The Capitol has the governor's office and otherwise functions as a museum. Alabama has had five political capitals and four purpose-built capitol buildings during its history since it was designated as a territory of the United States. The first was the territorial capital in St. Stephens in ; the state organizing convention was held in Huntsville in , and the first permanent capital was designated in as Cahaba.
The legislature moved the capital to Tuscaloosa in , where it was housed in a new three-story building. After it burned in , the ruins were retained within Capitol Park. Finally, in , the capital was moved again, when Montgomery was designated. The first capitol building in Montgomery, located where the current building stands, burned after two years. The current building was completed in , and additional wings were added over the course of the following years.
Large parts of the state were subsequently developed for cotton cultivation. The current capitol building temporarily served as the Confederate Capitol while Montgomery served as the first political capital of the Confederate States of America in , before Richmond, Virginia was designated as the capital. The convention also adopted the Permanent Constitution here on March 11, Architecturally, the building is Greek Revival in style with some Beaux-Arts influences.
The central core of the building and the east wing to the structure's rear, is three stories built over a below-grade basement. The north and south wings are two-stories over a raised basement. The first capitol building to be built in Montgomery was designed by Stephen Decatur Button , of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. Andrew Dexter Jr. This property, atop what was then known as Goat Hill due to its use as a pasture, was chosen as the site for the new state capitol structure.
Construction began in , with the new completed building presented to the state on December 6, Button's designed building was stuccoed brick, with two full stories set over a rusticated raised basement. A two-story monumental portico with six Composite columns, topped by a broad pediment , was centered on the middle five bays of the front elevation.
