Rhode Island State Capitol

The design of the current Rhode Island State Capitol building was completed by the McKim, Mid & White architectural firm in 1891–1892 ^[3] , and construction began in 1895. Since the beginning of 1901, meetings of the General Assembly of Rhode Island began to be held in it. The construction was completely completed in 1904 ^{[4] [5]} .

During the construction of the Capitol of Rhode Island, mainly used white marble from Georgia - 327 thousand cubic meters of marble ^[6] .

The marble dome of the Capitol is considered the fourth largest in the world (of those that do not have additional support), followed by St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican , the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul and the Taj Mahal in Agra (India) ^[6] .

At the top of the dome is a statue of gilded bronze Independent Man ("independent person", height 3.3 m , weight more than 225 kg ), made by the design of the sculptor George Brewster ^[4] . This statue was installed on December 18, 1899 ^[6] . In 1927, it was damaged by lightning, and after that it was fixed with 42 copper brackets ^[7] . It was subsequently repaired in 1951, and on August 9, 1975 it was lowered from the top of the Capitol for major repairs, including the replacement of gilding. The statue was returned to the top of the dome on July 20, 1976 ^[7] .

The height of the Capitol to the base of the statue is 67.9 m , and to the top of the statue is 71.6 m ^[5] . From 1904 to 1927, the Capitol was the tallest building in the city of Providence.

The north entrance of the Capitol, decorated with a large portico , faces Smith Street . This is the main entrance of the Capitol, which is used by officials, employees and visitors ^[8] .

The southern entrance of the Capitol faces the downtown of Providence and the Gulf of Narragansett . A wide front staircase made of marble leads to the entrance. On different sides of the stairs are bronze statues of natives of Rhode Island Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and General Nathaniel Green ^{[9] [7]} .

On the ground floor of the Capitol since 1874, Cannon No. 4 of the Battery In the 1st Rhode Island Artillery Regiment , known as the Gettysburg Cannon, was on display. It was used to repel Pickett's attack during the Battle of Gettysburg . When fired, a shell hit it that deformed the barrel, due to which, upon subsequent loading, the core stuck directly in the barrel and remained there until now ^[10] .

•  

  Rhode Island State Capitol, view from the south

•  

  Oliver Hazard Perry Statue in Front of Rhode Island State Capitol

•  

  Statue of Nathaniel Green in front of the Rhode Island State Capitol

•  

  Upper Rhode Island State Capitol

•  

  Independent Man ("Independent Man") on the dome of the Rhode Island State Capitol

• US Capitol List