1839 1853 1888 1990-1995
1888: A New Capital for a New Era
Photo of crowd with the Goddess of Liberty statue before it was placed atop the capitol dome.

The new 1876 Constitution, which passed as post-Civil War Reconstruction was ending, included a provision for financing a new capitol building. In 1881, just as plans for a new capitol were finished, the 1853 capitol burned to the ground. A temporary capitol was erected across the street. The new capitol, financed by the sale of three million acres of public land and built of native red granite, was completed in 1888.

Source: Austin History Center; State Preservation Board. (full source)