page_title: Pennsylvania State Capitol
section_title: Capitol Complex
hierarchical_section_title: Pennsylvania State Capitol / Capitol Complex
caption_attribution_description: English: Panorama showing (from left to right) the Irvis Office Building, the East Wing of the Pennsylvania State Capitol, and the South Office Building, along Commonwealth Avenue in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Originally nine vertical photos.
context_page_description: The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania located in downtown Harrisburg which was designed by architect Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative Renaissance themes throughout. The capitol houses the legislative chambers for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. It is also the main building of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex.
  The seat of government for the state was originally in Philadelphia, then was relocated to Lancaster in 1799 and finally to Harrisburg in 1812. The current capitol, known as the Huston Capitol, is the third state capitol building to be built in Harrisburg. The first, the Hills Capitol, was destroyed in 1897 by a fire and the second, the Cobb Capitol, was left unfinished when funding was discontinued in 1899.
  President Theodore Roosevelt attended the building's dedication in 1906. After its completion, the capitol project was the subject of a graft scandal.
context_section_description: The Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex includes the buildings owned by Commonwealth, which are controlled by the Pennsylvania Department of General Services, and are centered on the capitol in Harrisburg. The Capitol Complex became a National Historic Landmark in 2013 when the designation was revised to include not just the capitol, but the surrounding building as contributing property—except for the East Wing. The complex and greater area is protected full-time by the Pennsylvania Capitol Police—its dedicated law enforcement agency—as well as the Harrisburg Bureau of Police, which patrols the entire city.
  The oldest building in the complex is the Executive, Library and Museum Building. Situated next to the Hills Capitol and the Huston Capitol, it was built in 1894. It was designated the Matthew J. Ryan Legislative Office Building on June 14, 1999, in recognition of former Speaker Matthew J. Ryan. The Ryan Office Building is the oldest building in the complex and was originally designed to house the State Library and State Museum of Pennsylvania, as well as the Governor's Office and Reception Room. Today it houses the offices of the members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
  The seven-story North and South Office Buildings are situated behind the capitol and overlook the East Wing. The South Office Building was renamed the K. Leroy Irvis Office Building on December 20, 2002, in recognition of former Speaker K. Leroy Irvis. The State Museum and State Archives buildings were constructed in 1964. A 640-by-320-foot (200 by 100 m) addition, called the East Wing, was dedicated on December 2, 1987. The East Wing replaced the decades-old parking lot and fulfilled Brunner's plan of a People's Court. It was built partially underground, such that the tallest point on the East Wing barely reaches the first floor of the capitol.
caption: The East Wing of the Pennsylvania Capitol (1987), with the 1906 Capitol behind, the Irvis Office Building on the left, and the North Office Building on the right, as seen in September 2010
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