Capitol Building Commission
Texas Capitol Building Commission
The 16th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 1879, created both the Texas Capitol Building Commission (CBC) and Texas State Capitol Board (SCB) to oversee the construction of the Texas State Capitol. The CBC and SCB worked together to manage the construction of the Capitol. April 18, 1879, the 16th Legislature passed Senate Bill 153, An Act to provide for building a new state capitol. This act included a directive for the SCB to appoint members to the CBC, a superintendent and two building commissioners, to oversee the state capitol construction. In November 1880 the CBC advertised an architectural design competition to select the architect for the Capitol. The contest was won by Elijah E. Myers in 1881, and the contract for constructing the Texas State Capitol was approved on January 10, 1882. The SCB and CBC continued to work together until the Texas State Capitol was dedicated on May 18, 1888, however the Texas State Capitol construction was not fully completed until December 1888. The CBC was abolished in September 1888. The SCB was effectively abolished on December 8, 1888, with building drawings turned over to the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds and records deposited with the Comptroller’s Office.
Capitol Building Commission records
Texas Capitol Building Commission: Capitol Building Commission Administrative Records and Architectural Drawings at the Texas State Archives, 1879-1890, 1980, 1994-1998, undated
Creator: Texas. Capitol Building Commission
Title: Capitol Building Commission administrative records and architectural drawings
Dates: 1879-1890, 1980, 1994-1998, undated
Abstract: The 16th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 1879, created both the Texas Capitol Building Commission (CBC) and Texas State Capitol Board (SCB) to oversee the construction of the Texas State Capitol. The CBC and SCB worked together to manage the construction of the Capitol. The SCB managed the survey and sale of public domain lands used to fund construction and took care of legislative matters while the CBC managed day-to-day construction activities and reported progress and problems to the SCB. After the 1853 Limestone Capitol burned in 1881, these entities also oversaw the building of the temporary Capitol. Records date 1879-1890 and document the planning and construction of the temporary Capitol (completed 1883) and the Texas State Capitol (completed 1888). Drawings include the winning competition drawings, dated 1881, used to select an architect for the Texas Capitol Building and the original architectural drawings used in the construction of the Texas State Capitol, dated 1882-1888. Also included are derivative images of the drawings, dating 1980-1997. The drawings and/or color slides in the Competition drawings series and a portion of the color transparencies of the Architectural drawings series described in this finding aid have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.
