Florida State Capitol - Architecture and Layout

Architecture and Layout

The Capitol complex design was a joint venture of the architectural firms of Edward Durell Stone of New York and Reynolds, Smith and Hills of Jacksonville. It was built according to Stone's signature style of "Neoclassicism," with an ornate grill surrounding a white-columned box. The design symbolized the growth and development of Florida.

The Capitol is usually referred to as a twenty-two story building with a height of 345 feet. However, including the 3 underground floors, it is a 25 story building (6th floor is only accessible through the freight elevator). The Governor and the Cabinet members have their offices on the Plaza Level of the Capitol. Floors two through four of the base structure of the Capitol are used for the chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives; the offices of the Senate President, Secretary and Sergeant at Arms; the House Speaker, Clerk, and Sergeant at Arms; some legislative committee offices and meeting rooms; and Member offices.

The Legislative Chambers are on the fourth floor with their respective public viewing galleries on the fifth floor. The floors between the observation deck and the first five floors are executive and legislative offices. There is a cafeteria on the Lower Level, a snack bar on the tenth floor, and the Florida Welcome Center just inside the west Plaza Level entrance. The Senate office building and the House office building are each four stories high and located on either end of Capitol Complex. The 2nd and 3rd floors have bridges that allow people to walk between the Capitol and office buildings. These buildings contain primarily committee meeting rooms and legislative offices. The Knott Building was attached to the Capitol via a skywalk in 1999. The west front is known formally as Waller Park, for Curtis L. Waller, Judge of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2003, the dolphin statue “Stormsong” was added within Waller Park’s Florida Heritage Fountain.