Ohio Statehouse
Part 1. The Architecture and Architects
The Ohio Statehouse is located in Columbus Ohio on the Scioto River near the center of the state. It borders Michigan and Lake Erie with Canada to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia along the Ohio River to the southeast, Kentucky along the Ohio River to the southwest, and Indiana to the west. The terrain features vast rich farm lands across most of the state from the northwest to the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in the southeast. When European colonists arrived in the 17th century the lands were already contested among warring Native Americans from what became known as the Northwest Indian Wars. After the American Revolution in 1787, the Northwest Territory was formed, and in 1803 Ohio was partitioned from that territory to become the Union’s 17th state.
Construction of the Statehouse began in Columbus in 1839 and was completed in 1861 in a Greek Revival architectural style. Its design is credited to multiple architects, and is noted for being among the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture from that time period. It lacks a dome, even though a dome was proposed by most of the architects that worked on the project. Instead it has a conical roof with a cylindrical lantern or cupola over the rotunda.
From the outside it looks like there are only two floor levels, but there are actually four. There is a basement level below grade with access to an underground parking garage, entrances and meeting spaces on the first floor, the legislative chambers on the second floor, and a third floor with access to the public galleries above each chamber. It was constructed of solid masonry and Columbus limestone, beautifully formed and carved with Greek Revival detailing.
State Capital History
The capital of the Northwest Territory was in Chillicothe, so in 1803 when Ohio became a State, Chillicothe continued as the State Capital. It remained there from 1803 to 1810, and then moved to Zanesville for two years, and then back to Chillicothe from 1812 to 1816. A new state law was passed that required the capital to be located within 40 miles of the center of the state, but neither Chillicothe or Zanesville met that criteria. So, competing interest began the process of establishing a new capital city. Ultimately, Columbus was created as the new capital city, and Capitol Square was created to form the grounds occupying an entire city block. Construction soon began on the first of two Statehouse to be built in Columbus on Capitol Square.
The 1801 territorial capitol was in Chillicothe and designed in a Federal architectural style by William Guthrie and William Rutledge. It served as the first Statehouse from 1803 to 1810, and again from 1812 to 1816. It was built from local limestone and included a simple hip roof and cupola.
William Guthrie, 18th century, was a Revolutionary War veteran, and stone mason, and William Rutledge, 18th century, was a carpenter.
The second Statehouse was located in Zanesville and used from 1810 to 1812 before moving back to Chillicothe. It used a similar design in a Federal architectural style by James Hampson, but was built with a brick facade.
James Hampson, also known as Captain Hampson, in the early 1800s, was an architect, state legislator, and county sheriff. Later in the 1800s he became Superintendent of the National Road.
‘After the Statehouse moved to Columbus the relatively new former Zanesville Statehouse was used as a county courthouse, and in the 1830s the Atheneum Library wing and an office wing were added. It burned in the 1850s, and the one in Chillicothe was torn down in 1874.
The first Statehouse in Columbus was completed in 1816 at the corner of State and High streets on Capitol Square. It was a two story brick structure similar to the former in Zanesville, and designed in a Federal architectural style by an unidentified architect. It is likely that James Hampson was the architect since its appearance is so similar to the Statehouse he built in Zanesville. Adjacent to the Statehouse was the first State Office Building and Library, and a U.S. Courthouse.
Fearing fires and needing more space, legislators decided in 1838 to build a larger and more permanent Statehouse in the center of Capitol Square. Work began but by the 1850s the new building still was not complete. A fire in 1852 burned the old Statehouse creating new emphasis on needing the new Statehouse completed. Work proceeded and by 1857 the legislators were able to move into the nearly completed Statehouse. The other two buildings on Capitol Square, the courthouse and library, were soon torn down to permit completion of the grounds on Capitol Square.
The Architects
By 1838 the state government had grown and was in need of larger facilities in a permanent fireproof building. A Commission was appointed by the legislature to develop a proposed design, which they did through a design competition. The design requirements suggested use of the Grecian Doric Order for the design. Three designs were selected, all of which were similar and in a Greek Revival architectural style.
1st Place: Henry Walter
Henry Walter, 19th century, was an American architect from Cincinnati Ohio, and is noted for his Greek Revival designs for Saint Peters Cathedral in Cincinnati and this Statehouse in Columbus.
2nd Place: Martin Thompson
Martin Euclid Thompson, 1786 to 1877, was an American architect from New York City. He trained as a carpenter and later became a partner with the architect Ithiel Town. Thompson was one of the cofounders of the National Academy of Design, and noted for many buildings in New York City designed in the Greek Revival architectural style.
3rd Place: Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole, 1801 to 1848, was born in Lancashire England and immigrated to the United States in 1818. He became a noted self taught painter primarily of portraits and landscapes, and occasionally worked in the architectural field winning some notoriety for his work on the Ohio Statehouse.
The Commission could not decide on any one of the three designs, so Alexander Davis, an architect from New York was hired to help the Commission make a decision by preparing the three drawings above showcasing each design. When that did not lead to a clear choice he then prepared his own fourth design as a composite of the others for the Commission’s consideration.
Alexander Jackson Davis, 1803 to 1892, was born in New York City and studied at the American Academy of Fine Arts, the New York Drawing Association, and the National Academy of Design. He apprenticed under Josiah Brady in New York, and later partnered with Ithiel Town. His design work featured major buildings in Greek Revival and Gothic Revival, and is noted for many homes designed in Gothic Revival and Italianate architectural styles.
