StateStats 'Capitol' Gains: Ever been curious which state capitol is the oldest? Or the tallest? Or the biggest?

We took a close-up view of the buildings that house the legislatures in the states and territories, gathering data on the year each original capitol building was completed, along with square footage, height in feet and construction cost (with an approximate conversion to today's dollars). We also ranked them in order of oldest, biggest and tallest, respectively. In addition to sharing where each legislature meets and the population of each state capital, NCSL Senior Policy Specialist Kae Warnock, an expert on state capitols, collected historical tidbits about each building that are sure to boost your next capitol-focused trivia game score.

Dig in to see where your state ranks.

Kae Warnock is a senior policy specialist in the Legislative Staff Services Program.

Alabama

Alabama's Capitol features two cantilevered spiral staircases attributed to Horace King, a bridge builder and formerly enslaved man who later served two terms in the state House of Representatives.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1851/6th Square footage/rank 132,500/33rd Height in feet/rank 119/42nd Construction cost/ $135,000 / conversion to today's dollars $4.8 million Capital city population/rank Montgomery 198,525/22nd Where legislature meets State House (*) Alaska

Two of the black birch hallway doors on the Capitol's third floor have carvings by Alaska Natives depicting the state's major industries: tourism, fishing/processing, wood products, mining, hunting/trapping and oil/gas.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1931/35th Square footage/rank 96,000/42nd Height in feet/rank 118/43rd Construction cost/ $1 million / conversion to today's dollars $18.2 million Capital city population/rank Juneau 31,974/48th Where legislature meets Capitol Arizona

The Senate and House buildings (where the Legislature meets) flank the Capitol, where you'll find the largest piece of the battleship USS Arizona recovered from the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1901/20th Square footage/rank 123,000/36th Height in feet/rank 92/46th Construction cost/ $135,744 / conversion to today's dollars $4.4 million Capital city population/rank Phoenix 1,680,922/1st Where legislature meets Senate and House building (*) * The Senate and House of Representatives moved into the Senate and House buildings in 1960. Arkansas

The front entrance doors of the Arkansas Capitol are made of bronze, measuring 10 feet tall and 4 inches thick. They were purchased from Tiffany & Co. in New York for $10,000.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1915/30th Square footage/rank 247,000/25th Height in feet/rank 213/24th Construction cost/ $2.3 million / conversion to today's dollars $63 million Capital city population/rank Little Rock 197,312/23rd Where legislature meets Capitol California

California became a state without first having been a territory. To symbolize this, its great seal depicts the Roman goddess Minerva, who, according to myth, was born fully grown.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1874/11th Square footage/rank 482,250/9th Height in feet/rank 247/18th Construction cost/ $2.4 million/ conversion to today's dollars $58.2 million Capital city population/rank Sacramento 513,624/9th Where legislature meets Capitol Colorado

The Capitol interior is adorned with rare Colorado rose onyx. Visitors say they can see more than 1,000 famous people and animals in the natural variations of the stone.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1894/18th Square footage/rank 323,375/19th Height in feet/rank 276/10th Construction cost/ $3 million / conversion to today's dollars $96.5 million Capital city population/rank Denver 727,211/5th Where legislature meets Capitol Connecticut

At the exterior base of the dome are 12 statues in six pairs representing agriculture, commerce, education/ law, force/war, science/justice and music.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1879/13th Square footage/rank 160,000/31st Height in feet/rank 257/16th Construction cost/ $2.5 million / conversion to today's dollars $69 million Capital city population/rank Hartford 122,105/30th Where legislature meets Capitol Delaware

Delaware's Legislative Hall is the only state capitol built in the Colonial Revival style. The clay tiles of the hipped roof were designed to imitate cypress shingles.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1933/37th Square footage/rank 28,943/50th Height in feet/rank 76/47th Construction cost/ N/A conversion to today's dollars Capital city population/rank Dover 38,166/46th Where legislature meets Legislative Hall Florida

The Capitol, usually referred to as a 22-story building, has three underground floors and was constructed in the International style to reflect modern Florida.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1977/44th Square footage/rank 718,080/1st Height in feet/rank 345/4th Construction cost/ $43 million / conversion to today's dollars $196.3 million Capital city population/rank Tallahassee 194,500/24th Where legislature meets Capitol Georgia

When the Georgia Capitol was finished under budget in 1889, $118.43 was returned to the state treasury. It was among the earliest buildings to have elevators and central steam heat.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1889/16th Square footage/rank 328,801/18th Height in feet/rank 272/12th Construction cost/

The Capitol's architecture uses symbolism throughout, including groupings of eight columns to represent the islands, cone-shaped chambers to signify volcanoes and reflecting pools to symbolize the Pacific Ocean.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1969/43rd Square footage/rank 558,000/5th Height in feet/rank 100/44th Construction cost/ $24.6 million conversion to today's dollars /$185 million Capital city population/rank Honolulu 348,985/12th Where legislature meets Capitol Idaho

Idaho's Capitol was the first to have geothermal heating. Hot water pumped from 3,000 feet underground has been used for heating in Boise for over a century.

By the Numbers

Date building completed/rank 1912/29th Square footage/rank 201,000/30th Height in feet/rank 208/25th...