Minnesota — Dome, Eagle Statues, Cupola

Dome
The dome is made of white Georgia marble and is one of only a few self-supporting marble domes in the world. Others include St. Peter's in Rome, the Taj Mahal, and the Rhode Island state capitol. The building was designed to be very similar to St. Peter's in Rome, though simplified and smaller.

The Minnesota capitol dome consists of three structures: an inner, decorative dome that is seen from below in the rotunda, a steel-and-brick reinforcing cone, and the outer, self-supporting marble dome.

image courtesy of CapitolShots.com

image courtesy of CapitolShots.com

Eagles and Cupola
Around the base of the dome are twelve stone eagles; one is visible in this image. The ornate cupola has a gilded ball tip.

image courtesy of
Seth Gaines
 
 

Dome
The most attention-grabbing feature of this capitol is the large dome, which rises to 287 feet and weighs 30 million pounds. It is one of the largest stone domes in the world built without steel support.

Cupola
In early photographs, the cupola looks different. The original was a victim of an earthquake in 1949 and had to be replaced.

2001 Earthquake
On February 28, 2001, an earthquake damaged the Washington capitol. It cracked the dome and moved several of the freestanding columns around its base up to six inches. Not surprisingly, the repair plan included evacuation of the building for an extended time. Under a 30 million pound dome with support compromised is not a good place to be.

Ornamentation
In distant images, this capitol just looks big and gray, but close-ups reveal quite a bit of ornamentation.

Honeysuckle
A section of the dome pictured at right is shown in closer detail on the left. Notice the fan shapes, otherwise known as a honeysuckle pattern, and the way the larger fans are centered at the corners. Honeysuckle decorations can be found on other capitols also.

Dome
What makes the gilding on this dome and the cupola a bit different is that it covers the inset sections, but not the ribs. The effect complements the style, and the result is a very pretty drum and dome.

Ornamentation
This image shows the detail around the bottom edge of the dome. I believe the fan shapes are a stone version of the Honeysuckle decoration found on the North Carolina and Tennessee capitols. Remember them! You will see the honeysuckle pattern on other capitols, too.

images courtesy of
Joshua Works

Cupola
This cupola is unusual for a capitol since it has no windows or other openings.

detail from
image at left

Skylights
At the ends of this very long building are skylight domes over the House and Senate chambers. Beneath them are stained glass ceilings.

 
Most images of this capitol show the skylight domes as very dark. It is surprising to see the clear roof in this image from inside one.

image courtesy of
First Glass Images