The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is in downtown Harrisburg. The current capitol was designed in 1902, in a Beaux-Arts style with Renaissance themes throughout. The capitol houses the chambers for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, as well as the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. It is also the central building of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex, which includes state government buildings in Harrisburg and throughout the rest of the state. The seat of government for the state was originally in Philadelphia, then moved 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 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. Joseph Miller Huston designed the current capitol, dedicated in 1906. The capitol is often referred to as a "palace of art" because of its many sculptures, murals and stained-glass windows. (more...)
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