1880/11/20 |
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Appointed on 16 November 1880, the Capitol Building Commission calls for the submission of designs for a new state capitol to cost 1,500,000 dollars. |
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1881/04/24 |
Napoleon LeBrun |
Expert Consultant |
Napoleon LeBrun of New York arrives in Austin to advise the 3 member commission and Governor 0 M Roberts on selecting one of the 11 designs submitted by 8 architectural firms. |
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1881/05/01 |
Elijah E Myers |
Architect |
The Capitol Board approves Elijah E Myers' design the Texas Capitol building. Myers submitted his plan under the "nom de plume" of Tuebor. |
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1881/07/00 |
Mathias Schnell |
Builder |
In exchange for 3 million acres of public land, Mathias Schnell of Rock Island, Illinois is awarded the Capital Building construction contract over Alfred Andrew Burck of Rockdale, Texas. |
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1881/09/00 |
Taylor, Babcock and Company |
General Contractor |
Within months winning his contract to build the Texas capital building, Schnell assigns the contract to Taylor, Babcock and Company. Abner Taylor becomes the chief contractor but subcontracts the job to Chicago builder, Gustav Wilke. |
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1885/07/25 |
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Abner Taylor signs a contract to use red granite for the Capitol if the state would supply it free of charge, construct a narrow-gauge railroad from Burnet to Granite Mountain, and furnish convict labor to quarry the stone. |
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1886/00/00 |
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After labor difficulties arose in 1886, stemming from the use of convict labor to quarry the granite, Gustav Wilke imports granite cutters from Scotland, in violation of the Contract Labor Act of 1885. |
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1888/02/00 |
Christopher Henry Page |
Workman |
Construction of the Capitol dome begins in mid-1887 and the Goddess of Liberty is install on top of the dome in February 1888. |
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1888/04/21 |
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The Texas Capitol opens to the public on the evening of 21 April 1888. |
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1888/05/14 |
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After the week long celebration lasting from May 14 to May 19 to dedicated the edifice, the Capitol Board refuses to accept the structure due to such construction issues as a leaky copper roof. |
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1888/12/06 |
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After Gustav Wilke repairs the construction deficiencies, The Capitol Board accepts the new Capital building. The final cost of the structure is $3,744,630.60, of which the state will assume about $500,000. |
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1985/11/00 |
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The original Goddess of Liberty is removed by helicopter. The restored goddess is on display in the Bob Bullock State History Museum located at 1800 N Congress Ave, a few blocks north of the Texas State Capitol. |
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1986/06/00 |
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A replacement Goddess of Liberty statue, cast of aluminum in molds made from the original zinc statue, is installed on the Capital dome. The entire cost of more than $450,000 was raised from private donations. |
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