This capitol was built after the previous one, completed in 1847, was destroyed by fire in 1849. At the time of its completion, only the center portion of the building was built; the wings were added in 1907 and 1912.
Jefferson Finis Davis, the first president of the Confederate States of America (an unrecognized nation of the southern states of the United States), took the oath of office here in 1861. (The Confederate States of America were annexed to the United States in 1865 after the Civil War.)
The building was also the goal of the 1965 “Freedom March” from Selma to Montgomery during the Civil Rights Movement.
Although it is called the State Capitol, the state legislature has been held in a separate building since 1985.
[Related blog article]
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Pop-up Cards: Montgomery, Alabama"
(2025-01-28)
Below is the pop-up card that the building looked like when it was completed. The building was completed in 1851, but the clock was added in 1852, so this card is the appearance after 1952.
