| What makes it historical? |
Also called The Roundhouse, this is the fifth of New Mexico’s capitol buildings! At first, once the US took over New Mexico from Spain, they repurposed the Palace of the Governors to be a territorial capitol. With rumors of statehood, construction started on a new capitol bilding in 1850, but it ran out of funds and became a corthouse instead. A second capitol building arose in 1886, but it caught fire six years later and was never rebuilt! The third capitol building, completed in 1900, was made of sandstone and had a silver dome and neoclassical portico! New Mexico was signed into statehood in this building, but it was generally criticized as inappropriate for the state!
Today’s Roundhouse design was the work of W.C. Kruger and Robert McKee and was completed on December 8, 1966! It’s modeled after the Zia sun symbol, which you might recognize on the state flag! Inside, it’s mostly Travertine marble with a skylight modeled after a Puebloan basket! |
