AlabamaStateCapitolBuilding2

The first Capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama was built in 1847, and was destroyed by fire in 1849. The current State Capitol was built on the previous Capitol's foundations, and was completed in 1851. The building has grown over time with an east wing added to the buildings rear in 1885, a south wing in 1906, a matching north wing in 1912, and along with a complete renovation to the whole building a modern addition to the rear in 1992. The building served as home to the Alabama Legislature until 1985, when it moved to the Alabama State House (formerly the State Highway Department Building). Officially, this move is "temporary", since the Alabama Constitution requires that the Legislature meet in the Capitol. In 1984, a constitutional amendment was passed that allowed the Legislature to move to another building if the Capitol were to be renovated. The renovation started in 1985 and was completed in 1992 and upon the reopening of the building, the Governor of Alabama and numerous other state offices moved back into the building, but the Legislature remained at the State House, and has made no plans to return to the Capitol Building. The areas that are open for tourists are the entry foyer with twin opposing cantilever stairwells, the old Governors Office, the old State Supreme Court and the old Supreme Court Library, the Rotunda, the old House of Representatives, and the old Senate Chamber. If a convention is held to reform the current state constitution, the House of Representatives chamber has been suggested as the most likely place that the convention will meet. On May 7, 2009, the Legislature reconvened in the Capitol for the first time since Sept. 20, 1985, due to flooding in the State House. This required some adapting, as the Capitol does not have desks in the House chamber and the desks in the Senate chamber are circa 1861 replicas nor does either chamber have a computerized voting system. The Capitol's heating and air conditioning is supplied from the S