California State Capitol Museum, Historic museum in Sacramento, United States

The California State Capitol Museum occupies the original section of the Capitol, a white building with a dark ribbed dome on a columned drum, topped by a cupola and flagpole. A triangular pediment with sculpted figures sits above a portico of tall white columns over a rusticated gray stone lower level with arched openings. The museum's core is on the basement and first floor, with a theater, gift shop, and Arthur Mathews mural in the basement.

The Legislature has met in the Capitol since 1869, and the building joined the California State Parks system in 1982. The Sisters of Mercy bought the land for a school in 1857, and that site later became the Capitol's. A marble statue of Columbus by Larkin Mead, given by banker Darius Ogden Mills, stood in the rotunda from 1883 until its removal on July 7, 2020.

The basement holds Arthur Mathews's mural "History of California", and the first floor keeps the restored offices of the secretary of state, treasurer and governor. In the rotunda stood Larkin Mead's marble "Columbus' Last Appeal to Queen Isabella", a gift from banker Darius Ogden Mills, displayed from 1883 until its removal on 7 July 2020.

The museum occupies the basement and first floor of the Capitol's original section: the tour office (B-27), a small theater, the gift shop and the Arthur Mathews mural are downstairs, while the restored governor, treasurer and secretary of state offices and two rotating exhibit rooms are on the first floor. The surrounding Capitol Park spreads over 40 acres between 9th and 15th streets, from L to N Street, with about 1,140 trees of over 200 types and roughly 155 memorials.

The surrounding Capitol Park holds a large collection of trees from around the world and contains an Apollo 14 Moon Tree grown from seeds taken into space. This living link to space exploration makes the park memorable.