Ground was broken September 18, 1929. Funds appropriated by Congress in 1911 to pay for the purchase of the capitol site were sufficient to pay for only half of the block on which the building is located. The citizens of Juneau raised the additional money needed to buy the remainder of the site, and presented the property to the government.
Construction is of brick-faced concrete.
The lower facade is faced with Indiana limestone. The four columns of the portico and the interior trim are of light and dark Tokeen marble from quarries at Tokeen, Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. The building provided the first permanent chambers for the Alaska Legislature. The chambers of the State Senate and House of Representatives are located on the second floor. The executive office of the governor, on the third floor, was remodeled in 1967 to give it a modern Alaskan atmosphere.