tons. The shape of the sandstone blocks on the first floor resembles logs and gives the lower part of the building the appearance of a log cabin.
Inside the capitol,
large pillars of steel covered with a veneer of scagliola (a mixture of granite,
marble dust, gypsum and glue, dyed to look like marble) rise in the rotunda to
the dome and central structure of the building. The scagliola veneer was created
by an entire family of artisans from Italy. In 1976, the veneer on the pillars
was repaired by injecting marble dust and glue into the cracks with hypodermic
needles. The surface was then covered with a polyurethane finish to protect it.
The corridors, floors, wainscoting and base throughout the building consist of 50,646 square feet of artistically carved marble. There are four kinds blended into the interior: green swirled Vermont marble on the walls, gray Alaska marble with inlaid patterns of near black Italian marble in the floors and four grand staircases, and reddish pink Georgia marble in the trim.
First Floor
From the center of the rotunda on the ground floor, one can look upward to the
dome to see thirteen large stars which represent the thirteen original colonies
and forty-three smaller stars which indicate that Idaho was the forty-third
state to enter the union.
In the rotunda floor is a marble pattern called "compass rose." At its center stands a sundial composed of minerals found in Idaho. The sundial symbolizes Idaho's great abundance of natural resources and its major industries.
Also in the rotunda is a large statue entitled "the Patriot", sculpted with a welding torch by Kenneth Lonn, a resident of the Silver Valley. He dedicated this work to the men and women of Idaho's mining industry.
In the east wing is the office of the state treasurer, where an original vault containing a large 1905 Mancanse safe is still in use. Portraits of previous treasurers are displayed in the office.
Second Floor
There are three impressive entrances to the second floor, from the east, the
south, and the west. On the south side of the rotunda is the portico, or main
entrance. This is also known as the ceremonial entrance, for it is here that
important visitors are greeted and inaugurations are held. A replica of the
Liberty Bell, molded in France, stands at the base of the stairs. The bell was
given to the State by the Department of the Treasury in 1950. Two giant spheres
of Montana granite flank the thirty-three steps of this entrance.
Just inside the portico stands a replica of the statue "Winged Victory of Samothrace." This is one of forty-eight copies sent by France in 1949 to the capitals of the United States. The original marble statue stands in the Louvre in Paris.
The governor's suite of offices is located in the west wing. Visitors can view the official portraits of the governor and the first lady, as well as several displays, including moon rocks from the 1969 Apollo XI moon flight. On the wall of the hallway adjacent to the governor's office hang portraits of previous governors of the state. The opposite wall holds a display of flags which were carried by Idaho regiments in France during World War I. There is also a glass case containing a sample of the governor's official china, all of which was donated to the state.
The lieutenant governor's office is also located in the west wing, just opposite the governor's office.
On the north side of the second floor rotunda is the statue of George Washington astride a horse. This work was carved from a single piece of pine by Charles Ostner, an Austrian immigrant. Ostner, working at night by candlelight from a postage stamp likeness, took four years to carve the figure. The statue was bronzed and presented to the Territory of Idaho in 1869. It stood on display on the capitol grounds until 1934, when due to weather damage, it was brought indoors and covered with gold leaf.
To the rear of the George Washington statue is the attorney general's suite of offices. These offices were used by the Idaho supreme court justices until the new supreme court building was constructed in 1970. Many of the original lamp fixtures, some with very rare fire opal glass globes are visible in the main office. A fire broke out in the attorney general's office on January 1, 1992, causing approximately 3.2 million dollars in damage, restoration was completed in July 1993.
In the east wing is the office of the secretary of state. In the reception area is the official copy of the Great Seal of the State of Idaho. The original is in safe keeping at the state historical museum. Portraits of previous secretaries of state are displayed in the office lobby.
