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The Illinois State Capitol is open for the public. Public tours are now available for large groups inside the Capitol Building. Large groups (15 or more people) who wish to schedule a tour of the Capitol Building are encouraged to contact the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-545-7300. Tour groups consisting of 14 or fewer ...
Illinois State Capitol. Watch Illinois politics in action, in this beautiful Renaissance Revival/Second Empire style building topped with a stunning 405-foot dome. All tours are free. The first legislative session was held here in 1877.
This site is dedicated toward the promotion of the Illinois Capitol Building and is intended to serve as an informational and educational resource for its visitors.
The Illinois State Capitol Building anchors the Capitol Complex on Second and Capitol streets in Springfield. The General Assembly authorized construction of the current State Capitol in 1867, which was completed over a 20-year period in 1888.
Home to the Illinois State Legislature since 1877, the Capitol also houses the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller and Treasurer. Its 361-foot high dome—74 feet taller than the U.S. Capitol—towers over the west side of downtown Springfield.
In the thirty years between laying the cornerstone for the first state capitol in Springfield, July 4, 1837, and the meeting of the Twenty-fifth General Assembly in 1867, the population of Illinois mushroomed from one-half to two and one-half million people.
After three capital cities and five capitol buildings, the state of Illinois built its sixth and grandest capitol on the highest ground in the city of Springfield, just a few blocks west of the 1837 capitol building (disassembled and rebuilt in the 1960s to make room for an underground parking lot).
