19th century The land for Capitol Square was donated by
Cyrus K. Holliday via his Topeka Town Company in 1862. The master architect was
Edward Townsend Mix with the wings designed by
John G. Haskell. Construction on the East Wing began in 1866, using "native" limestone from Geary County, Kansas. Construction began on the West Wing in 1879 using limestone from
Cottonwood Falls, Kansas and in 1881, the legislature authorized and appropriated funds for the construction of a central building to link the two wings. Construction of this central building began in 1886, and the contract for dome construction was let in May, 1889.
20th century The building was declared officially complete in 1903, after 37 years of construction. The sculpture, by
Richard Bergen, depicts a
Kansa Native American with bow and arrow pointed at the
North Star and was chosen from 27 entries to adorn the dome. The title Ad Astra is
Latin shortening of the
state motto Ad Astra Per Aspera To the stars through difficulty.
21st century The building was featured prominently on
Kansas license plates issued from January 2001 until April 2007. The Capitol dome and Native American Ad Astra statue are also featured on the standard license plate design that began issuance on August 19, 2024. In December 2001, the Statehouse began a $120 million (~$ in ) modernization project, led by Treanor Architects; the project included restoration of its first through fifth floors, the rehabilitation and expansion of its basement, restoration of its exterior masonry and copper roof/dome. By the time the project finished in spring 2014,
scope creep and delays resulted in a total cost of $332 million (~$ in ), covering "new heating and cooling systems, greater security and restroom accessibility, a new parking garage, visitor center, underground office space and replacing the roof and dome". (left) and U.S. Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan observe John Steuart Curry's
Tragic Prelude in the second floor rotunda In the 1930s,
John Steuart Curry painted murals on the second floor including the building's most famous painting—
Tragic Prelude—which depicts an oversize and raging
John Brown wedged between the warring sides of the
American Civil War, flanked by flames and a tornado. Curry's work gained considerable notoriety for depicting unsavory aspects of Kansas history and he left them unsigned and did not complete a commission to paint murals in the rotunda. Curry's depiction of Brown is believed to be the only instance of a person
convicted of treason being featured in a state capitol.
David Hicks Overmyer painted a series of murals in the first floor rotunda between 1951 and 1953 entitled The Coming of the Spaniards,
The Battle of Arickaree,
The Battle of Mine Creek, Building a Sod House, Lewis and Clark in Kansas, Westward Ho, Arrival of the Railroad, and
Chisholm Trail. From 1976 to 1978,
Lumen Martin Winter painted the murals in the rotunda. A mural by Phyllis Garibay-Coon depicting Kansas suffragists (
Minnie J. Grinstead,
Lucy Browne Johnston,
Carrie Langston Hughes,
Mamie Dillard,
Anna C. Wait,
Clarina I. H. Nichols,
Annie Le Porte Diggs,
Lutie Lytle,
Laura M. Johns,
Lilla Day Monroe, Anna O. Anthony, Jane L. Brooks, and Lizzie S. Sheldon) was unveiled in the Kansas Statehouse in January 2025. It is located on the east side of the first-floor rotunda, is titled "Rebel Women", and is the first art installation by any woman artist to be in the Kansas Statehouse. ==See also==