The most recognizable icon of West Virginia would be its Capitol building. Located along the Midland trail, this stately building welcomes everyone traveling along the I-77/I-60 into Charleston.
Though the Capitol building was only finished in 1932, Charleston has been West Virginia's capitol for several years, though intermittently. When West Virginia has been declared a State through proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, the state Capitol has alternated between Wheeling, the site of the inauguration of its first governor, and Charleston, the choice for state capital. Wheeling was a fair distance from Charleston and to transfer the state records, officials and the capital itself, a special packet boat was utilized to float everything down the Ohio River, through to Kanawha and into Charleston.
That was in 1870. Five years later, another legislature was voted in favor of returning the capital back to Wheeling. Back up the river the capitol went, and back into the Lindley Institute building, where the state's first legislature was convened. Not long after, the capitol moved into a stone building donated by Wheeling.
After only two years, there was a clamor to move the capital again. The Legislature of 1977 let the people vote for their choice of capitals. Among the cities up for voting was Clarksburg, Martinsburg and Charleston. Charleston won the popular vote, and the capital moved back into Charleston.
It was in 1885 when the capital moved back into Charleston, to newly built capitol building. The building served the state for 36 years, until it burned down in January of 1921. The capital moved into a temporary building, while a new capitol building was being built. The temporary capitol, or the "pasteboard Capitol" as it was called, due to the structure being hastily put together, only served the capital for six years - it too, burned down.
Luckily, the Capitol building was nearing its completion. In 1927, when the temporary capitol was destroyed by fire, the west wing was already finished, and the east wing was nearing completion. By 1932, the Capitol Building was finished, with the main wing, which including the dome was finished. The Capitol Building that you see facing the Kanawha River in Charleston today was opened and dedicated in June 20, 1932 by West Virginia Governor, William G. Conley.
The West Virginia Capitol Building in Charleston spans 14 acres of floor space, and features a gleaming golden dome. Built with limestones on a steel frame, the majestic building was designed by Architect Cass Gilbert, the man behind the Capitols of Arkansas and Minnesota and the United States Supreme Court Building. The dome extends at 293-foot high - five feet higher than the United States Capitol in Washington, DC.
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