Montana State Capitol Reviews (Helena, Montana)

Montana State Capitol

Rodeo, New Mexico

October 7, 2007

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Best of IgoUgo After 25 years as a territory, Montana became the 41st state in 1889. Though Helena had been the territorial capital, there was bitter contention between copper kings in Anaconda and Helena about which of those two cities would gain title to state ...Read more After 25 years as a territory, Montana became the 41st state in 1889. Though Helena had been the territorial capital, there was bitter contention between copper kings in Anaconda and Helena about which of those two cities would gain title to state capital. Helena won, and the attractive Greek neoclassical capitol building was constructed between 1899 and 1902. Its Montana sandstone exterior is topped by a massive copper dome.

A bronze statue of Lady Liberty stands atop the dome. Directly in front of the capitol stands a statue of a man on horseback, waving a sword high in the air. This is Thomas Francis Meagher, a fighting Irish revolutionary, exiled from his motherland to Tanzania as a young man. Finding his way to the Americas, he soon became major of a Union Irish brigade in the Civil War. After the war, he was appointed governor of Montana Territory. He drowned in the Missouri River under suspicious circumstances at age 43.

Moving inside, the Rotunda is gleaming and spacious, with tall scagliola columns and frescoed dome typical of Renaissance style. Four circular paintings depict images of frontier Montana: Indian, cowboy, prospector, and trapper. We arrived too late for the last organized hourly tour, but we were encouraged to take the self-guided tour, and we were given a paper that explained step-by-step where to go and what to see.

Two sculptures can be seen standing together on the third-floor balcony. Montana Democrat Senator Mike Mansfield, longest serving majority leader (1961-1977), and U.S. ambassador to Japan (1977-1988), holds a pipe in his hand, while his wife, Maureen, stands by his side. College-educated Maureen persuaded Mike, a high school dropout and underground copper miner, to further his education and go into politics. Mike Mansfield was a strong supporter of diplomatic and economic means of conflict resolution. He died a month after 9/11, at age 98.

The capitol is a veritable art museum, with other statues, busts, and original Charlie Russell and Edgar Paxson paintings on display in the Old Supreme Court, Senate, and House of Representatives wings. One notable statue, found on the second floor landing, depicts Jeanette Rankin, teacher, suffragette, and first woman elected to U.S. Congress (1916), a Republican pacifist in the House of Representatives.

Ascending the grand stairway and turning left will lead you to the Old Supreme Court, which became a committee hearing room in 1983. It contains wonderful original paintings and stained glass ceiling. On the right side of the Rotunda, upstairs is the Senate, which convenes every other year for 90 days. Continue on down the hallway to the House lobby and chambers. The painting above the House rostrum is by many considered to be one of Charlie Russell's finest: Lewis and Clark Meeting the Indians at Ross Hole.

Location: 1301 East Sixth Avenue
Phone: (406) 444-4789 Close

From journal City of Mountains and Gulches: Helena, Montana

Montana State Capitol

by travellingdave

Calgary, Alberta

January 5, 2007

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Montana's State Capitol is not to be missed. This otherwise sleepy town is home to the center of government for the state, housed in this beautiful building. The building is only open Mondays to Fridays, and free tours of the complex are available. ...Read more

From journal It's a Hell-un-a Place!

Montana State Capitol

by melissa_bel

Hautrage, Belgium

January 9, 2005

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Best of IgoUgo The most imposing building in town is the state capitol, symbol of the authority of Montana. After a bitter and controversial fight for the capital title with Anaconda, Helena won after a statewide election. Construction of the capitol started in ...Read more The most imposing building in town is the state capitol, symbol of the authority of Montana.

After a bitter and controversial fight for the capital title with Anaconda, Helena won after a statewide election. Construction of the capitol started in 1899, and the building was open on July 4th, 1902. In front of the building is a statue of General Thomas Francis Meagher, added in 1905. He was an officer in the Union Army and replaced the governor of the territory of Montana when he was away. He also wrote a draft of the Constitution for Montana, in case it would become a state. He died mysteriously in Fort Benton, on the Missouri River, while waiting for a gun shipment. To this day, no one knows if he drowned or was murdered.

A few years later, as Montana grew, other wings were added to the building. The Capitol is now undergoing a renovation, so the statue might not be here, and the building can be accessed through the back entrance. The first thing you'll notice in the building is the big painted rotunda with medallions representing important people in the history of Montana at the time: cowboys, natives, explorers, and miners. The tones are warm red and yellow, with touches of green. A grand stairway goes up from the lobby, and you'll be bathed in a golden light coming from the stained-glass overlooking the gardens in the back and covering this aisle of the capitol.

All three powers used to be housed in the building: the House and Senate of Montana, the Governor's office, and the Supreme Court (now in another building close by, but the old Supreme Court remains). The building is filled with paintings depicting important moments in Montana's history. The most important one being is "Lewis and Clark Meeting the Indians at Ross Hole," a remembrance of the moment when the two explorers' party met with Salish Indians and asked them for the best way to cross the mountains and reach the Pacific. You can see it in the House room, above the speaker's chair.

It is also filled with statues, one of which is Jeanette Rankin, the first woman to be elected to the US House in 1916. Speaking of that, the House and Senate floors are pretty neat. The dark woods and paintings give them a stately and solemn air that's guaranteed to make you take the state's business seriously. The Senate and Old Court are located on the second floor (if I'm not mistaken), around the rotunda, while the House is on the third floor in another part of the building. The Governor's office is on the first floor, at the end of the aisles starting from the lobby (the other side is the State Secretary’s office).

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From journal Helena, a capital and a boomtown

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