 The Atrium is host to many special events each year and...a home for Pete the Pigeon.  The Statehouse Atrium connects the Statehouse to the Senate Building. Until 1994 when it was constructed, the space between the two buildings was open  A view of the atrium space before renovation. 
In 1859, Abraham Lincoln spoke to a small group of Ohioans from the east terrace of the Statehouse, which is now enclosed as part of the atrium space. A plaque commemorates his first of three visits to the Ohio Statehouse. Two catwalks connect the Senate Building to the Statehouse.  The east Statehouse facade is no longer subject to the elements.  Floor lighting anchors the four corners of the Atrium. |
Saturday, July 31, 2010
It was while at the Statehouse that he received a telegram that his election to the nation's highest office was official. His third visit was more somber. Lincoln, the first president to be assassinated, lay in state in the Statehouse Rotunda as his casket was being transported back to Illinois for burial.