page_title: Indiana Statehouse
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Indiana Statehouse / Current State House / Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Identifier: americanaunivers08newy (find matches) Title: The Americana; a universal reference library, comprising the arts and sciences, literature, history, biography, geography, commerce, etc., of the world Year: 1908 (1900s) Authors: Subjects: Encyclopedias and dictionaries Publisher: New York&#160;: Scientific American Compiling Dept. Contributing Library: University of California Libraries Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: School for Feeble-Minded, Fort Wa&gt;Tie. inmates 318, per capita cost$127.05. The correctional institutions are theState Prison, Michigan City, inmates 796. percapita cost $133.32, earnings $53.,395-86: IndianaReformatory, JcfFcrsonville, inmates 923. percapita cost $130.68, earnings $62.350.67; ReformSchool for Boys. Plainfield. inmates 531. percapita cost $122.13, earnings $298.91&#160;: IndustrialSchool for Girls and Womens Prison. Indian-apolis, inmates 52 women and 175 girls, percapita cost $101.55, earnings $1,436.69. .^t thelegislative session of 1903 a law was passed forthe division of the last named institution andthe establishment of a new Industrial School forGirls. The State has the convict-contract-laborsystem, but efforts have been made to abolishit, and the legislature of 1903 provided for acommission to investigate and report on thesubject. The convict labor is all done withinthe prisons. The State has the indeterminatesientence system with commutation of time for INDIANA. Text Appearing After Image: INDIANA good behavior. In addition to the State institu-tions each county maintains a poor asylum. Inthese, and tlie Alarion County asylum for theincurable insane, tliere were on 31 Aug. igo2,3,046 inmates, of whom 1.975 were men and1,071 women. Of thase inmates 518 were classedas insane, and 889 as feeble-minded. There arein the State 46 orphans homes, in which therewere on 31 Oct. 1902, 1,565 inmates, of whom1.025 were boys and 540 girls. At the same datethe Board of State Charities reported 811 orphanchildren maintained in private hoines, withoutpublic expense. State Government.— The elective State officesare held for periods of 2 years, with eligibilityrestricted to 4 years in any period of 6 years,except as to the governor, lieutenant-governor,and geologist, whose terms are 4 years. No oneis eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant-governor for more than 4 years in any period of8 years. The governors salary is $5,000, withan allowance of $1,800 for house rent. Thegovern Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: The Indiana Statehouse is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. Housing the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Indiana Supreme Court, and other state officials, it is located in the state capital of Indianapolis at 200 West Washington Street. Built in 1888, it is the fifth building to house the state government.
  The first state house, located in Corydon, Indiana, is still standing and is maintained as a state historic site. The second building was the old Marion County courthouse which was demolished and replaced in the early 20th century. The third building was a structure modeled on the Parthenon, but was condemned in 1877 because of structural defects and razed so the current statehouse could be built on its location.
context_section_description: With Indiana's rapid increase of population during the middle of the 19th century, the state's government increased in size, causing the previous capitol building to become crowded. In 1865, a state office building had to be constructed to house some of the burgeoning government, and the Supreme Court and several bureaus were relocated into the new building. When the state house was condemned in 1877, the state was without a real capitol building, and the administration of Governor James D. Williams proposed the construction of the current state capitol building. The plan was approved by the Indiana General Assembly during the legislative session of 1878. After the third state capitol building had been razed, the new building was constructed on the same site. Two million dollars (USD) were appropriated for construction of the new building, and it was completed in 1888. Governor Williams, who was famed for his frugality, was able to complete the project for $1.8 million and returned the extra $200,000 to the general fund.
  A team of commissioners, including former Civil War general and civil engineer Thomas A. Morris, planned and oversaw the project. The structure was designed by Edwin May, an Indianapolis architect. Not wanting to repeat the mistakes made in the construction of the previous statehouse, the legislature required the new capitol to be built on a solid foundation so that it would last for many decades. Construction began in 1880 and the cornerstone was laid on September 28. Edwin May died in February of that year, and Adolph Sherrer supervised the project for the entire construction period. The interior was modeled in the Italian Renaissance style.  Wherever possible, materials native to Indiana were used. Doors were made of Indiana oak, and Indiana limestone was used throughout the structure. The building's cornerstone is a ten-ton block of limestone quarried in Spencer, Indiana. The central dome was completed in 1883. The building was also wired for electricity, even though Indianapolis did not yet have an electrical power grid. In 1887, the new capitol was sufficiently finished for the first legislative session to be held there. Construction ultimately endured eight years, and the building was finally completed in October 1888. With the pinnacle of the building reaching 256 feet (78 m) high, it was the second-tallest building in the state at the time of its completion.
  A hole was bored in the cornerstone, and a time capsule was placed inside containing forty-two items. The items included annual reports from all the government agencies, a Bible, samples of several varieties of crops grown in Indiana, several new coins, local maps and newspapers, a book on the history of Indianapolis, and pamphlets from many of the city's institutions.
  The building is designed in the shape of a cross. A large central rotunda with a glass domed ceiling connects the four wings. The structure is four stories high. The first floor houses the executive offices of the administration. Offices for the Indiana House of Representatives are on the second floor's east side, while those for the Indiana State Senate are on the second floor's west side. Offices of the Indiana Supreme Court are on the north end of the second floor. The seventy-thousand volume Supreme Court Law Library is located on third floor. The third floor also holds the House, Senate, and Supreme Court chambers, and the fourth floor holds the Indiana Court of Appeals courtroom and the offices of nine of the fifteen judges on the Court.  Additional executive office and storage space. The building was constructed for the purpose of holding the entire government of the state. For several decades, all the government bureaus were housed within the building, until the government again outgrew the structure; most of the state's bureaus have gradually been moved out of the building. In front of the State House stands a statue of Oliver Morton, governor of Indiana during the Civil War.
caption: The State House as it appeared in 1908.
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