Instructor

Walking tour introduces the history of the capitol and visits monuments on the state capitol grounds.

In the mid-19th century, several cities—most notably
Oregon City, Corvallis, and Salem—competed to become Oregon’s territorial and
state capital. Oregon’s capitol building was constructed of wood in the Greek
Revival style in Salem in 1854. It soon burned to the ground under suspicious
circumstances. Some suspected arson inspired by the fight between Corvallis and
Salem to serve as the state capital. 

Construction of the second Oregon capitol building began in
1873. It was designed by J. Krumbein and W. G. Gilbert. Like many United States
statehouses of the era, it was shaped like a cross and topped with a towering copper-gilded
dome that was added in 1893. It combined elements of classical and Italian
Renaissance architecture. Fire destroyed this second capitol on April 25, 1935.
The fire was believed to be accidental.

For the third capitol building, a jury selected from among
123 design submissions ranging from classical domed structures to simple modern
designs. The jury selected a compromise design submitted by Francis Keally and
the architectural firm of Trowbridge &amp; Livingston. The architects described
their design as a&nbsp;<blockquote>“forceful and vital modern structure with broad and masculine
feeling.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Link: null">1</a></blockquote> It
is in the PWA Moderne (also known as Federal Moderne or stripped classical)
style typical of buildings constructed using Public Works Administration funds
during the Great Depression. PWA Moderne style combined classical symmetrical
form with Art Deco decorations. A flat-topped cylinder stands in for a
classical dome on top. The main structure is made from concrete, but the
exterior is sheathed in white marble.

In place of the elaborate exterior decorations typical of US
statehouses, the designers offered strong, simple lines sparsely decorated with
architectural sculpture. Two large marble reliefs sculpted by Leo Friedlander
decorate the front of the building. One depicts the Lewis and Clark expedition;
the other features a family of white settlers migrating to Oregon in their covered
wagon. A 23-foot-tall gold-plated statue of a pioneer sculpted by Ulric
Ellerhusen stands atop the flat-topped “dome.” Both artists’ work were typical
of pioneer monuments erected in the 1920s and 1930s. Nonetheless, Oregon
residents penned numerous complaints about the artists’ work during the 1930s. They
questioned the works’ historical accuracy and complained of their perceived
modernism.&nbsp; One complained that an “eastern
sculptor [Ellerhusen] has pictured our Oregon pioneer as a smooth shaved gent,
probably wearing rayon underwear.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Link: null">2</a>&nbsp;Over
time, Oregonians warmed to “Gold Man.” Today, it is one of the best-known
symbols of the state.

The interior was decorated with marble. Murals by Frank H.
Schwarz and Barry Faulkner depicting Oregon history line the central rotunda
and legislative chambers.

The new capitol building was dedicated on October 11, 1938. In
addition to building the new statehouse, the Capitol Reconstruction Project
added a four-block mall stretching north from the capitol to meet the needs of expanding
state government, including a state library. Stylistically matched legislative
wings were added to the capitol building in 1977.

Oregon's 1876 state capitol building burned down in 1935 and was replaced with a new building in 1938 in the PWA Moderne style.

1938 Oregon statehouse. Photograph by Cynthia Prescott.

Oregon State Capitol

On January
14, 1920, Oregon became the twenty-fifth state to ratify the Nineteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution. &nbsp;Most Oregon women had <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://centuryofaction.org/">achieved voting rights in 1912</a> and many had been
voting since that time. The Oregon Legislature held a special legislative
session from Monday, January 12 to Friday, January 16, 1920, and the
ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment was on the agenda. In his <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://digital.osl.state.or.us/islandora/object/osl:16773">“Message to the Special Session”</a>
on January 12, Governor Ben W. Olcott expressed his hope that the legislators
would give “unanimous approval” for ratification.

Almost immediately
after Governor Olcott’s address, Sylvia Thompson (Democrat, The Dalles),
Oregon’s only woman in the state legislature in 1920, proposed a ratification
resolution in the House of Representatives. At about the same time, Senator Robert Farrell
(Republican, Multnomah County) proposed a similar resolution in the Oregon
Senate. What appeared at first to be a simple process of ratification quickly
turned into a three-day event. Many newspaper reporters followed each dramatic
turn as the process unfolded with conflict, negotiation, confusion, and
finally, a resolution. An over-eager newspaper photographer added even more
interest to the story, leading to charges of “fabrication of news.” By
Wednesday, January 14, 1920, Oregon’s House Joint Resolution No. 1, which
ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution, had been signed
and filed with the Secretary of State.

