The
New Jersey State House was originally built in 1792 by Jonathan Doane. The site
was approximately 3.75 acres and cost 250 English pounds, which is about $400
today. The building was two and one-half stories high and consisted of seven bays
radiating off a center hall. A bell-tower was situated in the center of the roof.
The legislative chambers were located on the first floor– Senate (then the
Legislative Council) in the west and General Assembly in the east. The Governor’s
and judicial offices occupied the second floor. State government grew steadily
for many decades while the State House remained unaltered. Then, in 1845, a major
addition was constructed under the direction of John Notman, a well-known Philadelphia
architect. He created a one, two and three-story stepped office wing on the north
side of the original building, facing what is now State Street. The new entrance
had a two-story porch and six fluted Doric columns. A grand rotunda with a stairhall
connected the old and new wings. This area was capped by a spherical dome and
cupola. A two-story portico with pairs of Corinthian columns and a classical pediment
was added to the river-side facade.
In 1865, the river-side portico was extended
68 feet. Another major building campaign began in 1871, when Samuel Sloan, also
a Philadelphia architect, was commissioned to modify the northern State Street
wing and design new wings for both legislative houses. These two wings flanked
the 1865 southern extension. While little detail is known for certain about the
final structure, it is believed that the new wings both contained a two-and-one-half-story
chamber surrounded by a gallery, offices and caucus rooms. The old Senate chamber
was modified to accommodate the Governor’s office, while additional offices
were created
in the former Assembly chamber.
Early in the morning of March
21, 1885, a fire broke out and raced through the empty building, totally destroying
the State Street wing. Lewis Broome of Jersey City was selected to plan the reconstruction.
He designed the building in a simplified Second Empire style with three stories
and limestone facing. He also added a new rotunda and dome that were more proportional
to the scale of the building.
Twenty years after Sloan’s new Assembly
wing was erected, it was replaced by a larger wing of late Victorian style. James
Moylan, an Assemblyman, was the architect. Due to space limitations, Moylan decided
to rotate the wing so that it paralleled the building’s center wing. Accompanying
this work was an addition to the west end of the original 1792 structure, which
created private offices for the Governor and judges. A third floor was also added
to the south end of the center wing. In 1900, the wing was extended 95 feet, ending
at the edge of a water power canal, known as the Sanhican Creek. The addition
was designed by the architectural firm of Karr, Poole and Lum. George Poole, one
of the firm’s principals, was also an Assemblyman.
In 1903, under the
direction of Merchantville architect Arnold Moses, the Senate wing was reconstructed
in American Renaissance style to mirror the Assembly quarters. The wing was enlarged
using classical forms and rich materials, particularly in the decorative interior
and exterior treatments.
The original 1792 east wing was replaced with a four-story
office section in 1906. The front area was extended on the east side in 1911.
Similar work was done on the front west side the next year. In the decades following,
no major structural changes occurred, aside from the modernization of the main
corridor in the late 1950’s.
The effort of all these years was nearly
lost in the 1960’s when a master plan called for the demolition of almost
the entire building. Luckily, the plan was never executed. With today’s new
respect for historic buildings, the focus has turned to preserving and restoring
the structure. This is evidenced by the on-going efforts to restore the building
to the grandeur of its former years.
A long renovation project began in 1987,
which addressed structural, mechanical and electrical deficiencies in the State
House, restored the legislative portion of the building and added legislative
office space, known as the South Addition. Next, the State House Annex was renovated
and a pedestrian tunnel and multi-level parking garage constructed. A public-private
partnership allowed for the golden dome and interior rotunda space to be refurbished.
A Welcome Center, cafeteria and landscaped "Plaza" are the most recent
improvements.
Today, the New Jersey State House is a building all residents
can be proud of. Visitors are encouraged to tour the building and learn more about
its historical past. As home of our state democratic process, it will continue
to serve the citizens of New Jersey as they come to participate in the shaping
of public policy.
