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NORTH DAKOTA STATE CAPITOL AND MUSEUM The North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck was constructed in 1933 when three years before the original building was almost destroyed by fire. Only a portion of the old building, which dates back to 1884, could be salvaged. Lawmakers of the 1931 legislature drafted a measure calling for a $2,000,000.00 limit on spending for the construction of a new facility. The bill was signed on February 23,1931 by Governor F. Schafer. In 1933, construction was delayed due to a strike by the unskilled laborers wt'lo demanded a pay raise from $.30 to $.50 an hour. A small riot broke out when skilled workers attempted to cross picket lines. On May 24, two men were hospitalized and eleven arrested. Governor Langer posted National Guard troops at the site to maintain order and protect the building. The present capitol contains 19 stories, the tower reaching a height of 241 feet 8 inches, and is 95 feet square. The entire structure is 389 feet long from east to west. The columns lining Memorial Hall are made of bronze. The light fixtures, which are 12 feet long and 30 inches in diameter, contain 120 light bulbs each. The large bronze windows cast a unusual shadow across the floor of Memorial Hall on the first floor of the capitol. 2 The exterior is faced with a Wisconsin Black Granite base and Indiana Limestone. Within, the walls are done in matched exotic wood paneling of Honduras Mahogany, East Indian Rosewood and Laurel wood, English Brown Oak, and Burma Teak. The building stone includes Tennessee Marble, Yellowstone Travertine from Montana, and Belgian Black Marble imported from Belgium. The building houses offices of the North Dakota government, the Senate and House of Representatives Chambers, and the Supreme Court. The North Dakota Historical Society was actually organized in December, 1894, although there were some earlier groups with the same purpose of preserving the history of North Dakota. Officers of the Society were Clement A. Lounsberry, pioneer publisher of the Bismarck Tribune, North Dakota's state capitol building, in its simplicity and practicability, is actually a beautiful building located on the expansive green and well-kept capitol grounds. president; Linda W. Slaughter, vice-president and corresponding secretary; Marshall A. Jewell, second vice-president; and Warren C. Baker, recording secretary. However, itfailed to receive public support and languished in 1897. It was not until June 2,1903 that with the aid of Mr. Lounsberry and a young vivacious history professor, Dr. Orin G. Libby, the Society began to actively fu nction. With 68 members, it adopted a constitution and by-laws and elected new officers - President C.A. Lounsberry, Vice-President M.H. Jewell, Secretary W.R. Libby, and Treasurer J.L. Cashel. The name was also changed to the "State Historical Society of North Dakota." In 1924, the Society moved fro