Bertram Goodhue’s original 1920 Capitol design concept included the
setting for his building within the capital city. Goodhue planned four formal
boulevard approaches to the Capitol from the north, south, east and west on
axis with the site and Capitol tower. The Capitol’s four square block site is
located at the intersection of two principal streets which form the south and
east edges of the business district. In 1987 a joint city-state Nebraska
Capitol Environs Commission was created with statutory authority to oversee
preservation and enhancement of the Capitol Environs District. The District is
a fifty-four square block area which includes the Capitol site, the ring of
blocks surrounding the site, and Goodhue’s four axial boulevards, or malls. The
Capitol area and the city blocks which line both sides of the boulevards, or
malls, define the formal setting of the Capitol in the city. Within the
District, the Commission has statutory authority to set guidelines and oversee
architectural, landscape and urban design issues, such as, building heights and
setbacks, and building and landscape material requirements. In addition to the
Environs District, the Commission has design review authority for City and
Country View Corridors which preserve views of the Capitol from within the city
and from as distant as twenty miles. The Commission meets monthly to review
design issues and projects such as a planned north mall redevelopment linking
the Capitol to the University of Nebraska-City Campus, and the development of a
bicycle/pedestrian trail which enhances a principal Capitol view corridor from
Lincoln’s largest park.