My interest in state capitols can be traced back to my childhood in rural Iowa, not far from Iowa City, the state’s first capital. There, amid the University of Iowa buildings and overlooking the Iowa River, stood the old stone Greek Revival capitol. To me it was the largest and most handsome building in the world. My father knew its history: it was the territorial capitol (1842–1846) where Iowa inaugurated its first governor; home to the first six General Assemblies from 1846 to 1857; the site where the state constitution was drafted and where the state university was chartered in 1847. In fact, the capitol was the university’s first permanent structure, and it housed the University of Iowa’s administrative offices for over 113 years as the university built around and enveloped it. When my family traveled throughout the United States (most memorably in a 1948 Ford), we looked for state capitols, often recognizable by their Renaissance-style golden domes. While preparing this book, I discovered that we were not alone in our interest. The admiration, even veneration, of people toward their...