Former Alabama Capitol - Tuscaloosa, Alabama
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xptwo
N 33° 12.463 W 087° 34.465
16S E 446466 N 3674461
A fire in 1923 destroyed Alabama's second Capitol building. Completed in 1829, it served as the Capitol until 1847, when Montgomery became the state capital. It was the central building for the Alabama Central Female College at the time of the fire.
Waymark Code: WME7M9
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 04/14/2012
Views: 9
The first Alabama state capital was in Cahawba (also spelled Cahaba), but flooding and health problems led to the change to Tuscaloosa in 1826. William Nichols, who was selected as the state architect in 1827, designed the building, which was completed in 1829 at a cost of $100,000.00, a large sum in those days.
"The new capitol building was cruciform in plan, the second and third floors resting upon a high rusticated stone basement. The main eastern facade featured a gabled pseudo-portico with Ionic columns. The ground level contained main entrances, with identical north and south one-story porticoes supported by Doric columns, each column carved from a single shaft of sandstone. A dome surmounted the central rotunda and was topped by a lantern that admitted light into the space." source: (
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In 1847, the capital was moved from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery, leading to the original capitol building and other facilities becoming vacant. Since the University of Alabama was located in Tuscaloosa, the decision was made to turn over the property to the university trustees. The building was leased to the Baptist affiliated Alabama Central Female College which built a four story dormitory on the west of the building. On August 22, 1923, the building was totally destroyed by fire. In the 1930s the site was cleared for use as a park.
There are a few columns still standing. Among the stones are some of the capitals. Much of the stone was taken by local residents to use in their own buildings before the site became a park. In some ways that seems appropriate as so many columns and other stone works have been recycled over the centuries.