A JOINT RESOLUTION Honoring the FIFTIETH anniversary of the state legislative building.
Whereas, the State Legislative Building was completed in January 1963, making 2013 the 50th anniversary of the building's opening; and
Whereas, by the late 1950s, facilities in the State Capitol, which had been used for sessions of the General Assembly since 1840, were increasingly becoming insufficient to accommodate the members of the General Assembly and their staff; and
Whereas, in 1959, the General Assembly appropriated funds for a new building to accommodate the legislature, and enacted legislation establishing the State Legislative Building Commission (Commission); and
Whereas, the Commission consisted of the following members: Archie K. Davis and Robert F. Morgan (vice‑chair), who were appointed by Lieutenant Governor Luther E. Barnhardt, President of the Senate; Byrd I. Satterfield and Thomas J. White (chair), who were appointed by Addison Hewlett, Speaker of the House of Representatives; and A. E. Finley, Edwin Gill, and Oliver R. Rowe, who were appointed by Governor Luther Hodges; and
Whereas, among its many duties, the Commission was charged with acquiring a site suitable for a State Legislative Building; employing architects to prepare the plans for the building; entering into contracts to purchase real property, materials, and furnishings related to the building; and providing general supervision of construction of the new building; and
Whereas, the Commission selected architect Edward Durell Stone of New York and associate architects John S. Holloway and Ralph B. Reeves, Jr., of Raleigh to design the new building; and
Whereas, Edward Durell Stone, an Arkansas native, is widely considered to have been one of the most prominent 20th century American architects, having designed numerous college, museum, and corporate buildings across the United States; and
Whereas, Edward Durell Stone was an internationally recognized advocate for modern design, having designed prominent public buildings in Canada, Mexico, Panama, India, Pakistan, Lebanon, Croatia, and Belgium; and
Whereas, in 1961, the General Assembly provided additional funding to furnish and equip the building, bringing the total appropriation for the new building to $5.5 million; and
Whereas, the State Legislative Building rises from a broad 340‑foot wide podium of North Carolina granite with a marble‑faced building proper encompassed by a colonnade of square columns reaching from the podium to the main roof of the second floor; and
Whereas, the main entrance to the State Legislative Building has a 28‑foot diameter terrazzo mosaic of the great seal of the State of North Carolina; and
Whereas, the State Legislative Building houses the chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, members' offices, Principal Clerks' offices, committee rooms, and spaces for other essential functions of the General Assembly; and
Whereas, North Carolina was the first state to construct a building to house the legislature; and
Whereas, the General Assembly convened its first session in the State Legislative Building on February 6, 1963; and
Whereas, the State Legislative Building is today considered to be one of Edward Durell Stone's most important works, along with such notable buildings as the Kennedy Center and the National Geographic Building in Washington, DC, and the Museum of Modern Art and the General Motors Building in New York City; and
Whereas, the State Legislative Building has been an important institution for the General Assembly and the citizens of this State for 50 years; Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
SECTION 1.  The General Assembly honors the memory of the late Edward Durell Stone as well as the many others who helped to conceive, design, construct, and build the State Legislative Building.
SECTION 2.  The General Assembly expresses appreciation to the 1959 General Assembly for the actions it took to ensure that the General Assembly had the appropriate funds and resources to build the State Legislative Building, which has been a significant symbol of State government for the past 50 years.
SECTION 3.  This resolution is effective upon ratification.