Connecticut State Capitol
Part 2 of 4: The Interior Architecture and Sculpture
The Connecticut State Capitol is an active capitol that includes the Governor’s Offices, and the General Assembly with House and Senate Chambers. Most of the Governor’s staff offices are in the Capitol, whereas the legislative offices and meeting rooms are now located in the adjacent Legislative Office Building. The office building connects directly to the Capitol by both a pedestrian bridge to the Capitol Grounds, and a pedestrian tunnel leading up into the South Entrance Hall.
The Capitol is roughly rectangular in layout with an extension to the south side that forms the House Chamber over a covered entrance. The Senate Chamber is over the North Entrance Hall, which is recognized as the front ceremonial entrance to the Capitol. Vertical spaces open up the East and West Atriums with skylights above, and the Rotunda in the center is open to the windows of the lantern dome above.
The South Entrance Hall faces the Museum of Connecticut History across the capitol grounds and Capitol Avenue. The Museum building also includes the State Library and the State Supreme Court that resided in the Capitol building until about 1911. Inside the entrance hall is an escalator leading down to a pedestrian tunnel to the Legislative Office Building where there is a tour desk at the west entrance.
South Entrance Hall
The South Entrance Hall leads into the Rotunda where a bronze sculpture of the allegorical figure Genius of Connecticut is displayed, and then through to the North Entrance Hall. Among the displays in the south hall are that of the Connecticut State Heroine.
The Connecticut State Heroine portrays the teacher Prudence Crandall, 1803 to 1890, and student Gabriel Koren, in remembrance of her efforts to educate African Americans in spite of the prejudices during that time period. The statues titled Prudence Crandall with Student, were sculpted by Gabriel Koren in 2008.
Gabriel Koren, was born in Budapest Hungary, and studied at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, and the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. She then emigrated to the United States and set up a studio in New York City, where she focused on African American sculpture.
Rotunda
In the rotunda is an allegorical figure titled “Genius of Connecticut” by sculptor Randolph Rogers completed in 1878. This is the full size bronze sculpture that is planned for installation on top of the cupola above the capitol dome. The original can be seen in the introductory image of the capitol above before it had to be removed after a hurricane in 1938. It was then melted down for materials during World War II. Fortunately the sculptor’s original plaster model was still available and is on display in the North Entrance Hall.
Genius of Connecticut, is an allegorical figure where Genius means that she is a protector and representative of the spirit of the people. The bronze sculpture was recreated from the plaster original in the North Entrance Hall, by Direct Dimensions Incorporated.
Direct Dimensions Incorporated, founded in 1955, is a three dimensional scanning company that enables the recreation of complex three dimensional forms. In this case they were able to scan the original Genius of Connecticut sculpture by Randolph Rogers, scale it up in size, and create molds for casting.
The interior floors use a white marble and red slate from Connecticut, and some colored marble from Italy.
Interior finishes have been restored to their original beauty to include colors and patterns found in the East Lake style popular in the late 1800s.
North Entrance Hall
The North Entrance Hall includes the original sculpture of the Genius of Connecticut sculpted by Randolph Rogers in 1877. The sculpture depicts a winged female allegorical figure crowned with oak leaves for strength, and uplifted arms with wreaths of Laurel in her right hand, and Helichrysum in her left hand, representing victory and hope.
Randolph Rogers, 1825 to 1892, was born in Waterloo New York, and grew up in Ann Arbor Michigan. In 1848 he moved to Florence Italy and studied under Lorenzo Bartolini, and in 1851 he opened his own studio in Rome creating many works for commissions from the United States.
Grand Staircases
On each side of the rotunda are stair galleries that extend up to the second floor entrances to the House Chamber and Governor’s Offices, the Senate Chamber on the third floor, and then up to the Public Galleries for each Chamber.
There are six allegorical figures on each staircase that are scaled down versions of the same figures on the exterior dome above the rotunda. They represent Music, Force and War, Agriculture, Commerce, Science and Justice, and Education and Law. These were created from castings of the original wood sculptures by John Quincy Adams Ward.
