In 1888 Salt Lake City donated 20 acres as a site for the Utah State Capital. For various political reasons, however, it was not until 1909 that a seven man Utah Capital Commission was formed for the purpose of selecting a design and contructing a building. Although their initial attempts to raise a one mill levy failed, in 1911 an unexpected windfall of nearly $800,000 in taxes paid by the estate of E.H. Harriman provided enough seed-money to start the process. In 1911 the commission held a competition to select the best design. Ten prospective plans were entered into the contest including this one by Cannon (Georgius Y. Cannon), Fetzer (John Fetzer), and Ramm Hansen. The winning entry came from Richard Karl August Kletting. Construction began in 1912 with James Stewart & Company as the contractor. The building would not be fully completed until 1916. The final cost was $2,739,000.
From the guide to the Utah capitol competition : project of Cannon, Fetzer and Ramm Hansen Architects, 1911, (Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives)
