Jameka Womack Feb 20, 2014
Penn State: Harrisburg
ART H 100
Classical Architecture Critique
Paper #1

The Matthew J. Ryan Legislative Office Building.

The Building I choose to use for my paper was the Matthew J. Ryan Legislative Office Building. I visited this building on Sunday, February 23, 2014 at 5:05 pm. The Matthew J. Ryan Legislative Office Building, the oldest building in the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex. It was built in 1894 as the Executive, Library & Museum Building to the design of Philadelphia architect John T. Windrim in the Renaissance and Neo-Classical Revival styles that would serve as a template for the rest of the complex. It was originally built to house the State Library and the Commonwealth's cherished Civil War battle flags as well as the offices of three Governors who served between 1894 and 1906. The present Capitol Building accommodated the office of the Governors after that, and the building became known as the Library and Museum Building. After the current State Library was built in 1931, it served as the Pennsylvania State Museum until the present Museum and State Archives complex was built in 1964. Restored in the mid 1990's, the Old Museum Building, also known as the Capitol Annex, was renamed after Matthew Ryan, the long-term Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on June 14, 1999. Today it houses the offices of the members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

When you take a look at the pictures below, you will noticed that this building does indeed have classical columns. This Building does follow some of the aspects of Classical Architecture.
The Classical Order for this building is a mixtures between the Ionic Order and the Corinthian Order. When you look at the building you noticed that it has the basic components of each Greek order which are the columns and entablatures, which functions as the post and the linter of the structural system. The columns have a vertical shaft topped by a capital and also a base. The shafts are formed of round sections, or drums, which are joined inside by metal pegs. The entablature consists of an architrave, frieze, and cornice. Now when you look at the Matthew J. Ryan Legislative Office building the lower bottom part of the building follows the Ionic Order. This means it has a more elongated proportions, so the height of the column would be at about nine times its diameter. On the lower columns of the building the flutes of the shafts are deeper and separated by flat surfaces called fillets, the capitals have distinctive scrolled volutes, and the frieze is a continuous strip. However, when you look at the Matthew J. Ryan Legislative Office building the upper- higher part of the building follows the Corinthian Order. So the columns are the same style as the Ionic order however its elaborate capitals are sheathed with stylized acanthus leaves below the volutes.
The Matthew J. Ryan Legislative Office building is located in the capital, Harrisburg, PA. The Pennsylvania Capitol Grounds, officially the Capitol Park, bounded by North Street on the north, 7th Street on the east, Walnut Street on the south and 3rd Street on the west, comprises 45 acres. Arnold Brunner designed the layout of the grounds, which originally totaled only 15 acres from the land Harris and Maclay gave to the state. The remaining 29 acres were added when the state bought the Eighth Ward.

The Matthew J. Ryan Legislative Office Building.