Welcome to the Rhode Island State House, which you may explore by clicking on the rooms in the floor plan gallery, using the pictorial gallery of rooms, or taking a room-by-room tour.

The General Assembly met in legislative session for the first time in this magnificent marble edifice on New Year's Day, January 1, 1901, a year after the building was completed. At one time in its long history, the Assembly met in five different locations throughout the state: Newport, Bristol, East Greenwich, Kingston and Providence.

Designed by the New York firm of McKim, Mead & White, the State House is sculpted from white Georgia marble and sits atop Smith Hill in downtown Providence. Construction took nine years to complete, beginning in 1895 and finishing in 1904.

Legislators were quite taken with their new home, as can be evidenced in the 1899-1900 edition of the Legislative History and Souvenir of Rhode Island:

"The feeble colony's first house was built of wood - and its next was a brick one. The wealthy little State moves into a marble palace at the beginning of the twentieth century."

Once you have seen the online tour, we encourage you to visit the State House in person. Educational tours are offered daily and can be scheduled by calling the Secretary of State's office at (401) 222-2357. We hope you enjoy your visit!