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Nebraska State CapitolThe Nebraska State Capitol (aka The Tower on the Plain), located in Lincoln, Nebraska, is the capitol and seat of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska. One of the most distinctive statehouses in the United States, it was designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and constructed between 1922 and 1932. The limestone structure draws on both Classical and Gothic architectural traditions, but represents major innovations in state capitol design. The building is Nebraska's third state capitol building. Both the first and second, built in 1867 and 1889 respectively, had structural problems. Preceding the Lincoln state capitol buildings were two capitols of the Nebraska Territory in Omaha, both built in the 1850s, before Nebraska was admitted to the Union in 1867. The architectural competition program was written by Omaha architect Thomas Kimball who was then president of the AIA. The competition guidelines were innovative and progressive because they did not define plan, style, or material for the building. The program did specify, however, that they wanted an architect who would assemble a team (including sculpture, painter, and landscapist) to create a unified vision. There were entries from well known architectural firms, including McKim, Mead, and White. However,the commission was immediately drawn to Goodhues innovative submission. His design drew on the Classical principles of austerity, abstract geometrical form, and hierarchical arrangements of parts, but broke away from the columns, pediment, and dome formula. The capitol is often seen as a turning point in Goodhues career and the first major expression of what has been called his freely interpreted classical style. The cross-axial plan is not unlike a traditional Catholic church or cathedral. The building's four wings radiate from a central domed rotunda architecturally separating the branches of government. The unarticulated windows and crisp flat surfaces herald the modern skyscraper. As well, it is the first US capitol with usable tower space. On April 15, 1922 Governor Samuel McKelvie broke ground and construction began. The cost for the 400 cubic foot (11 m³) Indiana limestone structure came in just under the $10 million budget. The funds were secured through a special capitol levy tax. The four phase construction was completed in 10 years under the supervision of William Lefevre Younkin. The sculptural elements of the building were designed by Lee Lawrie. Hartley Burr Alexander, a Lincoln native and professor of philosophy, served as "thematic consultant." It is his influence that lead Goodhue to make American Indian symbolism an integral part of the ornament. Alexander wanted the capitol to be a memorial to native tribes that populated Nebraska before the pioneers. The building has a complicated iconographic program. The large square base represents the flat plains of Nebraska. The vertical tower symbolizes the dreams and aspirations of the pioneers. The massive balustrade flanking the main stairway is ornamented with bison inscribed with Native American ritual passages. Over the entrance is a gilded frieze showing the progress of the pioneers. Other exterior sculptural ornament includes a series of friezes depicting the history of law from the ten commandments to a celebration of Nebraska's statehood. Ten great lawgivers, Minos, Hammurabi, Moses, Akhnaton, Solon, Solomon, Julius Caesar, Justinian, Charlemagne, and Napoleon are depicted emerging from pylonic masses. The eight ideals of culture represented by Pentaour (history), Ezekial (vision), Socrates (reason), Marcus Aurelius (statecraft), St. John the Baptist (faith), Louis IX (chivalry), Isaac Newton (science), and Abraham Lincoln (liberty) are also represented. The tower is crowned by a golden dome with a 19 foot (6 m) final sculpture of The Sower. The dome is symbolic of the sun, and its reflective surface changes color with the weather. The frieze around the drum depicts thunderbirds, the American Indian symbol for rain and life. The golden dome, sower, and drum therefore represent sun and rain, agriculture and productivity. On a more symbolic level they are an homage to the pioneers who created productive farmland and propagated civilization. Hildreth Meier, a New York based tile and mosaic designer, was responsible for much of the original interior design. Buffaloes, corn, wheat, sunflowers, and wild native animals motifs are repeated throughout the buildings ornament. The theme of Meier's work is nature and the cultivation of the prairie. The doors To East and West Chamber, executed by Keats Lorenz of Lincoln, are a product of master craftsmenship. The doors weigh over 750 lbs each and took Lorenze more than six months to carve. They commemorate the cultural contributions of Native Americans and pioneers. Augustus Tack completed the buildings earliest fresco-style murals. Ernst Herminghaus was responsible for the landscape architecture. References - Brown, Elinor L. Architectural Wonder of the World: Nebraskas State Capitol Building. Ceresco, NE: Midwest Publishing Company, 1965. 180 pp; illustrations (some color); appendix. Reprinted. Lincoln: Nebraska State Building Division, 1978.
- Grossman, Elizabeth G. Two Postwar Competitions: The Nebraska State Capitol and the Kansas City Liberty Memorial. The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians vol. 45, no. 3 (September 1986): 244-269. 31 illustrations.
- Luebke, Frederick C., ed. A Harmony of the Arts: The Nebraska State Capitol. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1990. x + 119 pp.; 64 illustrations (some color), appendix: the Iconography of the Capitol, bibliography, index.
- McCready, Eric Scott. The Nebraska State Capitol: Its Design, Background and Influence. Nebraska History vol. 55, no. 3 (Fall 1974): 325-461. 28 illustrations, bibliography, appendix (including the text of the competition program). Cover image: The Capitol of the State of Nebraska, by James Perry Wilson, 1924, oil on canvas, Nebraska Statehood Memorial at the Kennard House in Lincoln, NE.
- Whitaker, Charles Harris and Hartley Burr Alexander. The Architectural Sculpture of the State Capitol at Lincoln, Nebraska, Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue: architect, Lee Lawrie: sculptor, architects after Mr. Goodhues death in 1924: Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue associates. New York: Press of the American Institute of Architects, 1926. 16 pp.; 45 illustrations.
- Zabel, Orville H. History in Stone: The Story in Sculpture on the Exterior of the Nebraska Capitol. Nebraska History, published by the Nebraska Historical Society, vol. 62, no. 3 (Fall 1981), pp. 285-372, illustrations.
External links http://www.capitol.org/index.html http://www.esu3.org/nebraska/capitol/capitol.html
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