Alaska State Capitol

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The Alaska State House is the state capitol of Alaska. Located in the state capital of Juneau on Main Street, it houses the Alaska Legislature and the offices for the governor of Alaska and lieutenant governor of Alaska.

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The United States Congress authorized funds to construct a capitol building for what was then the Alaska Territory in 1911. Construction was delayed by World War I and difficulty purchasing the necessary land. Local citizens donated some of the required funds, and construction began on September 18, 1929. The building, originally called the Federal and Territorial Building, was dedicated on February 14, 1931. It was designed by Treasury Department architects in the Art Deco architectural style.

The Alaska Territory Capitol building circa 1931. In 1959 it became The Alaska State Capitol.
The Alaska Territory Capitol building circa 1931. In 1959 it became The Alaska State Capitol.

The building was initially used by the federal government and housed a federal courthouse and a post office. Since Alaska gained statehood in 1959 with the Alaska Statehood Act the building has been used by the state government.

A competition was held by the Juneau Capitol Planning Commission in 2004 to design a replacement building, but after controversy over the unconventional nature of many of the proposed designs, lack of support from the state government, and lack of funding, all plans were put on hold in 2005.

There are some Alaskans who would like see the capital moved to a different city, because Juneau's location in the far southeast of the state makes it hard to reach from other locations within the state (the only ways in are by ferry or airplane, and most members of the legislature have to drive through the Yukon Territory of Canada to reach points of departure). Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, Fairbanks, and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley have been proposed as alternative locations. Proposals have had the capital moved to one of the listed cities, or be divided between all three cities. However, Alaskan voters have repeatedly supported keeping the capital in Juneau.

The building is six stories high and made from brick-faced reinforced concrete, with a facade of Indiana limestone on the first two floors. The portico has four columns made of Tokeen marble from Prince of Wales Island, which is also used for interior trim. Unlike many state capitols, it has neither a dome nor large landscaped grounds, and could at first glance appear to be simply an office building.

Outside the building is a replica of the Liberty Bell, of the type given to all states and territories by the federal government in 1950 to help raise support for savings bond drives.

The lobby features clay murals titled Harvest of the Land and Harvest of the Sea, representing hunting and fishing, as well as a bust of Alaska Native civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich. Offices and committee rooms fill the ground and first floors.

The second floor houses the chambers of the Alaska Senate and Alaska House of Representatives, as well as committee rooms. The walls feature the work of early Juneau photographers Lloyd Winter and Percy Pond, and busts of the first two U.S. Senators from Alaska, Bob Bartlett and Ernest Gruening.

The governor and lieutenant governor's offices are on the third floor. The executive office doors are made of black birch, with hand carvings depicting Alaskan industry. The "Hall of Governors" features portraits of governors and lieutenant governors of Alaska from the District of Alaska era to the present.

More legislative offices and committee rooms occupy the fourth floor. The fifth floor holds legislative finance committees.

Many areas of the building have been restored to their original 1930s appearance, especially on the second and fifth floors—the latter originally held federal courtrooms.

Flag of Alaska
State of Alaska
Juneau (capital)
Regions

Aleutian Islands | Arctic Alaska | Bush Alaska | Interior | Kenai Peninsula | Mat‑Su Valley | North Slope | Panhandle | Seward Peninsula | Southcentral | Southwest | Tanana Valley | Yukon‑Kuskokwim Delta

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Boroughs

Aleutians East | Anchorage | Bristol Bay | Denali | Fairbanks North Star | Haines | Juneau | Kenai Peninsula | Ketchikan Gateway | Kodiak Island | Lake and Peninsula | Matanuska‑Susitna | North Slope | Northwest Arctic | Sitka | Yakutat

Census areas

Aleutians West | Bethel | Dillingham | Nome | Prince of Wales‑Outer Ketchikan | Skagway‑Hoonah‑Angoon | Southeast Fairbanks | Valdez‑Cordova | Wade Hampton | Wrangell‑Petersburg | Yukon‑Koyukuk | (see also) Unorganized Borough


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