200 A BICENTENNIAL HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY CAPITOL THERE HAVE BEEN THREE CAPITOL BUILDINGS IN JACKSON SINCE MISSISSIPPI ACHIEVED STATEHOOD IN 1817. Construction on the third and final “New Capitol” was completed in 1903. The original building cost $1,093,641 and was renovated for $19 million from 1979 to 1983. The “New Capitol,” as it is still called today, is filled with marble from around the world, painted scenes from Mississippi history, a hall of portraits of governors, and carvings of “Blind Justice.” Facing south on the 180-foot tall dome of the capitol, a solid copper eagle covered in gold leaf stands eight feet tall with its wings spread fifteen feet wide. In 2017, Mississippi’s bicentennial birthday year, the Mississippi Capitol building was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.