Alabama State Capitol in the context of "Tuscaloosa, Alabama"

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⭐ Core Definition: Alabama State Capitol

The Alabama State Capitol, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. Located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery, it was declared a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960. Unlike most other state capitols, the Alabama Legislature does not meet there, but at the Alabama State House. The Capitol has the governor's office and otherwise functions as a museum.

Alabama has had five political capitals and four purpose-built capitol buildings during its history since it was designated as a territory of the United States. The first was the territorial capital in St. Stephens in 1817; the state organizing convention was held in Huntsville in 1819, and the first permanent capital was designated in 1820 as Cahaba. The legislature moved the capital to Tuscaloosa in 1826, where it was housed in a new three-story building. The 1826 State House in Tuscaloosa was later used as Alabama Central Female College. After it burned in 1923, the ruins were retained within Capitol Park.

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Alabama State Capitol in the context of List of state capitols in the United States

A capitol, or seat of government, is the building or complex of buildings from which a government such as that of a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, or the organized territories of the United States, exercises its authority. Although most states (39 of the 50) use the term capitol, Indiana and Ohio use the term Statehouse, and eight states use State House: Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont. Delaware has a Legislative Hall. The state of Alabama has a State Capitol, but since 1985 its legislature has met in the State House.

A capitol typically contains the meeting place for its state's legislature and offices for the state's governor, though this is not true for every state. The legislatures of Alabama, Nevada, and North Carolina meet in other nearby buildings, but their governor's offices remain in the capitol. The Arizona State Capitol is now strictly a museum and both the legislature and the governor's office are in nearby buildings. Only Arizona does not have its governor's office in the state capitol, though in Delaware, Ohio, Michigan, Vermont, and Virginia, the offices there are for ceremonial use only.

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