North Dakota Capitol
The North Dakota State Capitol is the house of government of the U.S. state of North Dakota. The Capitol, a 21 story tower, is in Bismarck at 600 East Boulevard Avenue, on a 160-acre (0.6 km2) campus that is the site of many other government buildings. The capitol building and the surrounding office buildings house the state's legislative and judicial branches, as well as many government agencies.
The State Capitol is largely surrounded by state government buildings. The parks, walking trails, and monuments on the grounds give visitors information about the state's history, making it one of the city's tourist attractions. Six buildings exist on the grounds; all built during various time periods as the government grew. Not all state agencies are housed on the grounds, however: a large number are spread throughout the city in various facilities. Plans for a massive expansion and improvement of the grounds were developed in 2000, but very little of the plan has been implemented as of 2012.
The original North Dakota State Capitol building, built between 1883 and 1884, and expanded in 1894 (Senate wing) and 1903 (House wing), burned to the ground the morning of December 28, 1930. The fire was said to have been started by oily rags in a janitor's closet on the top floor of the main part of the building. The rags had been used to clean and varnish the legislators' desks in preparation for the upcoming legislative session. North Dakota Secretary of State Robert Byrne saved the original copy of the state's constitution, but he suffered cuts and burns on his hands while breaking a window to reach the document. Another state employee, Jennie Ulsrud, burned her hands when she attempted to save records in the North Dakota State Treasurer's office. Governor George F. Shafer came back from his visit to St. Paul, Minnesota while the fire was still burning. Upon arrival, he immediately assembled a team of state legislators and officials to discuss plans for coping with the loss of records and work space. The day after the fire, to save as many records as possible, 40 state prison inmates went to work trying to salvage materials from the ruins. The Legislature met temporarily in Bismarck's War Memorial Building and the City Auditorium.
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