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These busts face the interior courtyard from the entrance to the East Wing of the Capitol Building. The figures depicted are Perseus, Prometheus, and Juno. Juno is also known as Hera in Greek mythology. On the left, Perseus wears a Galea, a plumed Roman helmet typically worn by legionaries. The son of Zeus, Perseus is most famous for slaying the gorgon Medusa. Next to Perseus is the rebellious titan Prometheus. Prometheus defied his titan siblings by siding with the Olympians, but also defied the will of Zeus by gifting humanity fire. As punishment, Prometheus was chained to a rock and each day a bird pecked out his liver. Prometheus' matted unkempt hair is a reminder of his daily torture. Finally, the goddess Juno is depicted on the right. She wears a crown appropriate to her position as consort of Zeus and queen of the gods. Juno is also the goddess of marriage and motherhood. 

Capitol Building West Entrance to the East Wing Sculptures

This tour explores the various sculptures on Charleston's Capitol Complex grounds. Works include military memorials, civic monuments, and artistic embellishments. This tour draws heavily from a tour by Charleston's Office of Public Art and was made with the office's cooperation. To learn more visit: http://publicartcharleston.org/.

Charleston State Capitol Sculptures

When West Virginia officially became a state in 1863, the Linsly Institute in Wheeling served as the seat of government. However, a shift in political power in the new state occurred in the late 1860s, and the capital was moved to Charleston. Radical Republicans who controlled West Virginia’s legislature were outvoted and replaced by the Democratic Party after the establishment of the Flick Amendment that not only enfranchised African Americans but also restored voting rights to West Virginians who served as Confederate soldiers. Many of these Confederates were Democrats, especially in the southern and central portions of the state. Before the decision to move the capital to a more centralized location was made, Democrats had already taken hold of the local government in Charleston. After power was secured at the state level, the Democratic Party decided to transport the capital of West Virginia from Wheeling, a Republican-controlled area, to Charleston.On January 29th, 1869, both Democrats and Republicans in Charleston convinced the city council to offer the state $50,000 to improve public buildings so that Charleston could make a claim to become the capital. Local Charleston officials were sent to Wheeling as lobbyists to propose the plan and to gain support for the moving of the state capital. The efforts were successful, and the act to move the state capital was passed on February 26th, 1869 with a vote of 29 to 23 in the House of Delegates and 17 to 4 in the Senate.The governor of West Virginia, William E. Stevenson, boarded the steamboat “Mountain Boy” along with other state officials and necessary documents and records on March 28th, 1870. The vessel was referred to as the "floating capitol" in a tongue-in-cheek manner as it traveled down the Ohio River and up the Kanawha, and was the primary source of moving the capital from Wheeling to Charleston. The boat temporarily stopped in Governor Stevenson’s hometown of Parkersburg, and then continued to its destination. The Mountain Boy arrived in Charleston on March 30th and was welcomed by a local U.S. artillery unit. Mayor J. W. Wingfield delivered an address to a large crowd in front of Laidley’s Drug Store celebrating Charleston's status as the capital city of the newest state in the Union. The state legislature's act stated that Charleston would become West Virginia’s capital on April 1st, 1870. However, upon Mountain Boy’s arrival, the new capitol building was not complete and would not be ready until December 20th, 1870. While the three-story hand-quarried stone building was being constructed, the Bank of the West and the Merchants Bank provided office space for executive officers. Saint John’s Episcopal Church temporarily served as the state library. When the capitol building was finally complete, it stood on land made available by Alex T. Laidley and J. A. Lewis, located where the Kanawha Valley Bank and the Diamond Department Store now stands.Charleston's status as the capital of West Virginia brought expansion and growth, but it did not spare the city from natural disasters. A fire in 1873 destroyed most of the local structures. John P. Hale, who had influence in constructing the state capitol, along with a popular local hotel, declared bankruptcy after the fire and moved out of state to rebuild himself. In 1875, Senator Jonathan M. Bennett proposed a bill in the state legislature for the temporary removal of the capital in Charleston, and to be moved back to Wheeling. The vote ended in favor of removal with a 13 to 11 victory in the Senate, and a 38 to 20 victory in the House of Delegates. The capital of West Virginia was transported back to Wheeling aboard the Emma Graham on May 21st, 1875. However, Charleston leaders