The West Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government in Charleston, a limestone building topped by a gold-leafed dome that rises 292 feet above the Kanawha River. It sits at 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East, was designed by New York architect Cass Gilbert, and was dedicated on June 20, 1932. The dome stands roughly four and a half feet taller than the one on the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.1West Virginia Legislature. Building the Capitol
Why the Capitol Sits Where It Does
Charleston became the permanent state capital by referendum on August 7, 1877, and the government completed its move from Wheeling in 1885. The city’s first permanent capitol, a Victorian building downtown, was destroyed by fire on January 3, 1921. Ammunition that the West Virginia State Police had stored on the top floor detonated in the heat, scattering onlookers. A Capitol Commission formed after the fire selected a new site on the east end of Charleston along the Kanawha River, where the current building stands.
Cass Gilbert’s Design and the Construction
Gilbert was appointed chief architect in 1921 and planned the capitol as three interconnected units. The state assembled the site from 65 parcels between California Avenue and Duffy Street, and the George A. Fuller Company took the general construction contract. Ground was broken on January 7, 1924. The west wing opened in 1925, the east wing in 1927, and the central domed rotunda tying them together was finished in 1932. Governor William G. Conley dedicated the completed building on the state’s 69th birthday. Total construction cost came to $9,491,180.03.2West Virginia General Services Division. History of the Capitol
The Building Itself
The exterior is Indiana buff limestone. More than 700 train carloads of the stone went into the walls, together with 4,640 tons of steel.2West Virginia General Services Division. History of the Capitol Inside, the materials change by section: the wings use Tennessee marble on floors and walls, the main unit uses Imperial Danby Vermont marble on the walls, and the main unit floors are Italian travertine inlaid with the same Imperial Danby marble.3West Virginia Legislature. Summary of Facts Concerning the Capitol
The dome is clad in gold leaf, with gold bands around the drum and the interior ceiling. The original gilding peeled soon after completion, and the dome spent years painted in the state’s blue and gold before being regilded in the 1980s.4West Virginia Legislature. State Capitol Facts A $13.52 million restoration starting in January 2018 went well beyond cosmetics: workers replaced drain pipes, installed a secondary lining, overhauled the gutters at the dome-to-limestone joint, removed and repaired the 2,300-pound limestone blocks at the dome’s base, added lead copper flashing against water infiltration, re-gilded the exterior, and stripped and repainted the interior dome walls.5Department of Administration. Capitol Dome Project
The Chandeliers
A 4,000-pound chandelier hangs in the rotunda from a 54-foot gold chain anchored in the dome ceiling. The House and Senate chambers each have their own separate fixtures, suspended from skylights at the center of each chamber and containing 10,000 pieces of rock crystal apiece.1West Virginia Legislature. Building the Capitol
The Capitol Complex Grounds
The capitol stands on a sixteen-acre campus called the West Virginia Capitol Complex, running along the Kanawha River.6West Virginia Legislature. Summary of Facts The Executive Mansion, the governor’s official residence, sits on the western side of the capitol, alongside several office buildings for executive branch departments.7National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form The West Virginia Culture Center is also on the complex and houses the State Museum, archives and historical research facilities, and performance spaces.8West Virginia Culture Center. West Virginia Culture Center
The grounds hold a collection of memorials, including a coal miners memorial by sculptor Burl Jones, the West Virginia Veterans Memorial completed between 1990 and 1999, a Union soldiers and sailors memorial from 1930, a Stonewall Jackson statue that survived the 1921 fire, a Booker T. Washington memorial, a Lincoln statue facing the Kanawha River, and the state’s first memorial honoring female veterans.
Visiting the Capitol
The building is open to the public year-round. Hours are 7:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday and holidays. Guided tours of the capitol and the Governor’s Mansion can be booked by calling Capitol Tours and Information at (304) 558-4839.9West Virginia Legislature. Citizen’s Guide to the Legislature Any member of the public may watch legislative floor sessions from the three galleries in each chamber.10West Virginia Legislature. State Capitol Information The regular session usually runs from mid-January through mid-March.
Security Screening
Anyone without an electronic access card is screened at the entrance. You walk through a magnetometer, and bags, briefcases, and backpacks are X-rayed. Firearms are prohibited in all buildings and on the grounds, with the sole exception of a firearm locked out of sight in a vehicle. Other prohibited items include pepper spray canisters over one ounce, fireworks, drones, signs on sticks, and bullhorns or megaphones. Security staff will not hold or dispose of prohibited items for you, so leave them at home or in your car.11WV Capitol Police. Visitor Info
Parking and Accessibility
Visitor parking is available at Laidley Field and at the Capitol Parking Garage on the north side of the complex. A shuttle bus connects Laidley Field with stops around the complex, including both wings of the capitol and the Culture Center entrance. All public entrances to the building are wheelchair accessible, and the shuttle is equipped for passengers with disabilities.9West Virginia Legislature. Citizen’s Guide to the Legislature