North Dakota State Capitol
The North Dakota State Capitol is the house of government of the U.S. state of North Dakota. The Capitol, a 21-story tower, is in Bismarck at 600 East Boulevard Avenue, on a campus that also houses many other government buildings and is the tallest habitable building in North Dakota. The capitol building and the surrounding office buildings house the state's legislative and judicial branches, as well as many government agencies.
The State Capitol is largely surrounded by state government buildings. The parks, walking trails, and monuments on the grounds provide a great deal of information about the state's history, making it one of the city's tourist attractions. Six buildings occupy the grounds; constructed as the government grew. Not all state agencies are housed on the grounds, however: a large number are spread throughout the city in other facilities. The state facility management division developed plans for a massive expansion and improvement of the grounds in 2000, but very little of the plan had been implemented by 2012.
History
The first capitol building was constructed between 1883 and 1884 to house the territorial government, and after statehood, two additions were erected: the Senate wing, and the House wing. On the morning of December 28, 1930, smoke was spotted coming from the northeast part of the original building, and despite the fire department being summoned within minutes of the fire being noticed, it was already too late to save the structure. Even as the fire raged through the upper portions of the building, efforts were made by citizens and state employees to rescue what was possible before everyone was ordered out of the building mid-morning. It was later determined to likely have originated in a pile of oily rags in a janitor's closet on the top floor of the main part of the building, as work had been underway to clean and varnish the legislators' desks in preparation for the upcoming legislative session. North Dakota Secretary of State Robert Byrne saved the original copy of the state's constitution, but suffered cuts and burns on his hands while breaking a window to reach the document. Another state employee, Jennie Ulsrud, burned her hands when she attempted to save records in the North Dakota State Treasurer's office. Governor George F. Shafer came back from his visit to St. Paul, Minnesota while the fire was still burning. Upon arrival, he immediately assembled a team of state legislators and officials to discuss plans for coping with the loss of records and work space. As soon as it was safe to enter the interior of the still smoldering building, 40 state prison inmates were used to salvage the various departments' vaults and other items from the ruins. The Legislature met temporarily in Bismarck's War Memorial Building and the City Auditorium, an annex being constructed to link the two. State offices were spread out across all available space across town, including an entire floor of the Patterson Hotel downtown. Such was the need for space that the unburned lower floors of the original capitol's 1903 wing were even repaired and returned to use.The disaster required the construction of a new building during the Great Depression. The tower and wing were built between 1931 and 1934, at a cost of $2 million. Governor George F. Shafer broke ground for the building on August 13, 1932. Workers on the building were paid only 30 cents an hour and, after multiple worker strikes, the capitol grounds were administered by martial law in June 1933. The state sold half of the original capitol campus to defray the cost of construction. Artist Edgar Miller was brought in to do much of the interior design and decoration as well as the bas-relief sculptures on the facade which depict the human history of North Dakota.
The new 19-story capitol was expected to provide ample space for years to come, however it quickly filled as the state government expanded. The Liberty Memorial Building, completed in 1924, was able to house some of the additional workers, but more space was needed by 1955 when construction began for the State Office Building. The building originally housed the Bismarck Junior College, but the Legislature purchased it in 1959. The 1960s was a period of rapid development of the grounds. In 1960, the new governor's residence replaced the old residence which was deteriorating. In 1980, expanding State Historical Society of North Dakota moved into the new North Dakota Heritage Center and in 1968, the North Dakota Department of Transportation occupied the building designed to provide it more office space. The Transportation Building is the last constructed on the campus to date, although a Judicial Wing was added onto the base of the capitol tower between 1977 and 1981. While the space needed by state government has increased since the original construction of the Capitol in the 1930s, the state's population has decreased.
