Talk:Tennessee State Capitol

"It is one of only eleven state capitols (along with those of Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Alaska and Virginia) that does not have a dome."

Oregon's capitol does not have a dome? The article on the Oregon State Capitol says otherwise:

The building was erected at a cost of $2.5 million for the central portion of the building, which includes a dome of 166 feet (51 m).

64.85.240.22 (talk) 06:27, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Indeed, the Oregon Capitol apparently has no (exterior) dome; just a superstructure (in the form of a pedestal). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.198.76.69 (talk) 14:17, 24 January 2013 (UTC)

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Under the heading "Design and construction" the third paragraph contains this claim: "Fifteen enslaved Black men worked on carving the Capitol's limestone cellar..."(emphasis added). This is false. The source cited makes it seem otherwise, with its provocative title "The Slaves Who Built the Tennessee State Capitol", but the body of that article says otherwise: "In the spring of 1846, fifteen slaves, all men, were loaned to the state government by A.G. Payne, a Nashville stone mason. For nearly a year they carved out the Capitol’s cellar...These slaves broke through tons of limestone rock, carting it away after digging (emphases added)."
There is a significant difference between someone "working on carving a cellar" and them digging-out a cellar, and even more of a difference between digging-out a cellar and "building the Capitol". The former is both unlikely, as most stone cellars are not "carved" (which implies decoration), but rather they are "dug out" or "excavated". It was in these unskilled roles that the source admits the enslaved labor was used: digging-out and carting away. The latter -- "building the Capitol" is a gross overstatement. In a house being constructed today, the digging-out of a cellar is accomplished by a backhoe operator, typically over the course of a day or two, before construction begins. This work requires no licenture, whereas the building of the house requires a contractor's license. For constructing a mid-19th century capital building, the division of labor was no less strictly enforced. To excavate a building site is essential, but it happens before building takes place.
To be clear, it is not my intention to negate the contributions of the enslaved black men to the project of the Capitol, nor to excuse their exploitation. And their descendents should take pride in their ancestors having contributed to the building project. But they did not "build the Capitol" any more than enslaved black men "built" the US Capitol or White House (both of which are frequently claimed and equally false). Let's hew to the facts, not to emotionally-justified exaggerations.
Bricology (talk) 20:32, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

This structure may have been constructed before our current civilization. Interestingly, there are generally no construction photographs, construction companies, methods, processes, or even mistakes,

regarding the multiple state capital buildings across the US.  They are described as being “founded”, meaning they were found, not constructed. 129.222.87.210 (talk) 14:02, 31 July 2025 (UTC)