Carbondale Reporter

Anyone who has visited the Illinois State Capitol in recent years has noticed significant construction activity. The north wing of the Capitol is undergoing a three-year renovation project aimed at modernizing the historic building while preserving its 19th-century atmosphere and décor.

This renovation follows previous upgrades, including a complete revamp of the House and Senate chambers in 2006-2007 and a large-scale rebuild of the west wing in 2011-2012. The west wing renovation marked the installation of the final element of architect Alfred Piquenard’s original vision, completing a story that tour guides share in two different state capitols hundreds of miles apart.

Construction on the current Illinois State Capitol building at 2nd and Monroe—Illinois' sixth statehouse and second in Springfield—began in 1868 after outgrowing its previous location at 6th and Adams. Designed by Chicago architect Alfred Piquenard, the new building was envisioned as the tallest domed structure in the United States, providing ample office space for all state government agencies at that time. Its broad staircases, grand hallways, and high ceilings were intended to capture the grandeur of the Gilded Age.

A key feature of Piquenard’s design was a grand staircase facing the rotunda between the second and third floors, illuminated from above by a large skylight and from its base by lamps held aloft by classically-draped female statues manufactured in France. However, some legislators found these statues too risqué for a late-19th-century public building. Consequently, they were replaced with plain lampposts.

Piquenard passed away in 1876 before completing his work on another project for Iowa's new capitol. Impressed by his work on Illinois' statehouse, Iowa Governor Cyrus Clay Carpenter hired Piquenard to design their capitol building in Des Moines, which included similar statues holding lamps at its staircase—a feature that remains there today.

In recent renovations aimed at restoring historical authenticity to Illinois' Capitol, designers sought to replicate these original statue lampposts. Given Iowa's retention of the original statues, Illinois designers used laser scans to create exact replicas based on those in Des Moines. These new statues now adorn the grand staircase landing in Springfield.

After nearly 150 years, Alfred Piquenard’s vision for a grand capitol building in Springfield is finally realized.

Find out more:

https://www.thecaucusblog.com/2024/09/an-architects-vision-delayed.html

This website is state-sponsored and funded; campaign-related posts, content, and comments are prohibited by ethics regulations.

Copyright © 2024