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Capitol Building Facts
- In 1905, the Idaho legislature passed the bill authorizing construction of the Capitol Building.
- The architects of the Capitol Building were J.E. Tourtellotte and Charles Hummel.
- The dome and central parts of the Capitol were built first—from 1905-1912.
- The wings (House and Senate chambers) were constructed during 1919 and 1920.
- Most of the superstructure is made of sandstone taken from Table Rock (near Boise).
- Convicts from the old Idaho Penitentiary were responsible for transporting the 10-ton sandstone blocks from the quarry.
- Four types of marble were used for the Capitol's interior:
- red from Georgia
- gray from Alaska
- green from Vermont
- black from Italy
- From the first floor to the eagle atop the dome, the Idaho Capitol Building rises 208 feet.
- The floor area of the building when completed was 201,720 square feet.
- Over 50,000 square feet of artistically-carved marble exists in the building.
- The original cost to construct the Capitol was $2.1 million.
- Replacement costs today would be over $100 million with many materials considered irreplaceable.
- Idaho's Capitol Building is the only one in the United States heated by geothermal water. The hot water is tapped and pumped from a source 3,000 feet underground.
- The eagle atop the dome stands 5 feet 7 inches and is made of copper. In 2005, as part of the exterior restoration, it received a new gilding of gold leaf.
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