Austin! October, 2008

Austin, the cool city known for music, not necessarily the capitol - but, hey, the capitol was pretty impressive - most notably, its size. Of course, this is Texas. In Texas, everything is big. I cannot remember a capitol more big, except for New York's possibly. Anyway, it was a beautiful day after a University of Texas football game, and the capitol was crowded. Its set right in downtown Austin amongst the hip and trendy crowd, atop a couple of acres of beautifully-kept greenery and many war statues.

Inside, the decor was well kept (and no construction going on! Unlike most capitols we visit!) but fairly simple. The flooring is nice pinks and greens marble or limestone, and the whole place is decorated with stars, of course. In fact, at the top of the dome inside, is a star with the letters from Texas in each of the star's corners. Also, in the senate chambers, the lights are in the form spelling "Texas." Stars are on the chairs and even inside the doors, on the hinges. They are proud of their state symbol.

As far as art goes and educational exhibits, the capitol was lacking. They did have the governor's portraits on display throughout the rotunda, and a few sculptures of notable Texans (Sam Houston, Stephen Austin, and Virginia TX volunteer Davey Crockett), and a couple of paintings of war scenes. There were a few scattered notes about how the capitol was constructed, but no war or Texas artifacts or exhibitions besides this.

A "cute" thing they had were pictures of state senator's grandchildren along with the pictures of the senators.

Lastly - who isn't a fan of Dazed and Confused?? Of course it was filmed in Austin, so John and I wanted to see some of the settings from the movie. My brother and sister-in-law reside here, and were nice enough to show us the burger joint where the kids all hung out, Top Notch Burger. Here we are, cool as ever! :)

Denver, August 12, 2008

So, back to Denver and to the capitol the next morning. We had a delicious breakfast downtown at the "Delectable Egg" diner, and rushed to make the 9am dome tour. The Denver capitol is in downtown Denver, so very urban atmosphere, but still beautiful grounds, well kept greenery and flowers. The exterior very stately, reminiscent of the DC capitol, as they boast.

The dome is made of gold leaf, as they say, a reminder of their "Gold Rush" early days. Though we made the dome tour, the capitol was under a lot of construction, and for some reason, we weren't able to go up to the very top, or even go outside once we were at our highest point. But it was fun, still to be up to the high area and see some sites. Also up on the top floor was a nice little pictorial and informational about the capitol, with some artistic renderings of the capitol, like this architerual one below, and also one made of soup cans.

Once we got into the capitol to explore, we found it was pretty grand - marble walls, brass adornments and stair case fixtures. Also, a fair amount of art - pictures of all of the US presidents to date, a lot of stained glass portraits of Colorado pineers, and murals (by the same artist of the WY capitol murals ) telling the "Colorado story."

All in all, it was an impressive capitol; however, there were no public bathrooms except on the bottom floor, where you had to go outside of security, and back through security! That was frustrating when we had to go after the dome tour...Also there were many, lets say, retiree tours, going on, so the capitol was quite tourist-crazy, a little hard to get around and take pictures, but, I guess that is a good thing for them.

Sidenote: we also went to the Budweiser Brewery in Fort Collins, which was a blast! (Possibly blashemy to Coors, but hey, it was on the interstate, and it was free!)

Cheyenne, August 11, 2008

It is my birthday, and we visited the capitol of Wyoming! Fabulousness...

We took the 100 mile drive from Denver in our Hyundai (rented from Advantage - do NOT recommend!), scenery was beautiful - clear skies, flat lands but mountains in the far background.

Cheyenne was a very quiet town, some cowboy hats (and mustaches!) reminiscent of the old West.

The capitol fairly big and nice from the outside, also very simple. Some statues of animals - a calf, a bison, and an unidentified cowboy riding a bucking horse - decorated the front lawn. Also inside were various stuffed animals like a buffalo, otters, birds...but little art or representation of humans. They had some nice murals in their Legislature rooms (about prioneer life, industry, and transportation in Wyoming), but besides that, none of any governors or famous Wyomans, except some photos of old Legislatures. The interior, too, was very simple, and, seemingly out of date! Green carpeting and the like. Just seemed like an out-of-date quasi mansion. There is one oil painting in the rotunda depicting various ethnic groups that settled in Wyoming.

But - the best news - they seemed very pro-female. Outside also boasted a statue of Esther Morris, who played a role in Wyoming being the first government to grant women equal suffrage. She also became the first woman Justice of Peace in 1870. In the photos of the old governors, there was a woman in 1925, very rare, and impressive indeed.

Augusta: May 23

Friday, our last capitol... We drove from Concord to Kennebunkport to stay the previous day, the quaint town on the coast on Maine. It was about 80 miles southeast of Augusta.

Atop the dome is the statue "Lady of Wisdom" a female figure holding a pine bough in the form of a torch and a pinecone in her left. Also of note are many American flags! Definitely displaying their national spirit.

