Featured Article Summary #146

The Oregon State Capitol is the main building in Salem where Oregon’s legislature meets, and where the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer have offices. The current capitol was built from 1936 to 1938 and later expanded in 1977, making it the third capitol building to serve the state government in Salem. The first two capitols were destroyed by fires, one in 1855 and the other in 1935. Designed by New York architects Trowbridge & Livingston with Francis Keally, the building features an Art Deco stripped classical style and much of it is made from marble. Construction was partly funded by the federal Public Works Administration and finished in 1938, costing $2.5 million for the central portion; later wings added about twice the floor space for $12.5 million. The grounds include public artwork, fountains, and plants such as the state tree Douglas fir and the state flower Oregon grape, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Before Oregon became a territory in 1848, Oregon City was chosen as the first capital by provisional government laws. It later moved to Salem in 1850, but the move was disputed and settled in Salem’s favor in 1852; then the capital shifted to Corvallis in 1855, briefly went back to Salem, and after a vote that Eugene narrowly lost momentum with low turnout, Salem stayed capital. Finally, in 1864 a vote confirmed Salem as state capital, which is also reflected in the Oregon Constitution as being in Marion County. Land for Oregon’s first permanent capitol in Salem was donated by W. H. Willson and sold to the state. Construction started in 1854, but paused when the capital moved to Corvallis; once it returned to Salem, the building was almost finished by late 1855. This Greek Revival capitol, with stone and Ionic columns, included areas for the courthouse, legislative chambers, and the territorial library, and was designed by Captain Charles Bennett and supervised by William H. Richter for $25,000. On December 29, 1855, a fire destroyed Oregon’s first capitol building and many public records. It started in the unfinished northeast corner but was not noticed until about 12:30 a.m., and although arson was suspected, no arrests were made. Afterward, the burned site sat as a pile of stones for years. From 1859 to 1876, the legislature met in Nesmith’s/Holman’s Building, which served as a temporary capitol and also held other state offices. Planning for Oregon’s second capitol began in 1872 when the state set aside money for a new building. Built from 1873 to 1876, the two-story stone structure with an underground portion cost $325,000 and was designed by Justus F. Krumbein and W.G. Gilbert, using convict labor. It was patterned after the U.S. Capitol, included a copper-clad dome and major rooms for the Senate, House, Supreme Court, and library, and the government started using it in August 1876, later serving until 1935.