Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson
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The capitol has been the home of Mississippi's state legislature since 1903. It is the third capitol building in Jackson. It was built on the site of the old state penitentiary. The building cost $1,093,641, which was paid by the Illinois Central Railroad in the form of back taxes they owed to the state. In 1979, it had a complete renovation, which cost $19 million. The renovation attempted to maintain the original design whenever practical. It was completed in 1983.
The building, which is in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, was designed to house all branches of the Mississippi state government. The walls of the rotunda are Italian white marble with a base of New York jet-black marble. Eight large columns are art marble known as scagliola. The dome interior contains 750 lights which illuminate the blindfolded female figure representing "Blind Justice" and four scenes: two Indians, a Spanish explorer and a Confederate general. Balustrades are cast iron and original to the building.
One of the 53 replicas of the original Liberty Bell, as well as a statue erected in memory of the ladies, mothers, sisters, wives and daughters of the Confederate soldiers is located on the capitol grounds. Among the trees on the grounds are the state tree, the magnolia tree, along with two Japanese magnolia trees. Also on the grounds is the figurehead from the second USS "Mississippi" battleship. The ship was sold to the government of Greece during 1914 but the figurehead was presented to Mississippi by the United States Navy in December 1909.
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