The Rhode Island State House stands at 82 Smith Street, just below the crest of Smith Hill. It is Rhode Island's seventh state house and the second in Providence. McKim, Mead & White, a well-known New York firm, designed it, and it was built from 1891 to 1901.
The building uses 327,000 cubic feet of white Georgia marble, 15 million bricks and about 1,309 short tons of iron floor beams. Its dome is described as the fourth largest self-supported marble dome in the world. It was also one of the first public buildings to use electricity.
On top of the dome stands a gold-covered bronze statue, The Independent Man. It was first named Hope. George Brewster designed it, the Gorham Manufacturing Company cast it, and it was installed in 1899. It weighs more than 500 pounds. Inside, the State Room holds a full-length portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart.