Bird's-eye view looking down Locust Street from the Capitol, Des Moines, Iowa
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Looking west from the stairs of the Iowa State Capitol building at Locust Street and downtown Des Moines in the background. The building was completed in 1886 at a cost of $3,296,256, and, and at the time, was the only five-domed capitol in the country. The dome of the capitol is gilded with tissue-paper thin sheets of pure 23-karat gold, with a protective layer sealing the gold from the weather, and the top of its finial peak is 275 feet (84 m) above the ground. From its opening during 1884 until 1924, it was the tallest building in Des Moines, and likely the entire state. It is located at 1007 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Number 107839.