Davis’s Greek Revival design was not accepted either, but in 1839 construction began anyway on a foundation and lower level that would be suitable for all of the designs under consideration. Henry Walter, the first place architect, was hired to supervise and prepare plans that took on some of the features proposed in Nathan Cole’s design. He saw the foundation set, but construction was stopped. By vote of the legislature, funding was cut and the foundation was covered and used as a cow pasture for about eight years, while legislators battled over efforts by some to move the capital to another city.
In 1849 a second construction bill was passed, but ongoing squabbles over cost, the use of convict labor, the installation of a prison fence around the site, changes in architects, and then a cholera epidemic, led to even more delays in the construction. The architects included during this phase included William West, Nathan Kelly, and Isaiah Rogers.
William West worked on the building from 1848 to 1854, and his design of the facade best resembles the end design result we see today, including the lantern cupola instead of a dome over the rotunda.
William Russell West, 19th century, was an American architect and partner with J.O. Sawyer in Cincinnati Ohio.
Nathan Kelly worked on the building from 1854 to 1858, and is credited with some of the finishing touches on the exterior, but his primary contribution was on the interior design. He was let go by the Commission because of the elaborate floral design in the House and Senate Chamber, which is still in place today. Similar design work was planned for the rotunda, but except for the floor tile design, was not executed by the Commission. He also proposed a domed cupola, which was not built.
Nathan B. Kelly, 1808 to 1871, was an American architect based in Columbus where he completed major works in a classical architectural style for the city, county and state. His conflict with the Commission over the Statehouse interior led him to leave Columbus for a while where he provided services for several colleges in southwest Ohio and Kentucky.
And finally, Isaiah Rogers worked on the building from 1858 until it was completed in 1861. He proposed a more prominent portico with columns there and around the cupola. Most of his proposed changes were rejected, except the conical roof over the cupola as proposed by William West.
Isaiah Rogers, 1800 to 1869, was born in Marshfield Massachusetts and apprenticed under Solomon Willard a noted architect in Boston Massachusetts. Rogers was noted for his hotels and a number of other significant projects that led to his appointment by Salmon P Chase as Supervising Architect of the United States in 1863.
The final construction used Columbus limestone, beautifully shaped and set in Greek Revival detailing of excellent quality.
When completed in 1861 the Ohio Statehouse was the largest state capitol building in the country, and the second largest building in the country, with only the US Capitol being the largest building at that time.
Senate Building
In 1901 a Judiciary Annex was built to free up more space in the Statehouse. It was located on Capitol Square on the east side, leaving a small courtyard between the two buildings. In 1974 the Judiciary moved again to another building and the Annex became known as the Senate Building, freeing up even more space in the Statehouse. The original Judiciary Annex was designed in a Neoclassical architectural style by the architect Samuel Hannaford.
Samuel Hannaford, 1835 to 1911, was born in England but immigrated with his family to Cincinnati where he studied at Farmer’s College. Most of his work in a classical architectural style can be found in the Cincinnati area.
The limestone in both the Statehouse and the Senate Building bares evidence of the geology of the region, where if you look closely at the finish, you can identify fossil reliefs from about 300 million years ago. Here are a couple of the fossil forms from the steps on the west entrance to the Senate Building identified as a Marine Gastropod, or sea snail, and a Cephalopod Goldringia cyclops, or a type of squid in a coiled shell.
Capitol Atrium
The courtyard between the Statehouse and the Judiciary building remained open until 1993 when a connecting Atrium was completed. It was designed in a Post-Modern architectural style with Neoclassical influences by the architects Schooley Caldwell Associates. The design is symmetrical with similar entrances on the north and south face, and glass making the final connection along the east and west edges.
Shooley Caldwell Associates is an architectural firm in Columbus with a long history beginning in 1944 with John Shooley, a former State Architect. The firm now represents the state as Architect of the Capitol having provided the design for the Capitol Atrium and the restoration of both the Statehouse and Senate Buildings.
The Ohio Statehouse is a beautiful example of Greek Revival architecture that in my opinion could be updated and remain historically accurate by adding a dome. The interior rotunda already reflects a dome, and five of the seven designs that were prepared for the Statehouse had domes. Of the designs with domes, a design similar to that by Henry Walter, Thomas Cole or Alexander Davis would seem to be the most attractive, and I believe historically appropriate. One could say that instead of two decades to complete the work, that it was done over a period of two centuries.
Travel Notes
Visitors may enter the building from Third Street through the Senate Building, or through the south sliding doors in the underground parking garage on the Green Level. On session days, visitors may also enter the Statehouse at State Street on the south side.
The garage provides parking for 1200 vehicles below Capitol Square with vehicular entrances from East Broad Street and State Street, and pedestrian entrances at the South High Street corners. On my first visit to the Ohio Statehouse I arrived early and easily found parking on 3rd Street near the Visitor Entrance.
That first visit was part of a multi-day tour that included a stop at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort Kentucky and then on up to Columbus Ohio. In 2019 the lack of charging stations contributed to the circuitous route in Kentucky. Fortunately it is much better now since there are more charging stations available and my truck has a longer range.
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 July 2019 and July 2024.
“Ohio Statehouse: A Building for the Ages,” by Cheryl J. Straker and Chris Matheney, Donning Company Publishers, 2011.
“Statehouse Fossils: A guide to fossils of the Ohio Capitol,” by Mark E. Peter, with illustrations by Madison N. Perry, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey, 2020.
“Temples of Democracy: The State Capitols of the U.S.A.,” by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and William Seale, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, London, 1976.
Henry Walter: https://prabook.com/web/henry.walter/1717808
William Guthrie and William Rutledge: “Ohio’s First Statehouse (1801–1852),” by Emily Brammer, 2018. https://theclio.com/entry/63549
James Hampson: https://ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org/archives/6036
Shooley Caldwell Associates: https://www.schooleycaldwell.com/