sought to prove that the action of the legislature was unconstitutional. The case went all the way to the state Supreme Court which ruled in favor of the legislature and Wheeling.In February of 1877, the state legislature announced that the permanent location of the state capital would be decided by the people. Voters could select Clarksburg, Martinsburg, or Charleston, and the voting would take place on August 7th the same year. Charleston officials rallied to gain votes by collaborating with Booker T. Washington and other Black leaders to secure votes from the small but significant number of African Americans in the southern portion of the state. Charleston leaders even joined John Robinson’s traveling circus for a week to plead their case to voters. When the ballots were cast, Charleston won by a landslide, and Governor Henry M. Mathews announced that Charleston would once again be the West Virginia State Capital on May 3rd, 1885. The Belle Prince steamboat towed the Nick Crawley barge, which was carrying state property and documents, while the steamboat Chesapeake carried the state officials along with the governor.The old capitol building was razed to make way for a new structure in the block surrounded by Capitol, Lee, Dickinson, and Washington Streets. The new three-story West Virginia State Capitol Building cost $389,923, and contained 85 rooms along with a 194-foot-tall clock tower. In 1902, the Capitol Annex was constructed between Hale and Dickinson Streets and housed various government agencies.  On January 3rd, 1921, the West Virginia State Capitol caught fire. Governor John J. Cornwell reportedly claimed that the guns and ammunition intercepted during the Mine Wars and stored in the attic of the capitol was the cause of the fire. After the fire, the Governor had a temporary office in the state armory while other agencies worked out of the Red Cross Shop, the Elks Club, the Cohen Building, the downtown Methodist Episcopal Church, the Scottish Rite Cathedral, and the Virginia Land Bank Building. In 1921, the state legislature held its session in the local YMCA. A temporary wood-frame capitol building was constructed and completed in just two months and was located on the property across the street from the old capitol building. That structure also caught fire and was destroyed on March 2nd, 1927. That location of the temporary capitol building that served the state from 1921 to 1927 is now home to the Daniel Boone Hotel building. The former capitol annex later became the Kanawha County Public Library. That building caught fire in 1966 and was demolished to make way for Huntington Square.Plans were made to build a new capitol under Governor Ephraim F. Morgan and the Capitol Building Commission, who hired architect Cass Gilbert. The west wing of the new capitol building was completed on April 24th, 1925, while the east wing was completed on December 12th, 1927. The central portion of the current capitol was dedicated on June 20th, 1932, on West Virginia’s 69th birthday. Gilbert’s original design for the capitol complex showed a dome and rotunda in the main structure. The dome was to be gilded copper to give the appearance of gold despite hesitation from state officials who stated that the project would be too expensive.<blockquote>"If we had built the dome of stone, as in the Arkansas Capitol," he said, "or of marble, as in the Minnesota Capitol or the Rhode Island Capitol, it would have cost five or ten times as much money. In other words, the bell of the dome of this dimension in marble might easily have cost $500,000, whereas the comparatively modest expense for covering it with newly developed material of lead coated with copper and using gilding, has reduced the cost to a minimum... if the bell of the dome were of limestone it would be, in this climate, susceptible to expansion and contraction and the joints would have to be constantly repaired in order to preserve it." – Cass Gilbert1</blockquote>The dome peaks at 292 feet, which makes the capitol the tallest building in West Virginia. The building is also four and a half feet taller than the nation’s capitol in Washington. The capitol’s marble rotunda is adorned with symbols representing the heritage of the Mountain State. Costing nearly ten million dollars, the building itself is 535,000 square feet with 333 rooms and chambers. Two-thirds of the interior is comprised of various types of marble while the exterior is fashioned from Indiana Limestone.

The current West Virginia State Capitol was constructed from 1924 to 1932 and is the tallest building in the state and fourth tallest domed capitol building in the United States. The building was designed in the Classical Revival style using Buff Indiana limestone for its exterior and various types of beautifully polished Vermont and Italian marble for the interior. The building is full of artifacts from around the state, oil portraits of former West Virginia governors, crystal chandeliers, and exquisite carvings. Statues commemorating figures of the state’s culture and history can be seen on the stunning campus. 

