The R.I. State House is a very important building. In 1890 Governor Herbert W. Ladd noted the cramped conditions of our Old State House. He also noted the inefficient and unsafe practice of using rented quarters. A few years later Governor Herbert W. Ladd had our State House enlarged.

It took 15,000,000 bricks to build our State House and it is made of marble from Georgia. It was built in 1904 and took nine years to build! It is the fourth largest self- supporting dome in the world. All around the dome is a blue band with a golden inscription. The inscription is a Latin phrase that means "Freedom of Speech."

Our existing State House was built between 1895-1904 by architect Charles Follen McKim. It took about 3.3 million dollars to build. It would take 1.1 billion dollars to rebuild the exact same way today.

In the R.I. State Room there is a picture of George Washington. The picture is worth over 10,000,000 dollars! It's worth so much because George Washington's face is the exact same one on the dollar bill. Well, not the exact same face, a mirror image of the exact same face on the dollar bill.

George's photo was not the only one in the State Room. There are pictures of Oliver Hazard Perry, naval hero in 1812 and John Barry, commander of the Lexington. Lastly, Nathanael Greene, commander of the Continental army in the South.

Our State House has many leaders. One of those leaders is our governor, Gina Ramondo. Some other leaders are Lieutenant Governor, Daniel McKee, Secretary of State, Nellie Gorbea, Attorney General, Peter Kilmartin, and General Treasurer, Seth Magaziner.