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In 1779, legislators moved Virginia's capital city from Williamsburg to Richmond. The lawmakers met in a warehouse for nine years until the Capitol building was considered finished enough, in 1788, to house the state's two legislative branches and governor's office. Thomas Jefferson's design — inspired by a Roman temple in Nimes, France — has influenced the architecture of many public buildings in the United States.

In 1800, the red-brick building was first covered with stucco. Livestock grazed on the lawn surrounding the building until 1818. Since the addition of two wings and the front stairs in 1906, the exterior has changed little.

In the rotunda, the focal point is Jean Antoine Houdon's statue of George Washington, which is perhaps the most valuable piece of marble sculpture in the country. Surrounding this magnificent statue are busts of Virginia's other native-son presidents — Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson. Also noteworthy is the full-length statue of Robert E. Lee, located where he formally accepted command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia on April 23, 1861.

Text © 2000 Terry White, Drawing © 2000 Bill Harrah