Journeying through the inside of the Alaska State Capitol
- Jasz Garrett
- 9 hours ago
- 12 min read
A floor-by-floor, room-by-room tour of the arts, history and activities of the Capitol complex
By Jasz Garrett and Natalie Buttner
This article is a part of the Juneau Independent's 2026 Legislative Guide. It will be updated online as changes and other developments occur.
Built before statehood
The Alaska State Capitol was originally constructed to serve as a Territorial and Federal Building and was completed in 1931. When Alaska became a state in 1959, it became the state Capitol building. Juneau residents raised a portion of the funds to buy the building site. As the building was not originally built to serve as a state Capitol, it is less grandiose and visually imposing than many other state Capitol buildings around the country. The building is one of only 11 Capitol buildings in the United States without a domed roof.
When the Alaska Legislature first met in Juneau in 1905, after moving the capital from Sitka, they didn’t have a dedicated Capitol building and met in rented rooms around the city. At that time, and under the constraints of the era, including limited funding and the immediate functional requirements, the building was designed without a dome. This practical approach resulted in a Capitol that more closely resembles an office building than the grand, domed structures seen in other states.
But outside and in, the building has many unique features that highlight Alaska’s unique art and history.
The Alaska Legislature convenes at the Capitol each year on the third Tuesday in January. Each Legislature has a duration of two years and consists of a “First Regular Session,” which meets in odd-numbered years. The “Second Regular Session” meets in even-numbered years, with any special session that the governor or Legislature calls. The first and second regular sessions are limited in statute to 90 days, but the Alaska Constitution allows for 121 days.
During the session, the building bustles with legislators, staff, pages, press and the public.
At the entrance of the Capitol are four marble columns of the neoclassical portico quarried on Prince of Wales Island.
Address:
120 4th St., Juneau, AK, 99801
News lookback #1: A bell outside the Capitol is rung by the Juneau chapter of Veterans of Peace on Veteran’s Day to mark the anniversary of an armistice signing on Nov. 11, 1919, that ended World War I — in keeping with the spirit of what was an annual Armistice Day holiday until it was changed to Veterans Day in 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Congratulations, concern expressed in local tributes on Veterans Day
Hours
The Alaska State Capitol Building is open to the public Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, while the Legislature is in session. During the interim, the Capitol is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on weekends and state holidays. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the building was busy with staff training and legislators setting up their offices in preparation for gaveling in on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026.
Free guided tours of the Capitol building are available from May through September, courtesy of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. A self-guided audio tour and virtual tour are available online at the Alaska State Capitol website.
As of April 2025, visitors entering the Capitol building when the Legislature is in session must go through a metal detector and have their belongings screened in a TSA-style security checkpoint. Unlike TSA, there is no limit to the number of times a visitor can enter through this checkpoint, and liquids are permitted to enter the building.
Legislators, staff, and members of the media with approved electronic key fobs can access the building without going through the security checkpoint.
News lookback #2: Tourists got a surprise glimpse of lawmakers reconvening in Juneau in August 2025 during the 34th legislative special session called by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Connectivity and Resources on the Ground Floor
There is free Wi-Fi available throughout the building, as well as public phones located near the stairways. On the ground floor, two phone booths with rotary phones harken back to a time before cell phones. The lost and found is located to the right of these phone booths.
There are public restrooms on all floors. Copiers for legislative use are located on most floors.
The building manager, maintenance foreman and mechanic, and facilities manager are all located on the ground floor. Outside their offices, minor and major maintenance forms can be found, in addition to flag order forms.
A post office is located on the ground floor, as well as a supply room. Keys can be picked up and returned on the ground floor. The Capitol's Security Office is also located here. The press room is located on the ground floor, too, keeping Alaskans connected and informed.
Arts and History
“The collection of Alaska art that adorns the hallways, legislative chambers and meeting rooms of the Juneau Capitol is one of the most important collections of Alaska art anywhere — a little-known treasure.” — Kesler Woodward
The Alaska State Capitol displays many artifacts of state history and important pieces showcasing the cultural artistry of the state. The Capitol’s collection of art can be found online, and for informational viewing, each art piece’s label in the building includes the title, artist and QR code to learn more.
First Floor
The first floor touts enormous images of the first territorial Senate and House, as well as four carved cedar panels by artist Nathan Jackson. Also on this floor are offices and two committee meeting rooms, the Bettye J. Davis Committee Room and Ramona L. Barnes Committee Room. Found throughout the first floor are historical photos of Alaska Native chiefs, dancers, villages and more. Almost all photos on display in the hallways of the Alaska State Capitol are from the Winter & Pond Collection. The Winter & Pond exhibit in the Capitol includes selections from more than 4,700 photographs presented to the Alaska State Library by William W. Jorgenson.
