Delaware State Capitol

The Delaware Legislative Hall is the state capitol building of Delaware located in the state capital of Dover on Legislative Avenue. It houses the chambers and offices of the Delaware General Assembly. It was designed in the Colonial Revival architecture style by E. William Martin and Norman M. Isham.ArchitectsThe building was designed in the Colonial Revival style by E. William Martin and Norman Isham, under the direction of the State Buildings and Grounds Commission, created by Governor C. Douglass Buck in 1931 during the Great Depression. Initially the commission was awarded to Isham, but his appointment was protested by Alfred Victor Du Pont (on the grounds that Isham was not a resident of Delaware); therefore, local architect Martin was brought in. The influence of Isham is clear when one notes the resemblance of many architectural details to Old Colony House in Newport, Rhode Island, a building which Isham had restored in 1932.History and structureOld State HouseThe original capitol of Delaware was the State House, located on The Green in Dover. It was commissioned originally by Kent County as the Kent County Court House, and was constructed from 1787 to 1791, when it became the State House. Kent County and the state government shared the building until 1873, when the Kent County government relocated. The State House was used until the completion of Legislative Hall.