History of the Wisconsin State Capitol Building

By: Lila Hahn

George Brown Post was the architect who designed the Wisconsin State Capitol Building. After he graduated from New York University, he became an Army Officer in the Civil War. In the late 19th century, builders were going through a movement where they would use steel so that the buildings could be stronger and taller. Post started designing the Capitol in 1906 and used his ideas from a project he had almost built a few years earlier.

In 1837 it was decided that the permanent seat of government would be in Madison, Wisconsin, which was just a small town at the time. The construction of the new Capitol building began using wood from oak trees that were locally harvested, and stone that was brought across Lake Mendota. The original building was worth around $60,000. As the senate grew in size over the course of 20 years, they began to build an extension in 1857. The dome was finished in 1869, after 12 years of construction. Then in 1882, the Legislature gave the Senate $200,000 to add two additional wings to the north and south side. This second Capitol was worth around $900,000 and measured 226 feet from east to west, 396 feet from north to south, and 225 feet tall. 

Twenty-two years later, in February 1904, the state capitol building caught fire and a huge portion of the interior was destroyed. It was decided that a new Capitol building must be built so they hired George B. Post & Sons of New York. From 1906 until 1917, the company rebuilt the Capitol from the wings to the rotunda and dome. The third Madison capitol building was completed, and cost a total of $7.2 million. The Wisconsin Capitol Guide was officially published due to completion of the building. That same year Wisconsin used the first ever electric voting machine. Not only was this new to the United States, but also to the whole world! In July 1965, the Wisconsin State Capitol Building was officially dedicated.

 Later in 1990, the north wing was closed off for a renovation that cost $18.5 million. It was decided that the same thing should be done to the south wing, which cost even more money at a price of $29.9 million. Not only did they replace the two wings, but they also began work on the rotunda, which cost $8.9 million. The last renovation was to the east wing, which cost $58.6 million. In total, the Capitol state building after all the renovations is worth $145 million. The Wisconsin State Capitol Building is a treasure and pride of our state. That is why it has been rebuilt many times and had so much effort put into it. The history of the Capitol is so important and intriguing that it would be difficult for anyone to not be interested in visiting this amazing monument.