Site Menu


Home
First Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
House
Senate
Fourth Floor
Dome
Exterior Views
Postcards
Exterior Statuary
Basement, Etc.
Rumors
Trivia
Construction
Cornerstone
Past Capitols
The Kid Zone


 

 


Third Floor


The Third Floor Rail

The House and Senate chambers are located on the third floor.  During session months the third floor rotunda is the site of a good deal of activity, as lobbyists, citizens and state agencies work to promote or defeat various measures before the Legislature.

 

Grand Staircase Painting

 

 

 

 

 

 

This depiction of George Rogers Clark negotiating with Native Americans at Fort Kaskaskia in 1778 is the largest painting in the Capitol and is best viewed from the third floor.  It was done by Gustav A. Fuchs, a German immigrant from Chicago, and completed in 1886.  The painting measures 40 x 20 feet and has been criticized because the Indian culture portrayed was never found in Illinois.

Room 309


State Library-1914

Room 309, currently occupied by the Senate Minority Leader and members of his caucus and staff, has had an interesting history.  The room has housed the State Natural History Museum, State Library, a legislative lounge (twice) and the Automobile Dept. of the Secretary of State.

Below: Chandelier in the center of the room


Legislator's lounge-1925


Ceiling ornamentation


Remnants of Library era