I D A H O ’ S C A P I T O L BY ANNA WEBB EVERY SO OFTEN,
a choir performs in the Idaho statehouse during the legislative session. Voices reflect around the marble, echoing throughout the 208 feet from the first floor through the rotunda to the starry eye of the capitol building’s massive dome. All of that stone lends a haunting effect to the vocals, and for a few short minutes, the hundreds of lawmakers, officials and aides pause their chatter and bustle and political theater to soak it in.
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But the Idaho statehouse doesn’t need choirs to show off. The building was designed by two Boise historical luminaries, architects John Tourtellotte and his partner, Charles Hummell, and features grey marble from Alaska, red marble from Georgia, green marble from Vermont, black marble from Italy, and of course, native sandstone removed from the nearby quarry at Table Rock by inmate work crews from the Idaho Penitentiary. Dan Everhart, outreach
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historian in the State Historic Preservation Office, describes the architecture as Classical Revival. The style, reminiscent of Greek temples, is common in civic structures across the U.S. because of its sense of gravitas. Classical Revival hallmarks include symmetry, columns, pediments (the triangular element above the front entrance), and repetition of design elements like windows and doors.
