Teddy Roosevelt called this Harrisburg building America’s handsomest, and it’s free to tour: As the story develops

Wikimedia Commons/Kumar Appaiah

Roosevelt called it America’s handsomest

You can walk into the Pennsylvania State Capitol in downtown Harrisburg any day of the week and not pay a dime. Theodore Roosevelt reportedly called it the “handsomest building” he ever saw, and once you step through the doors, you start to understand why. A green-and-gold dome rises above the city skyline, and behind it sits room after room of murals, mosaics, and marble that took decades to complete. The best parts hide deep inside. Shutterstock

A Philadelphia architect built a palace of art

Philadelphia architect Joseph Miller Huston designed the Capitol as a “Palace of Art,” and it opened in 1906 after four years of construction. The previous building had burned down. Huston pulled from Renaissance and Beaux-Arts traditions to create something that felt more like a European cathedral than a government office. Artists kept adding to the interior for years after the dedication. Every room got its own treatment, and the layers of detail only grew over time. Wikimedia Commons/w_lemay

Free guided tours run seven days a week

You can join a free guided tour almost any day, and it runs about 30 to 45 minutes. The guides walk you room by room through the art and architecture, pointing out details you would miss on your own. Since this is a working government building, there are no posted signs or markers along the way. If you visit on a regular weekday and want to go at your own pace, a self-guided tour app lets you explore without a group. Shutterstock

The grand staircase was modeled after the Paris Opera House

The Rotunda hits you the moment you walk in. A sweeping staircase rises through a three-tiered gallery of Italian Carrara marble, and Huston modeled the whole thing after the grand staircase at the Paris Opera House. Look up and you see red and gold beams radiating out from the center of the ceiling. The scale catches you off guard. Everything in this room was built to stop you in your tracks, and it works. Shutterstock

The dome weighs 52 million pounds and rises 272 feet

The dome climbs 272 feet above the floor, and it weighs an estimated 52 million pounds. Huston drew inspiration from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome for the shape. At the very top, a gilded bronze statue called “Commonwealth” stands watch over the city. From inside, you look straight up into the curve of the dome and feel the weight of the thing pressing down around you.

Most people who tour the Capitol say the dome is what stays with them longest. Wikimedia Commons/Bestbudbrian

Eight murals ring the Rotunda walls

Edwin Austin Abbey, a Philadelphia-born artist with an international reputation, painted eight large murals that circle the Rotunda. Each one tackles a different theme tied to Pennsylvania’s history, from industry and law to religion and science. Abbey worked on many of them in his studio in London, shipping the finished canvases across the Atlantic. He died in 1911 before all the pieces were fully installed. The murals went up without the man who made them. Wikimedia Commons/Edwin Austin Abbey

The largest mural shows 28 famous Pennsylvanians

Step into the House Chamber and Abbey’s biggest work fills the wall behind the Speaker’s platform. “The Apotheosis of Pennsylvania” gathers 28 famous figures around a central scene. You can pick out William Penn, Benjamin Franklin, and Daniel Boone among the faces. Abbey painted several other works in the same room, but this one dominates. The scale is hard to describe until you stand under it and try to count every figure looking back at you. Wikimedia Commons/Bain News Service

She was the first woman to paint a U.S. capitol

The Governor’s Reception Room belongs to Violet Oakley. In 1902, she became the first woman artist to land a major commission decorating a U.S. capitol building. Her subject was William Penn and his vision of religious freedom, and the series took four years to finish. Oakley later went on to paint more murals in the Senate and Supreme Court chambers. Her work fills some of the most important rooms in the building. Wikimedia Commons/w_lemay

Nearly 400 mosaic scenes cover the first floor

Henry Chapman Mercer of Bucks County paved the entire first floor with hand-painted tiles. Nearly 400 mosaic scenes spread across 16,000 square feet, showing Pennsylvania’s plants, animals, workers, and history. Keep your eyes down and you will spot a cow, a housefly, and an early automobile among the pictures. The tiles sit slightly uneven, so watch your step if you are wearing dress shoes. The floor alone could keep you busy for an hour.

Read more from this brand:

Why do so many Frank Lloyd Wright houses sit in one quiet Pennsylvania valley near Pittsburgh

No blueprints, no plans, just one man’s concrete castle in Doylestown, Pennsylvania

The prison that changed the world sits in Philadelphia and costs less than a museum ticket

The post Teddy Roosevelt called this Harrisburg building America’s handsomest, and it’s free to tour appeared first on When In Your State.

Shutterstock

Original mahogany woodwork fills the three chambers

Guided tours typically take you through the Senate, House, and Supreme Court chambers when they are available. Each room still holds its original mahogany woodwork from the early 1900s. Art nouveau chandeliers hang in the Senate Chamber, and stained glass windows throw color across the old wooden desks. The Supreme Court chamber is home to one of the oldest high courts in the nation. You sit in these rooms and feel the weight of every session held here. Shutterstock

LEGO bricks built a Commonwealth statue in the Welcome Center

Stained glass windows show up everywhere you look in this building, from the chambers to the hallways. Outside on the plaza near Walnut Street, statues line the walkways. Inside the Welcome Center, a large replica of the Commonwealth statue sits made entirely of LEGO bricks. Sculptures and carvings fill the corridors and doorframes at every turn. Slow down and look closely, because the details reward the people who take their time. Shutterstock

The dome glows above Harrisburg after dark

Walk the square outside the Capitol to take in the full exterior. A fountain near the East Wing draws people for photos, and State Street gives you a classic head-on view of the dome between the symmetrical wings. Round windows line both sides of the building, and the proportions hold up from every angle. Come back after dark and the whole structure glows against the night sky. It looks like a completely different building once the lights come on. Shutterstock

Tour the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg

You can visit the Pennsylvania State Capitol at Third and State Streets in downtown Harrisburg. Free guided tours run seven days a week, with a few holiday exceptions, and the Welcome Center stays open on weekdays. No tickets or reservations are needed for most tours, but check the official website before you go to confirm the schedule. Give yourself at least an hour. The building has enough art and history to fill a whole afternoon if you let it. This article was created with AI assistance and human editing. Read more from this brand:

Why do so many Frank Lloyd Wright houses sit in one quiet Pennsylvania valley near Pittsburgh

No blueprints, no plans, just one man’s concrete castle in Doylestown, Pennsylvania

The prison that changed the world sits in Philadelphia and costs less than a museum ticket

The post Teddy Roosevelt called this Harrisburg building America’s handsomest, and it’s free to tour appeared first on When In Your State.