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The present state capitol building of Louisiana, located
in Baton Rouge, will forever be entwined with the political
career of Huey Pierce Long. It was Long's idea for the state
to construct a new building for the statehouse in 1928 when
he was running for Governor of the State of Louisiana. The
construction of the building was part of his political platform,
as well as the notion to place the state capitol on the site,
which was once Louisiana State University and formerly a military
post known as the Pentagon Barracks. Included was a strip
of land on which the Arsenal Museum was located. Long had
contracted with a New Orleans architectural firm, Weiss, Dreyfous
and Seiferth, to design the building. Next, Governor Long
had pushed through an amendment which financed the new capitol
by the end of the 1930 Legislative Section. Within 36 days
of the completion of the final design, actual construction
by the George A. Fuller Company of Washington, D.C. had begun.
The construction work took 29 months to complete and the dedication
was coordinated with the inauguration of Oscar K. Allen as
Governor on May 16, 1932. Ironically, Long was not present
because he had been elected to the U.S. Senate and was in
Washington, D.C.
The Louisiana Capitol, a 34-story, 450-foot Alabama limestone-clad
skyscraper, is an excellent example of a greatly simplified
classicism with Art Deco details that were in vogue for monumental
buildings in the late 1920s. Only two other state capitols
had been built with this design and its 34-story frame is
to date unrivaled by any other building in Louisiana. The
tower is decorated with important groups of sculpture representing
the history of the State. Long was assassinated in the Capitol
Building, the building for which he fought to be constructed
and used as the state's government seat, and died on September
10, 1935. However, he was fittingly buried in the center of
the public Capitol Gardens on the State Capitol's grounds.
His memorial, a statue showing him holding a model of his
monument, stands proudly in the English Garden in the shadow
of the skyscraper that was part of his political platform
for governor.
The Louisiana State Capitol, a National Historic Landmark,
is located at N. 3rd St. on State Capitol Dr., Baton Rouge.
It is open from 9:00am to 4:00pm, daily, except on major holidays.
There is no fee for admission. For further information, please
call 225-342-7317.
Information
provided by The Louisiana Office of Tourism
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