Nevada State Capitol

The Nevada State Capitol Building

Like so many buildings across the Silver State, the Nevada State Capitol is an icon of our history. Completed in one year’s time from 1870-71, the structure is defined by its silver-colored dome and Alaskan marble features. A bronze statue of Sarah Winnemucca—a 19th-century Paiute educator and author from Nevada’s Great Basin who advocated for the rights of American Indians—is prominently displayed in the lobby, along with portraits of Nevada governors and other legendary Nevadans. Arrange yourself a spot on a guided tour of the building, then be sure and check out one of Carson City’s newest museums—found within the south wing of the Capitol—at Battle Born Hall.

Nevada State Capitol Building History

First dreamt up by architect Joseph Gosling, the Nevada Capitol building became a reality in the early 1870s, thanks to contractor Peter Cavanaugh. Amazingly, the design for the Nevada State Capitol only cost $250, and was made of sandstone sourced from Abe Curry’s quarry—the founder of Carson City—near the historic Nevada State Prison on the eastern edge of town. Now, more than 130 years later, the Nevada State Capitol holds the bragging rights of being the second oldest capitol building west of the Mississippi River.

By the early 1900s, state architect Frederic DeLongchamps was already hard at work designing almost all of Nevada’s county courthouses and other official buildings in every corner of the Silver State. He helped design Nevada Capitol expansions by adding a breezeway-connected library and north and south wings. 

Battle Born Hall

Nestled in the heart of historic Carson City, the Nevada State Capitol is the crown jewel within a picturesque campus that includes the Nevada State Legislature building, Nevada Supreme Court, and the Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records. Today, the Nevada State Capitol building is the office for the governor of Nevada and staff.

There’s no better place to get to know the story of how Nevada became the Silver State than at Battle Born Hall—a museum located on the second floor of the Nevada State Capitol building. Unveiled in October 2018, the 2,000-square-foot space tells the tale of incredible Nevadans who blazed new paths leading to statehood, and how Nevada earned its reputation as the Battle Born State. Discover Nevada’s prehistory and the first people of Nevada’s Great Basin, some of the most famous boomtowns and silver strikes in the world, Carson City’s early days, Nevada in the 21st century, and the melting pot of cultures who made it all happen.