Texas State Capitol Building

Located at the crest of a hill at Congress and 11th Streets in Austin, the Texas Capitol houses the state legislature and office of the governor.  The current building is the fourth to house Texas’  government, and with over 1 million square feet, is the largest state capitol in the nation.  

Designed by architect Elijah E. Myers, who won the commission in a design competition, the Capitol was built between1882 – 1888, and opened to the public on April 21, 1888 (San Jacinto Day.) The contractors who constructed the building were paid not in cash, but with three million acres of land in the Texas Panhandle.  This was one of the largest barter deals in history, and the land traded became the famous XIT Ranch.

The iconic pink granite was not part of the original plan, however, the intended Oak Hill limestone had a high iron content which caused it to undesirably discolor when exposed to the elements.  Owners of Granite Mountain near Marble Falls, TX donated the “sunset red” granite as an alternative.

Inside the capitol rotunda hangs a portrait of every person who has served as President of the Republic or Governor of Texas.

Results  (51  1 from 2 pages)

1  2 

Next

Yount-Manion Films - Life Scenes and Beaumont Footage compilation of the Yount family and Beaumont from the 1920s and 1930s	WWI Memorial Unveiling at Texas State Capitol (1961) Ceremony honoring the memory of WWI veterans
W.H. Tilley Collection, no. 2 - 1950s Collection of clips from the 1950s of St. Louis, Montreal, Philadelphia, and Austin, Texas	To Market, To Market, in Austin Texas Promotional film for Austin’s KTBC network that provides an overview of the station’s television and broa...
The Rosenberg Library Collection - Governor for a Day (1966) Ceremony honoring acting governor A. R. “Babe” Schwartz	The Ron and Joanna Clark Collection - Texas 77th Legislature, HB2669 (2000) Scenes from the Texas 77th Legislature, including consideration of a redistricting legislation
The Ron and Joanna Clark Collection - Austin Update with Ron Clark and Rick Perry (1999) Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry explains the powers of his office	The Richard Eisenhour Collection, no. 9 - Springtime in Central Texas (c. 1960) Home movie footage of wildflowers in Central Texas, c. 1960
The Ramon Galindo Collection, no. 21 - Airplane Rides and Snow in Austin (1963-64) This intertitled home movie captures scenes of Austin from an airplane in 1963-64 and an unusual ...	The Ramon Galindo Collection, no. 1 - Scenes of Snow in Austin, Gone to the Dog Home movie that began as scenes of a rare snowy day in Austin hijacked by the family dog who followed the...
The KHOU-TV Collection - News Clips, June 3 - 11, 1968 KHOU news clips from June 1968, including segments about gun control legislation and the Southern Baptist...	The KHOU-TV Collection - News Clips, January 1963 KHOU news clips from January 1963, including Governor John Connally’s first address to the Texas Legislature
The KHOU-TV Collection - News Clips, January 14 - 16, 1963 KHOU news clips from January 1963, including a press conference by the Harris County Delegation of the Te...	The KHOU-TV Collection - News Clips, February 15 - 27, 1963 KHOU news clips from January 1963, including press conferences with US Attorney General Robert Kennedy an...
The Joseph Family Collection - Exploring Austin and the Texas Hill Country (1969) Home movie footage of family trips to Austin as well as holiday celebrations in El Paso	The Joseph Family Collection - Family Vacations (1969) Home movie footage of the Joseph family at home in El Paso as well as on vacation across the state
The Johnson Collection - Travel through Central Texas (1961) The Johnsons of Odessa take a road trip through Central Texas, with stops at the Texas State Capitol, Aqu...	The Jimmie Lee Collection, no. 3 - Family Trips Home movie footage of the Texas State Capitol building and grounds and a trip to the coast
The Horak Family Collection, no. 8 - Sun Parade and Tower View of Austin, 1948 Home movie footage of the festivities of El Paso's 1948 Sun Parade	The Hester Collection - General MacArthur and Stewart Beach (1950-1) Home movie footage of General Douglas MacArthur’s arrival in Houston as part of a Texas speaking tour in ...
The Henry Kuempel Collection - Veterans Day Parade and Monument Dedication (1959) 1959 home movie capturing Veterans Day festivities in Austin	The Driskell-Owens-Pickard Family Film Collection - Summer Vacation and Celebrations (1977-8) Home movie footage of the Pickard family on a road trip through Central Texas and celebrating birthdays a...
The Alan Frye Collection, no. 7 - "Radiation" Short film that uses rotating items, concentric circles and radial lines to visually represent radiation.	The Alan Frye Collection, no. 8 - "BeBop Ballet" and "Keep Moving" Two short films, the first, “BeBop Ballet,” features cutout animation, and the second, “Keep Moving,” fol...
The Alan Frye Collection, no. 23 - Goddess of Liberty Returns Home movie footage of the new Goddess of Liberty statue being placed on the State Capitol dome with an ae...	The Alan Frye Collection, no. 13 - Anti-nuclear Protest at the Texas Capitol, Part 2 Film that captures an anti-nuclear movement demonstration at the Texas State Capitol.
The Alan Frye Collection, no. 12 - Anti-nuclear Protest at the Texas Capitol, Part 1 Film that captures an anti-nuclear movement demonstration at the Texas State Capitol.	Texas State Capitol at Night Late night at the Texas state capitol building-- footage from the film Mr. Speaker with Ben Barnes.
Texas Legislature Memorial Service for John F. Kennedy, November 22, 1963 Clips of the memorial service held by Texas legislators on the night of President Kennedy’s assassination	Texas - The Big State Commissioned by the Santa Fe Railway Company and produced by Dudley Pictures Corporation, this film provi...
TALU Pre-Registration Footage of a family sightseeing at the Texas State Capitol and TALU pre-registration	TSD Students at Richards Inauguration (1991) Texas School for the Deaf students attend the inauguration of Governor Ann Richards in Austin
Speaker Price's Home Movies From the House Floor Home movie footage from the Texas House of Representatives taken in the early 1970s.	Speaker Price's Colleagues Film the Texas House of Representatives - But from a Unique Angle! Footage from this home movie brings a behind-the-scenes look at the early 1970s Texas House of Representa...
Speaker Barnes Explains Daylight Savings Time for Texas Get ready to set your watches forward as Speaker Barnes explains the effect of Daylight Saving Time on Te...	Smallest Treasurer Newsreel footage of Charley Lockhart, the shortest man ever to serve as state treasurer
Retirement of the Texas Senate Footage of the retirement of the Texas legislative session	Protests at Texas School for the Deaf (1991) Home video footage of Texas School for the Deaf students protesting the reappointment of Gayle Lindsey in...
President Ayub Khan of Pakistan Speaks at the Texas State Capitol (1961) President Muhammad Ayub Khan and Vice President Lyndon Johnson address the Texas Legislature	Point of Order Against House Bill 123 An unidentified 1960s legislator raises a point of order against political consideration of House Bill 123

1  2 

Next