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North Carolina State Legislative Building

Coordinates: 35°46′59.53″N 78°38′20.24″W / 35.7832028°N 78.6389556°W / 35.7832028; -78.6389556
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North Carolina State Legislative Building
Map
General information
TypeLegislative Building
LocationRaleigh, North Carolina
Coordinates35°46′59.53″N 78°38′20.24″W / 35.7832028°N 78.6389556°W / 35.7832028; -78.6389556
Current tenantsNorth Carolina General Assembly
Completed1963
Technical details
Floor count3
Floor area206,000 square feet (19,100 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Edward Durell Stone[1]
References
[2]

The North Carolina State Legislative Building was opened in 1963 and is the current meeting place of the North Carolina General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina.[3]

Location

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The Legislative Building is located in Raleigh, across from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and Bicentennial Mall and one block north of the state Capitol.[2]

Design and construction

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In 1959 a commission was formed to guide the construction of a new legislative building[4] to replace the North Carolina State Capitol as the home of the legislature since 1840.[3] Architect Edward Durrell Stone was selected to design the building in partnership with North Carolina firm Holloway & Reeves.[4] The building opened in February 1963.[4]

The building and furnishings cost $5.5 million, or $1.24 for each citizen of North Carolina.[5] Construction required 10,500 cubic yards (8,000 m3) of concrete, 145,000 masonry blocks, and 192,000 square feet (17,800 m2) of terrazzo.

Architectural details

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Alternative view of the main façade

The building contains separate chambers for the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate. Architectural details include a 22-foot-wide (6.7 m), red-carpeted stair that leads from the front entrance to the third floor galleries for the House and Senate, roof gardens and garden courts at the four interior corners. Each pair of brass doors that leads to the House and Senate chambers weighs 1,700 pounds (770 kg). A 12-foot-diameter brass chandelier (3.7 m) in the rotunda weighs 750 pounds (340 kg). Brass chandeliers in the chambers and the main stair are 8 ft in diameter (2.4 m) and weigh 625 pounds (283 kg) each.[5] The building entrance features a 28 ft (8.5 m) diameter terrazzo mosaic of the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina.[2]

The building is open to the public Monday through Friday but has recently been closed to the public on the weekends due to ongoing maintenance.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Capital Area Visitor Services".
  2. ^ a b c "NC State Legislature Building" (PDF). NC General Assembly.
  3. ^ a b "The North Carolina State Capitol Building". Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  4. ^ a b c Blythe, John (6 February 2013). "The State Legislative Building Opened 50 Years Ago Today – NC Miscellany". NC Miscellany. Library of the University of North Carolina. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b "State Library of N.C." Archived from the original on 2008-10-24. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
  6. ^ "N.C. General Assembly web site". Retrieved 2008-10-23.
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