The North Carolina State Capitol sits right in the heart of Raleigh, at One East Edenton Street in Union Square. It’s a striking Greek Revival building, built back in 1831 after a fire destroyed the first State House. The Masons, led by Grand Master Simmons Jones Baker, laid the cornerstone on July 4, 1833, and by 1840, the Capitol was finished. The design mainly came from Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis, though William Nichols Sr. and his son, William Nichols Jr., along with David Paton, all left their mark on the place.

For years, this building was the center of North Carolina’s government. The governor, the Supreme Court, the General Assembly—everyone operated out of the Capitol until 1888, when the Supreme Court and State Library moved to their own buildings. The General Assembly stuck around until 1961, finally moving to a new legislature building in 1963. But the governor and close staff still keep their offices on the first floor. Don’t forget to check out this place in Raleigh too.

The Capitol itself hasn’t changed much since 1840. Only three rooms look noticeably different: two committee rooms on the second floor got split up to create restrooms, and in 1951, part of an office on the first floor was cut away for an elevator. Otherwise, it’s pretty much a time capsule.

The building’s history keeps stacking up. On July 4, 1933, exactly a hundred years after the first cornerstone, the Grand Lodge of North Carolina laid a second one. The Capitol became a National Historic Landmark in 1973, anchoring the Capitol District Historic District. The 63rd General Assembly was the first to meet there in November 1840, and the 12th was the last, meeting there until June 1961.

Even after the legislature moved out, the Capitol stayed in the thick of things. In 2005, while their own building was under renovation, the North Carolina Supreme Court held session in the Senate Chamber. More recently, after the protests for racial equality in 2020, Governor Roy Cooper ordered the removal of the largest Confederate statue from the Capitol grounds.

Today, the North Carolina State Capitol is still the governor’s base and stands as a symbol of the state’s history. If you want to learn about North Carolina’s government, its past, or just how the state capital came to be, the Capitol’s the place to start. If you are in need of a roofing contractor, click here.