Some sources use Monday, January 12, 1920 as
Oregon’s Nineteenth Amendment ratification date because both the Oregon House
and Senate passed ratification resolutions on that day.&nbsp; But because the President of the Senate and Speaker of
the House signed House Joint Resolution No. 1 on Wednesday, January 14, 1920,
and the resolution was filed with the Oregon Secretary of State on that day, January 14, 1920 is the actual date of Oregon’s
ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Visit the online
exhibit for more on this story: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.oregonwomenshistory.org/january-14-1920-oregon-ratifies-nineteenth-amendment/">http://www.oregonwomenshistory.org/january-14-1920-oregon-ratifies-nineteenth-amendment/</a>

Ratification took place in the Old Oregon State Capitol Building: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_state_capitol_building_of_1876/#.XJABN9F7mMI">https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_state_capitol_building_of_1876/#.XJABN9F7mMI</a>

The Oregon legislature ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on January 14, 1920, making Oregon the 25th state to ratify. The required 36 states ratified the amendment in August, 1920, placing women’s voting rights into the U.S. Constitution. Oregon women had achieved the vote in 1912, and Oregon’s third woman legislator, Sylvia Thompson, proposed Oregon’s House Joint Resolution 1 ratifying the amendment. Thompson had to fight for her role as sponsor of Oregon’s ratification resolution and she was successful. In March 2019 students at Western Oregon University created an online exhibit with community partner the Oregon Women’s History Consortium with an analysis of historic newspapers to share this story: http://www.oregonwomenshistory.org/january-14-1920-oregon-ratifies-nineteenth-amendment/


“Chivalry Lives Though Women’s Rights Prevail,” Salem Capital Journal, January 15, 1920, 6.

Oregon Legislature Ratified Nineteenth Amendment January 14, 1920 at the Old Oregon State Capitol

At the turn of the 20th century,&nbsp;New York artist Allen G. Newman sculpted an Oregon pioneer based on historic objects provided by the Breyman family of Salem, Oregon. The original zinc casting was erected near the Oregon state capitol in Salem in 1904. J. L. Mott Iron Works in New York cast numerous copies of "The Pioneer." One in Ashland, Oregon, was known locally as "Pioneer Mike."&nbsp;Other castings were erected on the University of Colorado campus and in Storm Lake, Iowa. None of the original statues are known to have survived. In recent years, Pioneer statues were recast for Ashland and Storm Lake. The original Salem statue was toppled by a windstorm in 1917 and never replaced.

Sculpted from zinc by Allen G. Newman. It was modeled after an early white settler's hat, rifle and pouch provided by the Breyman family of Salem, Oregon. Statue was toppled by a windstorm in 1917 and never replaced. Later castings of the statue were erected in locations across the United States.

Pioneer statue (1903-1917)

Eugene businessman and former senator Robert Asbury [R.A.]&nbsp;Booth commissioned this heroic-sized statue to commemorate the mid-19th-century Christian missionaries who served multiple congregations in rural communities spread over significant distances on the Oregon frontier. Many rode a "circuit" on horseback, visiting a different congregation each Sunday.&nbsp; This monument depicts the donor's father, Robert Booth. Robert Booth had been a Methodist circuit rider. The Booth family migrated west on the Oregon Trail in 1852.&nbsp; Robert and one of his sons became gravely ill while on the trail. His wife made him promise that if God delivered him from death, Robert would become a Christian preacher once they settled in Oregon. Robert served as a circuit rider in the Willamette Valley, eventually covering seven counties.&nbsp; The statue was sculpted by prominent western sculptor&nbsp;A.&nbsp;Phimister Proctor. It portrays an aging minister who studies his Bible while riding atop a plodding horse. Proctor also sculpted the&nbsp;Pioneer and&nbsp;Pioneer Mother on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene and the equestrian&nbsp;Pioneer Mother&nbsp;in Kansas City, Missouri. An estimated 5,000 people attended the statue's 1924 dedication in front of the state capitol. It was moved a short distance to the east side to&nbsp;accommodate the construction of a new capitol the following decade. It was then reoriented in January 1953 so that the circuit rider would be facing westward. A falling tree knocked over by the Columbus Day storm on October 12, 1962, severely damaged the statue. Artist James Lee Hanson restored the statue, sculpting a new head for the rider.

Monument honoring mid-19th-century Christian ministers who served multiple congregations in  communities spread over significant distances on the Oregon frontier. Sculpted by A. Phimister Proctor, it depicts itinerant minister Robert Booth.

Circuit Rider statue

The Oregon World War II memorial is an obelisk-shaped granite memorial to Oregonians that fought in World War II.&nbsp;About 152,000 men and women Oregonians served during World War II. The names of each of Oregon resident who lost their lives in military service during the war are inscribed on the Black granite wall in front of the memorial.&nbsp; The dedication ceremony for the monument was held on June 6, 2014, and was attended by World War II veterans. The memorial was also dedicated to the men and women who supported the war effort through their&nbsp;labor in the shipyards and factories as well as military support personnel such as nurses.&nbsp;The monument is located on the Oregon Capital grounds, in Salem, at the corner of Cottage and State Streets.&nbsp; It encompasses a 75' x 75' area&nbsp;and has&nbsp;two benches at the monument to sit and reflect.&nbsp;

The Oregon World War II Memorial was dedicated on June 6, 2014, on the grounds of the state capitol grounds. The dedication ceremony marked the 70th anniversary of D-Day and commemorates the service of Oregonians in World War II. The monument features a 33-foot tall central obelisk and a granite wall that bears the names of 3,771 people who lost their lives during the war. The monument was constructed with a total of $1.2 million dollars and honors soldiers and civilians in Oregon who contributed to the war effort. 


The memorial was dedicated on the 70th anniversary of D-Day 

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Oregon Capitol grounds

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