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THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE
Construction of the Capitol rotunda
THE ORIGINS OF IDAHO'S CAPITOL OF LIGHT
WORDS BY NICOLE INGHILTERRA, IDAHO STATE MUSEUM CURATOR OF COLLECTIONS & EXHIBITIONS
PHOTOS COURTESY IDAHO STATE MUSEUM
Idaho’s legislature formed the first Capitol Commission in 1905. Their mission – replace the small and outdated Territorial Capitol. This team of judges, businessmen, and former elected officials grappled with what a new capitol building would communicate to the citizens, lawmakers, and visitors of the young state.
The Capitol building would do more than house government; it would give Idahoans a vision to aspire to. In requesting designs for Idaho’s new capitol, they did not specify an architectural style. Their only guidance—the plans needed to include a central dome.
The Capitol building would do more than house goverment; it would give Idahoans a vision to aspire to.
The contract was awarded to J.E. Tourtellotte & Company Architects who crafted an ambitious plan reflecting the hopes and ideals of a young state as well as the men at the company’s helm. Vision defined John Everett Tourtellotte’s career. After an apprenticeship in Massachusetts, he hopscotched his way west. By the time he arrived in Idaho in 1890, Tourtellotte had refined his skill in crafting structures that told stories. In Idaho’s statehouse, he insisted on details that illustrated “the dignity, intelligence, and moral ideals” of Idaho’s people.
University-trained architect and engineer, Charles Frederic Hummel started his life in Germany and sought opportunity in America. After a nationwide financial crisis, he and his family decided to try their luck in Boise. Hummel joined Tourtellotte’s architectural firm in 1895, marrying his engineering genius to Tourtellotte’s grand imagination. They created fewer than sixty-five core drawings to create the Capitol. In contrast, more than one thousand drawings and renderings guided its restoration and expansion from 2007 to 2009.
Superintendent of Construction Herbert Quigley was charged with bringing Tourtellotte and Hummel’s drawings to life. He meticulously oversaw suppliers, artisans, and builders throughout the first phase of the Capitol’s creation. Work began immediately after the Capitol Commission selected Tourtellotte & Hummel’s design in 1905. Funds for the project came in gradually, and work was completed in phases with the Commission prioritizing the central section of the building. This first phase lasted until 1913, but soon thereafter, the addition of the east and west wings proved necessary. In 1919, they broke ground on the grand chambers holding Idaho’s Senate and House of Representatives.
Naysayers denounced the complex network of steel supporting the building’s central dome as frivolous and wasteful. Hummel reworked the design to make it lighter and roughly $180,000 less expensive than the original concept. Still, the project was plagued by criticism. Delays in material shipments and increasing costs led to accusations of mismanagement. Finally, Tourtellotte lost his composure in a Senate Affairs Committee hearing, calling their most dogged critic, Senator Ravenel Macbeth “rattlebrained.” Although the commission was cleared of wrongdoing, having been “tried by fire, as it were, and found OK,” Quigley lost his superintendent title amidst intense political pressure.
Tourtellotte included skylights and rings of glowing electric bulbs crafting a radiance that would inspire the building’s occupants to work for the public good. The team gave the Commission three domes, with a towering double dome at the building’s heart. An outer structure of steel covered in cement and terra cotta tiles encases an inner dome of plaster and wood supported by eight columns reaching a granite foundation.
The Beaux-Arts building features a uniquely Idaho contrast. The Capitol’s lower façade mimics a log cabin. This rusticated exterior is faced with Idaho sandstone. Formed millions of years ago from sediment deposited by wind and waves, the stone was cut from a quarry near Table Rock. It anchored the building in Idaho’s landscape and saved precious funds. After penitentiary inmates built access roads, workers cut and transported tons of stone. Machines refined pieces from three feet to three inches thick. Masons hand chiseled each piece to its final shape and texture.
Once called “poor man’s marble,” the Capitol’s scagliola encased columns are more precious than the stone they imitate. The Michael Nocenti Company from New York City faced locally made brick columns. Trained in Italy, artisans on site used a fifteen-step process that is still a closely guarded secret. With trowels and silk threads, they molded plaster to match the surrounding marbles. The state dedicated the building to its people on January 3, 1921. Over 6,000 visitors attended the grand opening to witness their new “Capitol of Light.” More than a century later, “the People’s House” continues to house government while maintaining a rich historic character. From its marble floors to its eagle crested dome, this functional museum is a touchpoint to our past and Idahoan’s best hopes and dreams for our future.