Second Floor
The second floor has a selection of artifacts and artistic pieces dedicated to Alaska history, namely when statehood was granted on Jan. 3, 1959. Newspapers recall the 64-20 vote that made Alaska the 49th state, with the historic vote ending six days of debate.
In a framed photograph, Gov. Mike Stepovich holds the same edition of the Anchorage Daily Times announcing statehood, standing between President Eisenhower and Secretary of the Interior Fred Seaton. The newspapers were flown from Alaska by a jet bomber for distribution to officials in Washington, D.C.
To enter the House and Senate Chambers, one must push open the hand-cast brass push plates, decorated with totemic images of eagles, whales, and bears.
House
The house chamber is located on the second floor of the legislative building. There are 40 members in the House of Representatives.
There are two House chamber galleries. One is named for Elizabeth Peratrovich, an Alaska Native civil rights leader and one of the key voices behind the 1945 Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act, the first anti-discrimination law in the state’s history. Peratrovich’s speech before the Alaska Territorial Legislature was highly influential in the bill’s success. She is also recognized in a bronze portrayal by her eldest son.
The other House chamber gallery is named for Warren A. Taylor, an Alaska Constitutional Convention Delegate and Speaker of the House in the First Alaska State Legislature. He is commended for a public service career of more than three decades that included critical years for Alaska’s “transition from a sparsely populated territory through the earliest years of statehood.”
On Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, pages were preparing for the start of the session. Janessa Erickson, a House page, returned for her second year from Wasilla and prepped welcome packets and Alaska statutes for the body. Within the Alaska statutes are bills passed from the first half of the 34th session in 2025 that have now become law.
Senate
The Alaska State Senate chambers are also located on the second floor. The Alaska Senate only consists of 20 members, and meets in the smallest state legislative chamber in the United States. Before the building became the state Capitol, this wing of the building served as a museum, and legislative committees often met in the museum space. The Senate began meeting in the chamber in 1967.
The Senate galleries are named for Sen. Cliff Groh of Anchorage, who helped lead the fight for statehood as a founder and first chairman of “Operation Statehood,” and Sen. Robert H. Ziegler of Ketchikan, whose father preceded him in service in the territorial Legislature. Ziegler served in the Alaska Territorial Legislature and the Alaska State Legislature for a total of 24 years.
Speaker’s Chambers
The current speaker of the House for the 34th Legislature is Bryce Edgmon, of Dillingham. In the speaker's chambers on the second floor, press conferences with the congressional delegation and with Senate and House members are held.
Now someone could take the elevator up to the third floor — or choose to take the stairs. If so, they might miss scientific displays located outside the elevators, including exhibits on Alaska’s mineral resources. But a bonus of taking the stairs (along with exercise) is spotting the student art.
Originally a collaboration of the Alaska Alliance for the Arts in Education, the Alaska Department of Education and the Legislative Affairs Agency, Art in the Capitol displays work by Alaskan elementary, middle and high school students. The program began in 1988. Since that time, participating teachers from across the state have worked with students to submit quality artwork representing their diverse experiences and varied techniques. So far, the only art piece hung is from Peterson Elementary School in Kodiak.
The Executive Floor
The Office of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor’s Office are located on the third floor of the Capitol Building. Walking down this hall, a row of Alaska governor portraits unfolds, with all the lieutenant governors honored in a picturesque row beyond. On the opposite wall is a showcase of Territorial Governors, with the first being John H. Kinkead from 1884 to 1885 and the last being Mike Stepovich, 1957 to 1958.
At the end of the hall is the office of Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and press offices for the Governor.
Inside the Alaska State Cabinet room, Dunleavy’s administration meets, and the governor holds press briefings. A press briefing was held on Wednesday, Jan. 21, with Dunleavy and all state cabinet members. Along with the portraits, a map of Alaska is showcased, being cut out of actual pieces of 48" pipe from May 1975 and hung during Gov. Jay Hammond’s tenure.
Newspapers tell the state’s history on the fourth floor
On the fourth floor, framed newspapers of the Juneau Independent (a historical Juneau Independent, not this publication), The Westward Alaskan, The Daily Alaska Empire, The Nome Chronicle, The Knik News, The Alaskan, Iditarod Pioneer, Valdez News Letter, The Eskimo Bulletin, On The Kenai, Tundra Times, The Cordova Times and The London Chronicle are hung. Offices are also found on this floor.
Headlines declaring World War II had started, recounts of Gruening and Egan’s deaths and their influences on the state, and the visit of Pope John Paul II to Alaska can be revisited.
Southeast Alaska Historic Headlines and Newspapers
– “Three Mines on Douglas Island Are Flooded As Result of Big Cave-In,” Juneau, Alaska, Monday, April 23, 1917.