Layout
The state capitol grounds has six buildings: the capitol building, the Department of Transportation Building, the North Dakota Heritage Center, the Liberty Memorial Building, the governor's residence, and the State Office Building. Additionally, the campus holds Myron Atkinson Park and the Capitol Park. Through the center of the grounds is the Capitol Mall, a large open field of grass with walking paths lined by American Elm trees. The Mall was the site of the state's snow angel world record breaking in 2007, with 8,962 people sprawled out on the snow-covered mall; a picture was taken from the top of the Capitol tower.Buildings
State Capitol
The capitol building is a tall, 21 story, Art Deco skyscraper designed by North Dakota architects Joseph Bell DeRemer of Grand Forks and W. F. Kurke of Fargo in conjunction with the noted Chicago firm of Holabird and Root, It is the tallest building in North Dakota and is known as the Skyscraper on the Prairie. This tower houses the office of the governor and the offices of multiple state agencies and departments. At the tower's base, in the west wing, the two chambers of the legislature meet when in session while the North Dakota Supreme Court meets in the east wing. The 18th floor of the Capitol is an observation deck with the highest vantage point in the state.The south side of the Capitol building features a drive-through tunnel which leads to an entrance to the building. This was accessible by public vehicles until 2001 when it was closed due to security measures after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Today, only pedestrians are able to enter the tunnel. In 1988, U.S. President George H. W. Bush presented and dedicated an American Elm tree near the Capitol steps in commemoration of the state's Centennial of 1989.
The many windows on the capitol building's tower are used for several ongoing traditions. During the Christmas season, red and green shades are drawn over the windows and lights are turned on in certain offices to make a pattern that resembles a Christmas tree. During the New Year's Eve, office lights are turned on to spell out the new year; the first two numbers of the new year are given on the top half, and the last two numbers on the bottom. This tradition began during the 1970s, and is now done on all four sides of the building; the Christmas tree tradition began as early as the 1940s.
Tours of the capitol building are available on weekdays. Weekend tours are available Memorial Day through Labor Day. Tours include stops throughout both the building's legislative and judicial wings as well as an elevator ride to the top of the tower.
Judicial Wing
The judicial wing serves as a hub for the Supreme Court and its support staff, as well as office space for state agencies like the Department of Health and the Department of Human Resources. The design for the building began in May 1977, construction began in April 1979 and it was finished completely and occupied by 1981. The size of the Judicial Wing is and was built at a cost of $10.5 million. The dedication for the addition was held on November 15, 1981, with both Governor Allen Olson and former Governor Arthur A. Link present at the ceremony. Included in the wing is the Capitol lunchroom, which serves food to state employees and even the general public on weekdays.Prior to the 2017 Legislative Assembly, two new committee rooms were added in the Judicial Wing. These rooms are used by various legislative committees when the Assembly is in session, and by the Judicial branch when the Legislature is not meeting.
Liberty Memorial Building
The Liberty Memorial Building is home to the State Library, as well as offices for the Special Education Unit of the Department of Public Instruction. The building's construction was authorized by the state's legislature in 1919 in response to an increase of governmental departments and the project was finished by 1924 with a cost of $350,000. The building originally housed the State Historical Society Museum, the Adjutant General, the State Library Commission, and the supreme court until the State Library occupied it. The building is the oldest facility still on the capitol grounds and was renovated in 1982 to conform with modern building codes.Department of Transportation building
The North Dakota Department of Transportation Building is home to the central office of the state's transportation department, as well as small divisions of other agencies. The building was completed in 1968 with materials that harmonize visually with the earlier structures. Before it was consolidated in this building, the Department of Transportation, known then as the State Highway Department, occupied several buildings around the campus including the State Office Building and the capitol. The building contains of space and is just to the east of the capitol tower. While above ground the building is separated from the tower, it is connected to the Judicial Wing by a tunnel accessible only to state employees.North Dakota Heritage Center
The North Dakota Heritage Center building is home to the Heritage Center museum which stores and displays artifacts from around the state. The building also is home to office space for the North Dakota State Historical Society which operates the museum. Planning for the building began as early as 1963 and upon completion of the structure in 1981, the State Historical Society moved from the Liberty Memorial Building into its new Heritage Center quarters. The facility consists of and provides exhibit areas as well as storage, meeting rooms, and offices.In 2006, state officials revealed a massive expansion plan for the center. The construction cost approximately $50 million and nearly doubled the size of the complex adding three large galleries to the east of the existing structure, as well as a new main entry fronting State Street. The building consisted of and the expansion added. Funding for the project consisted of twenty percent private, twenty percent federal, and sixty percent state. In addition to the new gallery area, the expansion includes a 50-seat digital auditorium, climate-controlled storage areas, a café, a children's gallery, expanded visitors service and store, and the Corridor of History, a -wide walkway spanning the length of the expansion with a glazed southern exposure on one side and digital murals on the other.