The architecture is fairily simple, not ornate, without Latin quotes or symbols. It is a very stately building, with art consisting of paintings of governors, senators, and, of course, Presidents Lincoln and Washington. The walls are painted white, as is the dome, and there are white Doric columns. One interesting painting along the stairs was one of Washington next to the behind of a horse. Another piece was a bas-relief above a fireplace, a scene of soldiers returning from the Civil War.

There is a "fossil hunt" - throughout the capitol building there are four kinds of marine invertebrate fossils in the floor stones. Definitely unique!

The senate and house chambers were simple, clean, orderly and quaint white painted rooms. On the second floor, of note there was a porch that was open to the public, where you can sit on rocking chairs!

Another tid-bit is that on the bottom floor there is a room for massages! For visitors or workers, what a great idea.

There's also a history museum accross the street about Maine, and the capitol is amidst green parks, which was nice. Augusta seemed like a nice small town, but we didn't stick around long enough to learn about it. We headed back to the beach!

May 22: Concord

After Montpelier, we were off on our 120 mile drive to Concord, NH. We stopped along the way in Stockbridge, where James Taylor wrote a song about.

There is an arch, the "Memorial Arch," outside, that honors NH soldiers and sailors. Once inside, you are greeted by a large statue of the 14th President and noted NH resident, Franklin Pierce.

Concord was a pleasant town, the capitol in the center of the State House Plaza, said to be the country's oldest statehouse, constructed in 1819 of Concord granite and Vermont marble. The architecture seemed to be quite simple, very down-to-earth, with walls painted white and white marble floors. Not too much art, but some paintings of governors and other well-known NH residents.

The House chamber was a little different in that they had theatre chairs without desks. In this chamber were paintings of Lincoln, Washington, Pierce and Webster. We couldn't go up into the dome because in order to, said the security gaurd, you would have to walk along the attic with pigeons. There is no rotundo under the dome to look up into.

On the way out, we stopped by a friendly cigar shop and John bought one to celebrate being on vacation. The clerk cooly responded, "excellent," after hearing of our ventures.

May 22: Montpelier

We drove late Wednesday into Barre, VT, right outside of Montpelier. Its too bad because Montpelier is such a darling town. We ate breakfast at a movie-like small-town diner. We walked through the quaint downtown to the quaint capitol in minutes.

The capitol looks like a giant house, or a mansion, with acres of open land behind it providing beautiful scenery. They are very proud of Ethan Allen, with a marble statue of him inside. There was no security or welcome desk, just as though you're walking into someone's home.

Simple exterior and interior, not ornate like most capitols, but very elegant in its simplicity.

Paintings of governors line the hallways along with chandeliers, and the floor a black-and-white marble checker. There are no Latin symbols or proverbs like most of the capitols, but there is a bust of President Lincoln, who seems to be quite popular. There are some quotes posted from their governors.

A curving staircase takes you upstairs where the senate and house chambers are--small, but nice and cozy rooms. There is also a nice reception room with large civil war scene paintings, but no civil war flags like the others. The governor's office appeared unused, with antique furniture and dated carpet.

I think this was my favorite capitol because of its homey quality. A woman in town, like in Providence, said that it is known to be one of the prettiest capitols. People are quite proud.

Albany: May 21

After a quick lunch, we were off on our 114 mile trip to Albany. We got there by 2pm and it was raining. The neighborhoods and area of Albany reminded us of parts of NYC. The capitol was right in the center of the city, parking very hard, but the building so huge you couldn't miss it. It seemed to take up at least 2 square blocks. However, there is no dome! So that is a big difference from most state capitols as of yet.

At left, me in front of the capitol next to a large statue of the Civil War General Philip Sheridan.

The capitol was under construction and so the entrance was on the side with a spray painted sign, very informal. There weren't as many paintings as previous capitols but the "Hall of Governors" showcasing some of the past state governors. There were a few sculptures, one of President Lincoln of course. There is one room, the Governor's Reception Room, whose fourty-foot-high rotunda ceiling was part of a dome that was never completed, but covered in murals chronicling important events in NY military history.

They boast a "Civil War Flag Preservation Project" housing it seems like hundreds of Civil War flags. John noted that he thought Southerners were proud of their Civil War history, and it seems as though Northerners are, as well.

The senate and assembly rooms were simple and nice. It is a such a monolith building, one reminiscent of an old, midieval castle where you get lost; the pamphlet boasts the "hallways resonate with the echoes of great aevents and people from our state's past"--you can definitely hear your echo in the gigantic rooms and halls of this building. The walls were painted simple, the stairs and many of the walls were cement. It was an adventure just getting around in it!

Hartford: May 21, 2008

In the morning we were off on our 90 mile drive to Hartford, Connecticut. We thought the Providence capitol was grandiose (and it was), but Hartford was crazy gradiose!! The style of the building is Gothic, with spires, a golf-leaf dome, medallions and bas-reliefs.

The interior (and exterior) architecture was very elaborate, detailed with some busts of prominent Connecticut-ians, and one big statue of Connecticut's "officia state hero," Nathan Hale, who said "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

The lighting was dim, with no visible security entering the building, and no ropes in the senate and House chambers, as is usual in other capitols visited.

