by Pam North

Colorado had been a territory for only about ten years when momentum began toward erecting a statehouse.  Golden had been a capital city for several years, but since most government business was transacted in Denver, a more popular and more convenient location, the Seventh Legislative Assembly made Denver the official territorial capital city on December 9,1867.  The territorial offices were scattered all over town, with the legislature meeting wherever it could; it was time for a statehouse to be built.  A
three-man Capitol Commission was appointed by Governor Hunt, and its first task was to obtain a donation of land which would be a suitable site for a capitol building.  Henry C. Brown, a prominent citizen successful in real estate dealings, promptly offered a ten-acre parcel which he owned.  The property, bounded by Colfax on the north, Fourteenth Avenue on the south, Lincoln on the west and Grant on the east, boasted a sloping hillside with a commanding view of the mountains, and Brown's offer was readily accepted.  Brown (who would later build the famous Brown Palace Hotel) had an ulterior motive behind  his generosity.  He knew that the construction of a capitol building would enhance the value of adjacent land (which Brown also happened to own as well), and his expectations included a short time span preceding the building of the statehouse.  The property was deeded on January 11, 1868, but the territory's financial assets at the time amounted to only $25,406, hardly enough funds to construct a grand building.  A number of public-spirited citizens tried to further the cause by donating other lots which could be sold to raise money for the building, but the project stalled for a few years, during which no effort was made to sell the extra lots.

Jerome Chaffee, Colorado's delegate to Congress, advanced the cause in December, 1873 by introducing a bill to grant statehood to Colorado.  The Territorial Legislative Assembly, anticipating the likelihood of Colorado's becoming a state, began new action in early 1874 toward the capitol building project, appointing a new commission to oversee it, and proposing a January 1, 1876 date for the completion of the statehouse.  Funding was still a problem, however, along with some opposition to Denver as the site for a capitol building.  The commission met again, deciding to shelve the project until statehood was a reality, and the capital city definitively located.  On August 1, 1876, President Grant signed the proclamation admitting Colorado to the Union, and a general election to select its capital city was scheduled to be held in November, 1881.  That election made Denver the capital by a majority of some 17,000 votes.

Outraged by the delay in improving the land he had donated, Henry C. Brown attempted to revoke the deed, involving the state
for the next seven years in a series of trials and appeals.  A call for the submission of plans for the capitol building had been made in 1883.  A maximum amount of $1,000,000 was to be spent, with a wing of at least 9,000 square feet to be built immediately.  None of the nine sets of plans submitted was approved, however, and the Board of Capitol Managers elected to tour the midwestern states to view other capitol buildings.  More delays ensued, many of which were still focused on the funding issue.  Finally, on January 1, 1885, the Fifth General Assembly passed a law requiring the capitol building to be completed by January 1, 1890.  It also specified that all materials were to come from Colorado, provided high quality could be assured at a reasonable price, and undisputed title to Henry C. Brown's land was an absolute necessity.  The litigation between Brown and the state was ultimately  brought to an end with a decree from the United States Supreme Court on January 4, 1886, and the way seemed clear for construction to begin.

Another call for plans brought in 21 submissions, and those sent in by Elijah E. Myers, designer of the Texas and Michigan capitol buildings, were chosen.  Myers was eventually dismissed by the Board for somewhat unclear reasons, but his design prevailed, and the cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1890, with H.A.W. Tabor directing the arrangements for the elaborate festivities.  Construction progressed rapidly after the laying of the cornerstone, and with the final touch of the gold-leafing of the dome in 1908, the Capitol Building was considered to be finished.  A long period had elapsed since its conception, but the result was a masterpiece that Coloradans can look upon with pride.
 
 
 

Note:
As stated last week, illustration to accompany article is at:
http://www.archives.state.co.us/cap/gold.htm
(E.E. Myers' sketch of the Colorado Capitol Building)