– “Princess Sophia Sinks and 350 Souls Probably Perish,” Juneau, Alaska, Saturday, Oct. 26, 1918.
– “Alaska’s Legislative Beginning,” Monday, March 3, 1913.
All above are from the Daily Alaska Empire, now known as the Juneau Empire, which has been publishing since 1912.
– “An Awful Avalanche Buries a Great Host of People, It Came Without A Moment’s Warning,” The Dyea Trail, April 9, 1898.
– “Soapy Smith’s Last Bluff Called By Frank Reid,” The Skaguay News, Friday, July 19, 1898.
Fort Wrangel News
– The Thlinget - devoted to the interests of the Native People of Alaska, Sitka, Alaska, October 1908.
Finance Chambers, House and Senate, 5th floor
The Alaska State Legislature’s House Finance Committee had its first meeting on Monday at 1:30 p.m. It is located in room 519, the Al Adams Committee Room, which memorializes the dedication and service of Albert “Al” P. Sikkiagruk Adams, who served as a member of the House of Representatives and as the last sole chairman of the House Finance Committee during the 12th through 15th Alaska State Legislatures. He played a role in creating the cost equalization program, which has been established to make electricity affordable in every region of Alaska.
A revenue forecast will be given on Thursday by the Department of Revenue at 1:30 p.m., and on Friday, an overview of the Governor’s FY 2027 operating budget will be given by Lacey Sanders, director of the state Office of Management and Budget.
In the Senate Finance chambers, the renovation of the territorial courtroom began in 1980 under the direction of Juneau designer Phyllice Bradner. It served as a courtroom until 1975, then as a library, and is currently the Senate Finance Hearing Room.
Food, Drink, Rest
There is a vending machine located on the ground floor. The Legislative Cafeteria, located on the second floor, sells lunches to all. Only legislators can eat in the seating area. The kitchen opened with full service on Monday, Jan. 19.
News lookback #3: Last year, Tessa Hulls, a staffer in the Capitol’s kitchen, won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in the Memoir or Autobiography category for her graphic novel “Feeding Ghosts.”
Free coffee stations are also available throughout the building on various floors and are kept refilled throughout the long days, with a phone number available to call if someone tragically finds themselves out of coffee.
The Public Lounge, accessible via the second floor’s skybridge that connects the Capitol building to the Judge Thomas B. Stewart Legislative Office Building, offers a space for visitors to sit down and grab a drink or snack. Vending machines, free coffee and an ATM are available in the public lounge. A bookshelf located in this room provides a variety of books ranging from appropriately patriotic editions, such as an anthology of Lincoln’s speeches, to books for those looking to briefly escape mortal bureaucracy, like Anne Rice’s “The Vampire Lestat.”
The TV in the lounge often streams KTOO’s Gavel Alaska. For those in Juneau who may not want to venture to the viewing galleries at the Capitol, or for those elsewhere in the state, KTOO offers a vital resource with the option to watch from the comfort of your own home.
The Capitol is equipped to stream committee meetings from all committee rooms and both chambers. Certain special events may be streamed from other locations inside and outside the Capital. This service exists to provide Alaskans with live access to every committee meeting in the Capitol.
News lookback #4: See more about the Thomas B. Stewart building’s history in an article by Laurie Craig: “Building the Capitol on a solid foundation.” Building the Capitol on a solid foundation
The Thomas B. Stewart building hosts a budget and audit office on its ground floor and a Discovery Preschool and the Senate majority office on the main floor. The first floor holds records and conference rooms for both the House and Senate, as well as the Beltz Committee Room. On the second floor, the house’s records continue, the Chief Clerk’s office is available for assistance. Past the clerk’s office, connect back to the previously mentioned Public Lounge and skybridge, as well as to the hand-engraved copper “Lovebirds - Eagle and Raven” by Douglas Yates, a Tsimshian and Haida artist of the Killer Whale Clan from Metlakatla.
Visiting, Observing, and Assembling Peacefully
There are rules for anyone visiting the Capitol Building, whether they come to assemble peacefully or simply to observe. Large TV screens are located on all floors, directing visitors to their relevant offices, and a visitor’s guide is available on the first floor.
Both the House and Senate chambers have viewing galleries where visitors may watch the legislative process. Within the viewing galleries and committee rooms, signs and banners, shouting, noise-making, and weapons are banned and cell phones must be on silent as per the Capitol Visitor Policy.
Visitors are permitted to carry handheld signs up to 11 by 17 inches in the Capitol corridors and lobby as long as they are not obstructing movement.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356. Contact Natalie Buttner at natalieb@juneauindependent.com.
