Rhode Island State House

Rhode Island State House Review

Designed by the noted firm of McKim, Mead & White and built between 1895 and 1904, Rhode Island's capitol is the fourth-largest self-supporting marble dome in the world. The gilded Independent Man statue that tops the dome was struck by lightning 27 times before lightning rods were installed in 1975. The State Library on the north side of the second floor has the military accoutrements of Nathaniel Greene, Washington's second-in-command during the Revolutionary War, plus the state flag on board Apollo 11's first lunar landing mission in 1969 and moon rocks collected at the time. In the State Room is a full-length portrait of George Washington by Rhode Islander Gilbert Stuart. A steel vault in front of the Senate Chamber holds the original 1663 parchment charter granted by King Charles II to the colony of Rhode Island "to hold forth a lively experiment," i.e., a civil state observing religious freedom. Fifty-minute long guided tours are offered weekday mornings.