A capitol, or seat of government, is the building or complex of buildings from which a government such as that of a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, or the organized territories of the United States, exercises its authority. Although most states (39 of the 50) use the term capitol, Indiana and Ohio use the term Statehouse, and eight states use State House: Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont. Delaware has a Legislative Hall. The state of Alabama has a State Capitol, but since 1985 its legislature has met in the State House.
A capitol typically contains the meeting place for its state's legislature and offices for the state's governor, though this is not true for every state. The legislatures of Alabama, Nevada, and North Carolina meet in other nearby buildings, but their governor's offices remain in the capitol. The Arizona State Capitol is now strictly a museum and both the legislature and the governor's office are in nearby buildings. Only Arizona does not have its governor's office in the state capitol, though in Delaware, Ohio, Michigan, Vermont, and Virginia,[1] the offices there are for ceremonial use only.
Most U.S. capitol buildings are in the neoclassical style with a central dome, a style based on the U.S. Capitol, and are often in a park-like setting.
Eleven of the fifty state capitols do not feature a dome: Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, and Virginia.[2]
NHL, NRHPOriginal meeting site for the Provisional Confederate Congress (1861)The State Capitol is only used for ceremonial meetings; actual government meetings are held in the State House
Only capitol in the Colonial Revival architectural styleOnly capitol that is named a "Hall" and does not use the term "State"The Old Statehouse, used from 1792 to 1932, is listed on the NRHP.
NHL, NRHPU.S. Historic District Contributing propertyThe State Capitol is no longer used by the state legislature, which now meets in the State Legislative building