19th century

The land for Capitol Square was donated by Cyrus K. Holliday via his Topeka Town Company in 1862. The master architect was Edward Townsend Mix with the wings designed by John G. Haskell.^[5] Construction on the East Wing began in 1866, using "native" limestone from Geary County, Kansas. Construction began on the West Wing in 1879 using limestone from Cottonwood Falls, Kansas and in 1881, the legislature authorized and appropriated funds for the construction of a central building to link the two wings. Construction of this central building began in 1886, and the contract for dome construction was let in May, 1889.^[6]

20th century

Under construction

The building was declared officially complete in 1903, after 37 years of construction.^[2]

It was not until 1988 that a design for a sculpture to stand atop the dome was finally approved. Ad Astra, a 22+2⁄12-foot (6.756 m) bronze sculpture weighing 4,420 pounds (2,000 kg), was installed atop the dome on October 10, 2002.^[7] The sculpture, by Richard Bergen,^[8] depicts a Kansa Native American with bow and arrow pointed at the North Star and was chosen from 27 entries to adorn the dome.^[9] The title Ad Astra is Latin shortening of the state motto Ad Astra Per Aspera To the stars through difficulty.

21st century

Looking up at the dome's interior in 2008

The building was featured prominently on Kansas license plates issued from January 2001 until April 2007.

In December 2001, the Statehouse began a $120 million (~$190 million in 2022) modernization project, led by Treanor Architects; the project included restoration of its first through fifth floors, the rehabilitation and expansion of its basement, restoration of its exterior masonry and copper roof/dome.^[10] By the time the project finished in spring 2014, scope creep and delays resulted in a total cost of $332 million (~$406 million in 2022), covering "new heating and cooling systems, greater security and restroom accessibility, a new parking garage, visitor center, underground office space and replacing the roof and dome."^[10]

Frescos and murals

In 1898, Jerome Fedeli painted frescos near the top of the dome in the rotunda. Fedeli's work depicted bare-breasted classical women. However officials referred to the paintings as "Nude Telephone Girls" and had them painted-over.^[11]

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (left) and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan observe John Steuart Curry's Tragic Prelude in the second floor rotunda

In the 1930s, John Steuart Curry painted murals on the second floor including the building's most famous painting—Tragic Prelude—which depicts an oversize and raging John Brown wedged between the warring sides of the American Civil War, flanked by flames and a tornado. Curry's work gained considerable notoriety for depicting unsavory aspects of Kansas history and he left them unsigned and did not complete a commission to paint murals in the rotunda. Curry's depiction of Brown is believed to be the only instance of a person convicted of treason being featured in a state capitol.

David Hicks Overmyer painted a series of murals in the first floor rotunda between 1951 and 1953 entitled The Coming of the Spaniards, The Battle of Arickaree, The Battle of Mine Creek, Building a Sod House, Lewis and Clark in Kansas, Westward Ho, Arrival of the Railroad, and Chisholm Trail. ^[12][13]

From 1976 to 1978, Lumen Martin Winter painted the murals in the rotunda.