People: A wide range of notable people from all three branches of government have performed important public services inside this Capitol. Since our building also serves as an art museum, historical tourist attraction, civics classroom, special events venue, and occasional film set, all these reasons to enter the building have encouraged a wide variety of people to become connected with it.
Building: The Virginia State Capitol is the first American statehouse to be designed and occupied after the Revolutionary War and the first public building in the western hemisphere to be built in the form of a monumental Roman temple. Since it was the first Capitol to open after Revolution, it’s impact on local, state, and federal public buildings around the country was influential.
Democracy: Virginia’s General Assembly is the oldest continuously operating legislature chosen by popular vote in the western hemisphere. Despite episodic remodeling and repurposing of spaces throughout the Capitol as a time-tested legislative workplace, Jefferson’s classical vision has been preserved inside and outside the building. Jefferson’s highest ideals for government provide cornerstone principles to guide our increasingly representative democracy.