Wheeling served as the first capital city of the new state of West Virginia when it separated from Virginia during the Civil War. The transfer of the capital to Charleston in 1870 reflected the growing population of the western portions of the state and a shift in political power during the Reconstruction period. The change was not permanent at first, and the records and other items of the fledgling state government were transferred back and forth from Charleston and Wheeling via steamboat along the Ohio River and the Kanawha River a total of three times. The capital was moved from Wheeling to Charleston in 1870, from Charleston to Wheeling in 1875, and finally back to Charleston in 1885 when the state capital was permanently established in Charleston. 

The original structure that served as the capitol building in Charleston in the 1870s was razed to make way for a more prominent structure in hopes of convincing West Virginia voters to make Charleston their choice for the state’s capital. That state capitol building was located in downtown Charleston and construction began in 1880 when Wheeling once again served as the capital. The building was complete in 1885 when the government returned to Charleston. That capitol building caught fire in 1921 and was quickly replaced by a wood frame structure that served as temporary quarters for the government while architect Cass Gilbert’s design for the new capitol complex along the Kanawha River was coming to life. In addition to this building, Cass Gilbert is best-known for designing the Woolworth Building in New York, the George Washington Bridge, the Minnesota State Capitol, and the U.S. Supreme Court Building. 

The east entrance to the capitol building features the final grouping of sculptures. The figures are Mercury, Vulcan, and Minerva, also known as Hermes, Hepaestus, and Athena, respectively. On the left is Mercury, messenger of the gods and readily identifiable thanks to his winged helmet. In the center is Vulcan, god of fire and patron of Blacksmiths. Though some myths identify Vulcan as ugly or crippled, this depiction includes strong features and a more idealized face. Lastly, Minerva rounds out the figures. She is the goddess of wisdom, justice, and the creative arts.

Capitol Building East Entrance Sculptures

This façade of the West Wing of the Capitol Building faces into the central courtyard. The three figures that grace this entrance are Heracles, Jupiter, and Fortuna. Heracles and Jupiter are respectively known as Hercules and Zeus in Greek mythology. On the left is Heracles, son of Jupiter and a mortal woman. In this sculpture, Heracles is cloaked in the skin of the Nemean Lion, a beast invulnerable to normal weapons but who Heracles wrestled to death. Jupiter is the ruler of the heavens and greatest of all gods. His wild hair and beard recall the lightning he controls, while his resolute gaze reminds the viewer of his divine sovereignty. Fortuna, as the name suggests, is the goddess of fortune and chance. The three amorphous tendrils behind her head could be references to the three fates who control human life.

Capitol Building East Entrance to the West Wing Sculptures

Between 1924 and 1930, stonemason John Donnelly, Sr. created twelve busts that grace the main West Virginia State Capitol building. These busts are drawn from the Greco-Roman tradition and feature gods, demigods, and heroes from their mythologies. Though the twelve figures are representative of various values and facets of life relevant to government, there does not appear to be a particular overarching theme. The twelve busts are divided equally between four entrances to the capitol building. The portraits are skillfully carved and wonderfully distinct — there is no doubt who each figure is meant to represent. The busts act as an extension of the keystones in entryway arches, providing depth and ornamentation to the capitol building. Though the busts have suffered little permanent damage, they are dirty and in need of cleaning and restoration.Donnelly was an Irish immigrant who came to the United States in the late twentieth century and soon gained national attention for his work on major public and civic buildings up and down the East Coast. These projects included gargoyles for New York City's public library, the pediment for the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the bronze doors to the United States Supreme Court. Many of these projects were collaborations with architect Cass Gilbert, who designed the WV State Capitol building and likely commissioned these works by Donnelly. Donnelly ran a business named John Donnelly &amp; Co. with his son, John Donnelly, Jr., and many other skilled masons. Though Donnelly's works are often sculptural, he preferred to be known as a stonemason rather than as a sculptor or artist.

The west entrance to the main capitol building hosts the first three of John Donnelly, Sr's. mythological busts. From left to right, these three sculptures depict the Roman goddesses and god Vesta, Neptune, and Ceres. In Greek mythology, the figures are known instead as Hestia, Poseidon, and Demeter, respectively. On the left, Vesta wears a domestic cap and veil, apropos for the goddess of home and hearth. In the middle, Neptune's curly hair is crowned by a shell, signifying his role as ruler of the seas and oceans. On the right, Ceres wears the vestments of a farmer and her hair hangs like the crops she bestowed upon mankind.

West Virginia State Capitol

Capitol Building West Entrance to the East Wing Sculptures

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