Wyoming State Capitol

The Wyoming State Capitol is an unusually well-preserved 1888 sandstone building in the Renaissance Revival style, finished in time for Wyoming's admission as a state in 1890. A gold-leafed dome (24-carat, regilded most recently in 2017) tops the central block, and the building reads from a distance like a small-scale US Capitol — a deliberate choice by the territorial legislators who wanted to assert federal-grade civic ambition.

A four-year restoration completed in 2019 returned the interior to its original detailing: stencilled ceilings, polished cherrywood, and the painted tin domes over the legislative chambers. Free self-guided tours every weekday; guided tours by reservation. The grounds, including the Esther Hobart Morris statue and the Spirit of Wyoming bronco, are an unmissable 15-minute stop.

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A story
Wyoming was the first place in the world to give women the vote — the territorial legislature passed it in 1869, twenty-one years before statehood. The Capitol's House Chamber preserves the desk used by Esther Hobart Morris, the first woman appointed as a justice of the peace anywhere in the United States; her statue stands on the front steps.

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