East and West Atriums
The Atriums open to skylights above that bring light into the center of the building. The skylights and stenciling on the balconies were designed by William McPherson and his decorating firm.
William J. McPherson, 1821 to 1900, worked in the Boston area in the late 1800s and became a successful businessman and artisan employing around 150 craftsman at one time.
In the Atriums on the first floor can be found several displays and sculptures including that of William Buckingham, the Forlorn Soldier, and Nathan Hall.
William Alfred Buckingham, 1804 to 1875 was the Governor of Connecticut during the Civil War, and later a US Senator. His statue was sculpted by Olin Warner in 1884.
The Forlorn Soldier, is from the 1870s and depicts a Civil War era Union soldier. It was made of brownstone and is severely weathered, and was originally holding a musket which is now missing. The statue was sculpted by James Batterson in 1870, who later became the contractor for the Capitol.
Nathan Hale, 1755 to 1776, was born in Coventry Connecticut and died a Revolutionary War hero when he volunteered to cross enemy lines as a spy to gather intelligence on British movements. His statue was sculpted by Karl Gerhardt in 1886.
The sculptors were Olin Warner for Buckingham, Batterson for the Forlorn Soldier, and Karl Gerhardt for Hale.
Olin Levi Warner, 1844 to 1896, was born in Suffield Connecticut, and studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris under François Jouffroy and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. After serving in the French Foreign Legion he moved to New York City where he set up a studio.
Karl Gerhardt, 1853 to 1940, was born in Boston Massachusetts and worked as a machinist at Pratt and Whitney, pursuing sculpture as a hobby. A partially nude sculpture of his wife Josie attracted recognition leading to his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and later several commissions in Connecticut.
House of Representatives Chamber
The entrance to the Hall of the House of Representatives is on the second floor and provides desks for its 151 representatives. The Chamber has been restored to its original grandeur, including the representatives’ desks.
The public gallery overlooks the Chamber and is accessible from a level between the third and fourth floors.
The Governor’s Office is also located on the second floor near the West Atrium where you can see into the Hall of Flags at the west Visitor Entrance. The office area was not accessible for tours nor were the additional supporting offices on the upper floors where active governmental work was in progress.
Senate Chamber
The Senate Chamber is located on the third floor in what was the original space for the State Library. The room was reconfigured in 1913 to accommodate the Senate with its 36 members.
On each side of the chamber are public galleries that are accessible from the fourth floor.
Commentary
The Capitol interior is among the more colorful I have seen, common for the Eastlake style that was popular in the late 1800s. The design and finishes throughout, display excellent craftsmanship and artistry in the artful use of color, light, and materials.
If you missed it please check out Part 1 on the Architecture and Architectural Sculpture. Part 3 continues this story with the Capitol Grounds and Legislative Office Building, and Part 4 is on Connecticut’s Old State House.
Travel Notes
On my second trip to the Connecticut State Capitol I was traveling from Boston and took a self guided tour in the morning. I parked on Elm Street by Bushnell Park in Hartford and entered through the Capitol Visitor Entrance from the grounds on the west side.
That afternoon I continued my travels east to Scranton Pennsylvania where I spent the night near a Tesla Supercharger in Moosic, a route I often take to avoid the traffic in New York City. From there, I turned southeast toward my home in Huntsville Alabama, but with another layover in Virginia. Its a beautiful country, but it can seem like a long ride sometimes.
Notes and References
Story and photographs by David Smitherman, with data collected from onsite inscriptions and brochures, Wikipedia, Google Maps, and Google Lens. Site visits were made in July 2020, August 2023, and November 2024.
Prudence Crandall: https://www.ct.gov/kids/lib/kids/pdf/prudencecrandallstatue.pdf.
William McPherson: https://eustis.estate/content-block/mcphersons-stained-glass/.
Capitol Sculptors: https://www.publicartct.org/.