Idaho State Capitol
By Senator Brent Hill
The year was 1905. Theodore Roosevelt had just been reelected president.
110 acres were auctioned off to create the city of Las Vegas. Idaho had been
a state for fifteen years and its population was rapidly increasing due to
federally-funded irrigation projects. English-born Frank Gooding was the governor
of Idaho, even though he was not yet a
One hundred years ago, on July 11, 1905, ground was broken for the new capitol.
The building’s foundation rests on river gravel more than 15 feet underground.
Inmates from the Idaho Penitentiary were employed to cut and transport 10-ton
blocks of sandstone from Table Rock quarry in the Boise foothills. Marble
for the interior was shipped from
The sixty-foot pillars surrounding the rotunda, however, are not marble as they appear. Solid marble pillars were too heavy and costly so an Italian family of artisans was brought in from New York to make the pillars look like polished marble using a sixteenth century p lastering art.
As anyone who has built a home knows, cost overruns seem inevitable. Despite the original 1905 appropriation of $350,000, the final cost of the state capitol was $2.1 million. It was not a bad investment though, since the replacement cost at today’s prices is estimated at over $100 million.
Capitol Trivia:
Idaho’s capitol building is the only one in the
Originally the dome was to be topped with a flag, but a 5’7” bronzed solid
copper eagle was used instead.
The eagle atop the capitol dome is 208 feet above the ground.
The sandstone blocks on the first floor are shaped like logs to give the lower
part of the building the appearance of a log cabin.
Inside the rotunda dome are 13 large stars representing the 13 original colonies
and forty-three smaller stars symbolizing Idaho as the 43rd state
to enter the union.
The chandeliers in the capitol were designed to accommodate both gas and electric
lighting.
Original plans for the statehouse did not include provisions for indoor plumbing.
There are over 50,000 square feet of artistically carved marble in the capitol.
I never enter the Idaho State Capitol without experiencing a sense of appreciation and awe. Its monumental stones stand in respectful memory of our grand heritage. Our statehouse was built with great sacrifice by a small Idaho populace that understood the importance of state government. The building itself reflects the dreams of our ancestors and the visions of our posterity. If you have not visited our state capitol lately, it is worth the trip.