Then and Now: June 2012 | STATE LEGISLATURES MAGAZINE

This Month's Statehouse Photo

This month's photo is of the Ohio Capitol in Columbus. The cornerstone for the Greek revival style building was laid in 1839, but the statehouse did not open until 1957. Delays in construction occurred for various reasons, including a cholera epidemic.

Over the years, the Capitol underwent numerous revisions and expansions, so much so that the original 54-room building had expanded to 317 rooms by 1989. Much of the original building was constructed with Ohio limestone quarried on banks of the Scioto River. The floor of the rotunda is made up of nearly 5,000 individual pieces of marble, cut and fitted by hand. The design trace's the country's development with stones representing the colonies, states in the Union at the time the Capitol opened, and a gray band surrounding the design representing the U.S. Constitution. The chambers of the General Assembly are on the second floor.

Sources: Ohio Statehouse website; wikipedia.com 

25 Years Ago

Articles from the May/June 1987 issue of State Legislatures:

THE REHNQUIST COURT: NO RIGHT TURN
"Liberals and conservatives alike have been surprised by the changes in the U.S. Supreme Court since William Rehnquist became chief justice."

SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD BILLS
" Legislation on surrogate motherhood is pending in 12 state legislatures."

DECLINE IN FEDERAL SHARE
"The federal share of public school funding declined for the fifth straight year to about 6 percent."

Did You Know?

Before 1702, there was East Jersey Province and West Jersey Province. And each had its own capital city—Perth Amboy (photo) in the east and Burlington in the west. And even though the united New Jersey joined the union in 1787, it wasn’t until 1790 that Trenton become the capital. It had served a two-year stint in 1783-84 as the U.S. capital when the Second Continental Congress met there, and might have become the national capital if it weren’t for George Washington’s preference for the District of Colombia. The original capitol building was completed in Trenton in 1792. .

—From “A Celebration of State Capitols,” by Richard R. Gibson