Exterior view of the California state capitol building in Sacramento, ca.1900-1920

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Description

Photograph of the exterior view of the California state capitol building in Sacramento, ca.1900-1920. The Italian Renaissance Revival state capitol building is approximately six-stories tall. After climbing a flight of concrete stairs, visitors are greeted by an eight-column portico entrance. Above the portico is a wide pediment adorned with moldings and sculptures. A very prominent feature is the dome and cupola. The building has a east and west wing. A variety of trees decorate the yard surrounding the building. A sign planted in the ground in the foreground reads: "No thoroughfare, keep off the path, this means you".; "Construction began in 1860--just 12 years after the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill--on a four square block site which had been occupied by several private homes. The property was purchased with tax money raised by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. Over the next four years, architect Reuben Clark managed to get the walls up nine feet above the foundation. Floods in 1861 and 1862 slowed construction, forcing construction crews to haul wheelbarrows of dirt to raise the structure 15 feet. Funding for the project was piecemeal, but Clark signed a statement May 18, 1862 stating it could be built to his specifications for $500,000. Funds were provided by a legislature which met only two months every two years--so building progressed until funds ran out, then stopped until the next legislative session. That undoubtedly added to the frustration which drove Clark into a Stockton mental institution where he died in 1866. According to records uncovered in the hospital's files, the cause of insanity was diagnosed as 'continued and close attention to the building of the state capitol in Sacramento'. Gordon P. Cummings took over as supervising architect, and was in charge of the project until he finished the job in 1874. Total cost of the project was $2.5 million. The first major alteration took place from 1906 through 1908. A fourth floor was added to the remainder of the building by gutting the chambers, taking the roof off the building, installing new steel trusses, and redesigning the senate and assembly chambers. The building remained much that way until the Depression years of the 1930's, when people began making more demands on government. Then, a mezzanine floor was added. World War II, with its population boom, brought about the most major alteration of the capitol: the addition of the East Wing, around 1952." -- unknown author.

Asset Metadata

Title Exterior view of the California state capitol building in Sacramento, ca.1900-1920

Creator Pierce, C.C. (Charles C.), 1861-1946 (photographer)

Publisher University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Date Created 1900/1920

Subject capitol buildings (adlf), Capitols (lcsh), Sacramento County -- Architecture (file heading)

Tags OAI-PMH Harvest

Place California (states), Sacramento (city or populated place), Sacramento (counties), USA (countries)

Temporal Subject 1900/1920

Type images

Format 1 photograph : glass photonegative, b&w ; 26 x 21 cm. (aacr2), glass plate negatives (format), photographs (aat)

Source California Historical Society (contributing entity), California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 (collection), Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960 (subcollection)

Repository Email specol@lib.usc.edu

Repository Name USC Libraries Special Collections

Repository Location Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189

Rights Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Copyright Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Access Conditions Send requests to address or e-mail given

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/chs-m8264

Identifier 5653 (accession number), CHS-5653 (call number), CHS-5653 (filename), chs-m265 (legacy collection record id), chs-c65-8585 (legacy record id), chs-m8264 (legacy record id), USC-1-1-1-8396 (legacy record id), 1-44- (microfiche number), USC (project)

IIIF ID [Document.IIIFV3ID]

DM Record ID 8585

Unique identifier UC138440

Legacy Identifier CHS-5653.tiff

Type Image

Internet Media Type image/tiff

Resolution 13.5 in × 16.7 in at 300dpi
34.2 cm × 42.5 cm at 300dpi

Inherited Values

Title Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

Description The nearly 15,000 unique photographs of this collection contain the work of C.C. Pierce which cover the Los Angeles region city, street and architectural views, California Missions, Southwestern Native Americans, and turn-of-century Nevada, Arizona, and California. Pierce, active from 1886 to 1940, was one of the leading photographers of his day and amassed a collection of 15,000 images, including his own and those bought and copied from his contemporaries, George Wharton James and Charles Puck. The James collection contains over 2,000 images of portraits, customs, ceremonies, arts, and games of various groups of Southwestern Native Americans.

Date Created 1860/1960

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