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Arkansas State Capitol Building

The Capitol Building stands 230 feet tall featuring a circular central drum tower that is capped with a dome and cupola. The building was built over a century ago as a replica of the White House and has been used in many movies as a stand in. The construction started in 1899 with George Mann and ended in 1915 with Cass Gilbert. The Arkansas State Capitol Building is the seat of government of the state of Arkansas located in Little Rock. The exterior of the Capitol is made of limestone, which was quarried in Batesville, Arkansas. Total construction cost was $2.2 million with today’s value of the building being $320 million. The front entrance doors are made of bronze, which are 10 feet (3 metres) tall, four inches (10 cm) thick and were purchased from Tiffany's in New York for $10,000. The cupola is covered in 24 karat gold leaf. The government was formerly located in the Old State House. The Capitol was built on the site of the state penitentiary and prisoners helped construct the building. They lived in a dormitory that was left on the Capitol grounds while construction was taking place. It's not the kind of thing you'll notice unless somebody points it out to you, but the foundation of the State Capitol is tilted. The original plan was to have the building face squarely down 5th Street so that a visitor approaching on Capitol Avenue would be impressed by the architectural majesty of the building. But as sometimes happens with public projects things go awry from the very beginning and the foundation was laid about nine degrees off square.