Then and Now: January 2013 | STATE LEGISLATURES MAGAZINE

This Month's Statehouse Photo

This month's photo is of the Capitolio de Puerto Rico in San Juan.

The Capitol, also referred to as the Palace of Laws or Palacio de las Leyes, was originally conceived of in 1907, but construction was not completed until 1929. The model for the central portion of the building and the dome was Low Memorial Library at Columbia University. A number of architects worked on the neoclassical revival structure, although the credit for design and construction goes to architect Rafael Carmoega.

The building, located in the Puerta de Tierra sector of San Juan, is home to the House of Representatives and Senate. It features friezes and mosaics and two entrances, each with eight pillars and seven doors.

Sources: wikipedia, National Park Service

25 Years Ago

Articles from the January 1988 issue of State Legislatures:

FLORIDA’S SALES TAX ON SERVICES: ABERRATION OR INNOVATION?
“The final act in Florida’s effort to tax services may not be over, but it has already taught some valuable political, as well as economic, lessons.”

STATES CHECKMATE CORPORATE RAIDERS
“Fearful that raids on local companies could mean the loss of jobs, tax revenues and community support, states are passing laws to make takeovers more difficult.”

LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS IN SIX STATES BARELY CHANGE PARTISAN MAKEUP
“In the November elections, women made gains, blacks held their own and citizens had their say on numerous ballot issues.”

Did You Know?

Florida’s territorial legislature originally met alternately in Pensacola and St. Augustine, almost 400 miles apart, and both cities vied to become the state capital. Instead, travel-weary lawmakers sent a search party to find a suitable location somewhere in between. Drawn to its beauty, the search party settled on what would become Tallahassee in 1824. The territorial government had a Greek Revival capitol built in anticipation of becoming the 27th state, which opened in 1845, just in time for statehood. In the 1970s, a new capitol was built, and the old one became a museum. In New Classicism style, the current capitol features a 22-story tower with an observation deck and a special room for worship and meditation (one of only six in the nation with one). Florida is a Spanish word meaning full of flowers, so the Women’s Club of Tallahassee follows a tradition started in 1903 and sets a bouquet of flowers on legislators’ desks at the start of each session.

—From “A Celebration of State Capitols” by Richard Gibson, Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee, and cvisittallahassee.com and flhistoriccapitol.gov