Arkansas State Capitol

Work on the Capitol began in July 1899, after Act 128 capped the cost at one million dollars and made 200 state convicts available for labor. The building stands on the site of the old state penitentiary, and convict crews under Capitol Commissioner George Donaghey did the early work. St. Louis architect George Mann drew the first plans, the cornerstone was laid on November 27, 1900, and by mid-1907 construction had stalled completely.

Donaghey, elected governor, dismissed the contractor in 1908 and 1909 and the commission hired New York architect Cass Gilbert, who replaced Mann's metal dome with one of stone. The legislature began meeting in the building in January 1911 and the Supreme Court moved in 1912. Donaghey put the final cost at slightly more than $2.2 million when the building was judged essentially complete on January 1, 1915. The gold-leaf cupola stands 213 feet above the ground.

Entry is free. The building is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends and state holidays, and guided tours of about 45 minutes run on weekdays by advance email. A self-guided book lists the monuments outdoors, among them a Confederate soldiers monument from 1905, a Confederate women's monument from 1913 and Testament: The Little Rock Nine Monument, dedicated in August 2005. The address is 500 Woodlane Avenue, at the head of Capitol Avenue.