It wasn't until after the Civil War (1868) that Atlanta became, once and for all, the state capital; its present capitol building, completed July 4, 1889, was hailed as a testament to the city's recovery.
Modeled after the nation's Capitol, another neoclassical edifice atop a "crowning hill," its 75-foot dome, covered in gold leaf and topped by a Statue of Freedom, is a major Atlanta landmark. The building is fronted by a massive four-story portico with a pediment supported by six Corinthian columns set on large stone piers. In the rotunda, with its soaring 237-foot ceiling, are busts of famous Georgians, including signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The capitol building's public spaces were recently restored to their 1889 grandeur.
Tours begin in the entrance hallway of the main floor, and this level also serves as an information center for city and state attractions. The governor's office is off the main hall. The tours take 45 minutes; allow at least another 30 minutes to browse around on your own after the tour. Highlights of the grounds are detailed in a brochure available at the tour desk. Note: For security reasons, your bag will be searched when you enter.
Grand staircases in both wings rise to the third floor, where you'll enter the House of Representatives, and, across the hall, the Senate chambers. The legislature meets for 40 days, beginning the second Monday in January (it can also be called into special sessions); all of its sessions are open to the public. The fourth floor houses legislative galleries and the State Museum of Science & Industry, with exhibits on cotton, peach, and peanut growing; cases of mounted birds, fish, deer, insects, and other species native to Georgia; rocks and minerals; Indian artifacts; and more. Note, too, museum displays on the first floor.
Some events of note: The week before Thanksgiving is Indian Heritage Week at the capitol. A wattle-and-daub Indian dwelling is constructed in the rotunda, and there are Native American lecturers, music, and arts-and-crafts demonstrations. At Christmas, a beautifully decorated 40-foot tree adorns the rotunda. And on January 15, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's. birthday, there's an annual memorial program; local dignitaries, including the governor, give speeches, and King's family attends.
Capitol Ave
(at Washington St.).
Phone: 404/656-2844 .
Open: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm. Tours given weekdays only at 10 and 11am and 1 and 2pm, but self-guided tours are possible at any time the capitol is open.
Closed major holidays, including state holidays.
Free admission.
Parking lot behind the capitol building on Capitol Ave. is closed to the public during legislative sessions; other lots are on M. L. King Dr. at Central Ave. and on Courtland St. between M. L. King Dr.