Third Floor
The legislative chambers are located on the third floor, the senate in the west
wing and the house of representatives in the east wing. Committee rooms and
offices surround each chamber. Both chambers were remodeled in 1968. Also on
this floor is the former Idaho Supreme Court room. All of the furnishings and
decorations are symbolic of justice, law and mercy. Ten torch like lights mimic
those in the U.S. Supreme Court chambers. This room is now used for hearings and
committee meetings of the legislature's Joint Finance and Appropriations
Committee (JFAC).
Fourth Floor
On the fourth floor are balcony entrances to the senate and house chambers. From
these galleries the public can watch the legislature when it is in session. On
the north side of the fourth floor rotunda is a display of flags flown in the
Philippines by the first Idaho infantry during the Spanish American War. A large
painting of Shoshone Falls on the Snake River near the city of Twin Falls hangs
on the south wall of the fourth floor, it is by artist J. C. Cowles . Three
historic murals by Dana Boussard, one each for the three geographical regions of
the State, hang in the northeast, northwest, and southwest corners of the fourth
floor. The representation of North, Southwest, and Southeast Idaho will remind
viewers of the state's diversity as well as its unity.
Basement
Sections of the basement have been remodeled to provide office space for
legislative support staff. The Secretary of State's Uniform Commercial Code
division utilizes the west end of the basement. Recent remodeling has added
office space for the news media. Much of the space is still used for storage and
building services.
Grounds
The grounds contain several notable trees, some of which were planted by U.S.
Presidents. Among them are the Water Oak planted by President Benjamin Harrison
on May 8, 1891, the Sugar Maple planted by President Theodore Roosevelt on May
28, 1903, and the Ohio Buckeye planted by President William Howard Taft on
October 9, 1911. On the east lawn is an oak tree planted in memory of Governor
C. Ben Ross and a maple tree planted in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. On the
west lawn is an oak tree from the Tree of Gernika brought to Idaho in 1981 from
the Basque Country in northern Spain, as a symbol of Basque freedom and
independence.
Just to the east of the ceremonial entrance is the Ruth G. Moon Rose Garden, in honor of the former state treasurer who served from 1945-46, 1955-59.
There are two monuments on the grounds. On the east lawn is the Pioneer Monument erected by 2,777 school children of Boise on May 8, 1905 to perpetuate the memory of the Old Oregon Trail. On the west lawn is a monument erected by the ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) in August of 1935 in honor of the Grand Army of the Republic (the Union Army).
On the west lawn near Jefferson street is an old "Model 1840" cast iron sea coast gun used by the confederacy in the Civil War. This was obtained by State Treasurer C.A. Hastings with the help of Senator Borah.
Directly across Jefferson street from the main entrance is the Steunenberg Monument. The statue of Governor Frank Steunenberg, who was assassinated in 1905, was cast by Gilbert P. Riswold and dedicated in 1927. The monument, and the adjacent Frank Church Capitol Park to the east, are owned by Boise City. The city was granted the land by the state in exchange for the closure of Seventh street to allow for the enlargement of the capitol building site.
Capitol Mall
The capitol building sits in the southwest corner of the mall complex, which is
bounded by Jefferson street on the south, Eighth street on the west, Washington
street on the north, and Third street on the east. Since 1963 six new structures
have been built in the complex. These include the State Library, the Supreme
Court Building, a nine story State Office Tower, a five story parking structure,
the Len B. Jordan Building, and the Joe R. Williams Building.
The mall area includes many older buildings as well, the Ada County Courthouse, Marion Hall, and the Governor Alexander House built in 1897 by Governor Moses Alexander.
All of the mall buildings are heated with geothermal water. A pumping station in the parking lot north of the Len B. Jordan Building can provide enough hot water to heat 750,000 square feet of building space on all but the most severe winter days. The 3,000 foot well can produce about 1,000 gallons per minute of water at 165 degrees F. under natural artesian pressure. The system was first used in the winter of 1982 - 83, and is projected to save about $150,000 per year in natural gas heating bills.
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