Alabama State Capitol
Part 1 of 3: The Architecture and Architects of the Capitols
The capital of Alabama is Montgomery, just southeast of the center of the state, where the land area has transitioned from the northeastern forested Appalachian foothills, to rich delta farmland on low rolling hills, down to coastal plains leading to the Gulf of Mexico. The state is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. To the north of Montgomery are lowlands prone to flooding where the Tallapoosa and Coosa Rivers merge to form the Alabama River. The Alabama River winds to the southwest and merges with the Tombigbee River to form the Mobile River and finally emptying into Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Alabama was incorporated as part of the Mississippi Territory in 1798, the Alabama Territory in 1817, and finally admitted to the Union in 1819, becoming the nations 22nd state.
The Capitol building is facing west on a hill, the highest point in the area, overlooking the Montgomery downtown area. It includes the Governor’s offices, state rooms for ceremonial events, with most of the larger rooms used for museum space.
It was completed in 1851, in a Greek Revival architectural style designed by the architect Barachias Holt. The west entrance has six Corinthian style columns on the original entrance portico, with two attractive additions on each side using numerous Ionic style columns, both derived from ancient Greek architecture.
Barachias Holt, 1815 to 1888, was born in Maine, and is credited as the architect, but was actually better known as a builder. He worked as the superintendent of construction to pull several design ideas together to form the new capitol building. Holt was given plans that had been proposed by Daniel Pratt, a local industrialist, along with instructions not to use the Gothic detailing proposed, but to make the design more simple, using the Greek Revival architectural style of the previous capitol designed by Stephen Button.
The original construction is brick, covered in stucco, and scored to imitate a stone block finish. All of the additions to the capitol use a similar construction for consistency.
In 1885, an addition was built to the East Wing by W T Walker, in a construction to match the existing. The East Wing held the Alabama Supreme Court, and the addition added a Supreme Court library and office space for the justices.
In 1907, a South Wing was added in a design by architect Frank Lockwood, in consultation with Charles McKim of McKim, Mead & White. The addition was design to blend with the original construction to provide the growing government more office space and storage for state archives.
In 1912, a matching North Wing was added by Frank Lockwood to provide a new suite for the Governor’s offices.
Frank Lockwood, 1865 to 1935, was born in Trenton New Jersey and grew up in New York City. He studied at Princeton University, and the Pratt Institute, and apprenticed with George B. Post. Lockwood eventually set up practice in Montgomery Alabama and designed the north and south wings to the Alabama State Capitol, along with many residential, commercial, and government buildings in the area.
Charles McKim, 1847 to 1909, was an accomplished architect in New York City, in the firm of McKim, Mead & White. He studied at Harvard University, and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
In 1992, a restoration of the capitol building, and another East Wing addition was completed to provide additional office space, and a public entrance at ground level on Union Street. The restoration and addition were done by Nicholas H Holmes Jr. in a Greek Revival style to resemble the 1851 construction at the west face by Barachias Holt.
Former State Capitols
Alabama was formerly part of the Mississippi Territory when it was incorporated into the United States in 1798, and the legislature met in Natchez Mississippi. In 1817, when Mississippi became a state, the Alabama Territory was formed. Representatives met in a hotel in Saint Stephens, a growing town on the Tombigbee River north of Mobile. Finally, in 1819, Alabama was admitted to the Union and became a state with representatives meeting in my home town, Huntsville, near the Tennessee River in north Alabama, to organize and form a state constitution. Huntsville served as the state capitol for the next year in a building used for woodworking, but later known as Constitution Hall, while plans were made to move the capital to Cahawba on the Alabama River. A reconstruction of Constitution Hall was designed by architect Harvey Jones, who I had the good fortune to work for during the years the reconstructed Constitution Hall was being built.
Harvie P Jones, 1930 to 1998, was an architect and partner in the firm Jones & Herrin Architects, in Huntsville Alabama. He is credited with documenting many historic buildings in Huntsville, and helped establish the Twickenham Historic District, Old Town Historic District, and the Historic Huntsville Foundation.
In 1820, the first capitol building was built in Cahawba, but in 1823 the building collapsed and the official records available on its design were lost. Sketches are available by an unknown artist, showing what it may have looked like based on similar structures of that era. Both Constitution Hall and the Cahawba State House were thought to be constructed in a Federal architectural style, common during this time frame. The Cahawba area was adjacent to the Alabama and Cahawba Rivers, and prone to flooding, so the legislature moved the state capital to Tuscaloosa near the Black Warrior River.
The new capitol in Tuscaloosa was completed in 1829, in a Greek Revival architectural style, designed by William Nichols. Nichols’ proposed design was called Grecian Cross, as that was the form of the capitol floor layout. The design came from a similar design for the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, where Nichols was previously their state architect, and had designed extensive modifications. The Tuscaloosa Capitol was utilized until 1846, when the legislature moved to Montgomery. The old capitol building remained in use as the Central Alabama Female College, until it burned in 1923.
William Nichols, 1780 to 1853, was born in England and emigrated to the United States in 1800, where he became noted for his Neoclassical-style designs, including the statehouses in North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. He was raised by a family of builders from Bath England, noted for its English Palladian and Adam-style architecture, and learned his trade through them and his work in the area.
In 1847, the capital was moved to Montgomery to its current location. The original design for the Alabama State Capitol was by Stephen Button, in a Greek Revival architectural style similar in design to the current capitol building. It was destroyed by fire in 1849, leading to the redesign and construction of the current capitol.
Stephen Decatur Button, 1813 to 1897, was born in Preston Connecticut, apprenticed with his uncle, a carpenter, and became an assistant to the New York City architect, George Purvis. He later took on work in Georgia and Florida, and in 1846, won a competition for the Alabama State Capitol design. When the completed capitol burned in 1849, Stephen Button moved to Philadelphia and formed a partnership with Joseph C Hoxie.
In Retrospect
The Alabama State Capitol was built in 1850 to 1851, meaning that it, and the former capitol buildings were likely constructed using slave labor. The construction is primarily load bearing brick walls, so the use of slave labor to dig the foundations, quarry the clay soils, make the brick, and maybe layup the brick walls, all seems likely. This is obvious when you think about it, but little is said to point that out. Out of respect for the generations that followed, more should be said to elaborate on life during this era.
For more information on the Alabama State Capitol, check out Part 2, Alabama State Capitol Interior, and Part 3, Alabama State Capitol Monuments. Other tours you might enjoy in Montgomery include the Alabama Bicentennial Park, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the Legacy Museum.
Travel Notes
Montgomery is centrally located in the state and easily accessible from Atlanta on Interstate 85, and Nashville and Mobile on Interstate 65. Routes to Florida are not as straightforward.
My first trips to Montgomery were during the COVID-19 pandemic, so masking was required inside, and recommended around crowds, which on this day there really was a crowd out front.
Notes and References:
Story and photographs by David Smitherman, with data collected from onsite inscriptions and brochures, Wikipedia, and Google Maps. Site visits were made in February and May 2021, and June 2022.
Additional sources included:
Old Tuscaloosa Capitol and Central Alabama Female College at: http://www.tuscco.com/old-capitol-building/
Barachias Holt at: www.findagrave.com