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Built:
1932
Cost: $9,491,180.03
Designed by: Cass Gilbert
Type: Government Building
City: Charleston
State: West Virginia
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F
or a small state, West Virginia has quite a nice capitol complex. Unfortunately, like many states, it is an oasis surrounded by urban decay. This is actually the sixth capitol building in West Virginia's history. Two burned down. One of those was has spectators running for their lives because the state police stored ammunition and machine guns on the top floor, which went off in the fire. It took seven hundred train cars full of limestone to construct the outside walls of the current building. The interior is made of Vermont and Tennessee marble.
>The chandelier is made from Czechoslovakian crystal, and weighs two tons. It is 179-feet off the floor, and takes eight hours to lower and raise it, which happens every four years when it is cleaned.
>Two people were arrested for stealing a fire truck when the capitol burned down for the second time.
>At one time, the dome was painted green. Governor Rockefeller thought it looked like weahtered bronze and seemed more historic and regal. When he left office, the dome was restored to its gold color once again.
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