Ellington

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's entire congressional delegation is supporting an effort to have the state Capitol named a national historic landmark.

Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker and Reps. Bennie Thompson, Gregg Harper, Steven Palazzo and Trent Kelly issued a news release Thursday, saying they have sent a letter supporting that move to Paul Loether, chief of the historic landmarks program for the National Park Service.

They say they "wholeheartedly" support the nomination of the Mississippi Capitol, calling it "an architectural masterpiece."

The four-story, Beaux Arts style statehouse was built from March 1901 to July 1903. It was designed by a St. Louis-based architect, Theodore Link.

The Capitol is undergoing its first restoration in more than a generation to repair leaky roofs, clean stained-glass windows and make other repairs.