Old Stone Capitol Building, Interior, Central Staircase Renovation
- Title:
- Old Stone Capitol Building, Interior, Central Staircase Renovation
- Collection:
- Andrew Dickson White Architectural Photographs Collection
- Creation Date:
- ca. 1921-1924 (photograph)
1840-1857 (building)
- Location:
- Iowa City, Johnson, Iowa, United States
- Country:
- United States
- ID Number:
- 10035034
- Accession Number:
- 15/5/3090.00178a
- Collection Number:
- 15-5-3090
- File Name:
- 10035034.jpg
- Materials/Techniques:
- gelatin silver prints
- Subject:
- universities (buildings)
interior views
public buildings by function
University campuses
Construction views
Columns
scaffolds
spiral stairs
Stairways
Old Stone Capitol Building, Iowa City, Iowa
photographs - Measurement:
- 11.7475 x 16.8275 (centimeters)
- Description:
- "Construction of Old Capitol began with the laying of the cornerstone on July 4,1840. Nine days later, the project's architect, John F. Rague, resigned, leaving Chauncey Swan, one of the territorial government commissioners who had selected the site of Iowa City and the capitol, to oversee construction. Most of the four-ton blocks of Devonian limestone used in the original construction were quarried from bluffs along the Iowa River near North Liberty, floated on barges to Iowa City and then hauled by oxen to the construction site. Original floor joists, roof trusses and other supporting beams were hand hewn from native oak. An unusual reverse spiral staircase dominated the central hallways, and the building's dome was first sheathed in copper. By 1842, four rooms in Old Capitol were completed. The Iowa Legislative Assembly used the building for the first time in December of that year. The building was not completed until after the state government, having just appropriated $4,000 to finish construction of Old Capitol, moved to Des Moines in 1857....Between 1921 and 1924, Old Capitol underwent a major structural renovation. The oak supporting beams were replaced with steel beams, one riser was added to the spiral staircase, and the southwest corner of the building's foundation was repaired." (Source: University of Iowa, History of th e Old Capitol website: )
- Source:
- Data from: A.D. White Architectural Photographs, Cornell University Library
http://cidc.library.cornell.edu/adw/albumen.htm - Cite As:
- Andrew Dickson White Architectural Photograph Collection, #15-5-3090. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- Andrew Dickson White architectural photograph collection
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in this collection are in the public domain and are believed to have no known U.S. copyright or other restrictions. The Library does not charge for permission to use these materials and does not grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute them. However, as a good scholarly practice we recommend that all patrons cite the Library as the source of the reproduction. For a more detailed explanation please read the Library Guidelines for Using Public Domain Text, Images, Audio, and Video Reproduced from Cornell University Library Collections at http://hdl.handle.net/1813.001/CULCopyright.