by prominent architect Reuben S. Clark in 1860.
Exterior The building is based on the
U.S. Capitol building in
Washington, D.C. The west
facade ends in projecting bays, and a
portico projects from the center of the building. At the base of the portico, seven
granite archways brace and support the porch above. Eight fluted
Corinthian columns line the portico. A
cornice supports the pediment above depicting the Roman goddess of wisdom,
Minerva, surrounded by allegorical figures representing
Education,
Justice, Industry and
Mining. Above the flat roof with
balustrade are two drums supporting a dome. The first drum consists of a colonnade of Corinthian columns; the second, Corinthian pilasters. Large arched windows line the drum walls. The dome is high, and supports a lantern with a smaller dome capped with a
gold-leafed orbed
finial.
Interior The
California Senate chamber seats its forty members in a large chamber room decorated in
red, which is a reference to the
British House of Lords (also the
upper house of a
bicameral legislature). The chamber is entered through a second-floor corridor. From the coffered ceiling hangs an electric reproduction of the original
gas chandelier. A hand-carved dais caps off a recessed bay framed by Corinthian columns. The
Latin phrase "
Senatoris est civitatis libertatem tueri ("It is the duty of the Senator to guard the civil liberties of the Commonwealth") lines the cornice. A portrait of
George Washington by
Jane Stuart, the daughter of
Gilbert Stuart, is on the wall above. The State Seal hangs above. Statues of
Minerva once overlooked both chambers' however, today, Minerva, sculpted by Michael H. Casey, appears only in the Senate chamber.
Gilded Corinthian columns support the gallery above, and dark red curtains that can be drawn for privacy are tied back along the columns. High arched windows run along the bottom below rectangular pane windows. Behind the rostrum, there are two chairs with red velvet cushions, reserved for the president
pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the Assembly, but they are never used. The
California Assembly chamber is located at the opposite end of the building. Its green tones are based on those of the
British House of Commons, the lower house. The dais rests along a wall shaped like an "E", with the central projection housing the rostrum. Along the cornice is the Assembly motto, in Latin:
Legislatorum est justas leges condere ("It is the duty of legislators to establish just laws"). ==California Capitol Museum and Park==