There were many civil war flags and even a real tree from the Civil War with actual cannon balls stuck in it that had been shot. Another interesting tid-bit was the gold fountain they have outside the senate chamber, which used to be used for water breaks.

The capitol was a fine and very impressive one - the tour guide said it was voted the nicest interior of all the capitols (not sure who/where that was voted). It definitely was, and the town was also very friendly, clean, as the capitol is located downtown amongst much greenery and parks. Overall very nice!

Providence: May 20, 2008

After eating a nice lunch in Boston at an Irish pub (despite the uninvited company, another story...), we headed on to Providence, a 50 mile drive from Boston. Providence was rainy, but nice, small and easy to navigate around. Parking was also a lot simpler than Boston, being that our bed and breakfast (State House Inn at Providence, very quaint and nice!) was only blocks from the capitol building.

We were thrilled to find it open at 4pm despite the travel book's posted closing time of 4pm. The actual closing time is 4:30pm, so note to yourself! :) The capitol was quite busy, with the House and Senate both in session. News stations roamed about, interviewing senators and whoever, so that was kind of fun. We even sat in on the Senate for a minute.

The outside is very grandiose, with a central marble dome (said to be the 4th largest unsupported dome in the world), and four surrounding smaller domes. The interior was relatively sparse of art, but still carried classical Latin paintings and symbols like many of the capitols seen previously.

There were a couple of cannons and many flags displayed from the civil war. A neat aspect of the outside was a marble porch that went all the way around the building (though the entrance was hard to find).

After the visit we went to the very cool "Wild Colonial" pub in Providence, in the bottom of a very old looking building and had some local brew. The people were kind, and service was great in Providence!

Boston: May 20, 2008

We arrived at the Boston airport at 11:40 am, rented a car (we got a PT Cruiser! how fun!), and were off to the capitol right away. Our mapquest directions got us into the city well enough, and we spotted the dome, found parking for about $25/hour, and jumped out to head to the first state house on the tour. The capitol was very busy and loud with lobbyists (guess) and other senators, etc. It is, according to their pamphlets, the oldest capitol still in use (completed in 1798). It does appear very old, and is located in a very old, quaint neighborhood.
Here's John outside the capitol, which was right in the middle of the Boston city center, blocks from the Boston Gardens. Of course, the Boston Celtics have been doing well, and even the state house expressed their Celtic pride with a huge flag accross the front of the building.




Inside the building was pretty stately as expected, with paintings of the governors lining and walls, and multiple busts of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. However, to my dismay, John Adams only had one bust, no paintings (unless I missed it) besides one in the Senate chamber along with other presidents on the wall in creation of the Declaration. In a room that seemed to be honoring great presidents, there were large sculptures of Washington and Lincoln, and then some pieces cardboard with a copied picture of John Adams with some words about the second president (who, of course, was from Boston, unlike Washington and Lincoln). John Quincy Adams was not shown anywhere, though his name was listed on the wall on the Senate Chambers. This was disappointing to me as a grand-daughter of the great pres! But I guess I have heard that John Adams was unpopular.


Another interesting tidbit is that the Senate chambers has a round table, unlike the capitols we have seen previously. There's also a room that used to be on the outside that is now inside, displaying flags of each of Massachusettes cities.

We did it!

We're back and we made it through our seven capitols tour... I will be starting to re-cap our visits now starting with Boston...

7 capitols in 7 days!

We are so excited because we are about to venture upon our biggest capitol trip yet...7 capitols in 7 days! Boston, Providence, Hartford, Albany, Monpelier, Augusta, and Concord...of course we are not bringing our babe, she will be safe with grandparents. We're just going to rent a car and see the sites of the beautiful northeast. We'll be staying on the coast of Maine for 2 nights, as well.
Trip starts May 20! Countown begins...

Atlanta!

At last, a capitol within a big city. John and I were in Stone Mountain for a conference, which was absolute bliss for me--again, baby-free (though missing her!), I got to stare at the beautiful greenery and sit in the whirpool amongst the misty laziness that was, for one day.
Anyway...so we got to the capitol after a bit of a parking quest, and found neatly kept grounds surrounding the building, depicting such Georgia greats as Jimmy Carter and John Brown Gordon (look him up). The dome is golden-encrusted and shiny, and atop is a small rendition of what looks like the Statue of Liberty, but is a little different.

Inside is a simple layout with the central dome in the middle, with two wings out to the sides. The main floor is decorated with prominent Georgia governors' busts, and the walls adorned with royalty-styled paintings of senators and other Georgia greats like Martin Luther King, Jr., the first Georgian to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
It was a nice entrance to a capitol, as well, on the sunny Tuesday afternoon, because there was a band inside playing traditional American classics. The third and fourth floors display Georgia relics such as the flag and popular notions such as "Georgia on my mind" tabs and lyrics. There are also other random things like a two-headed calf displayed, but mostly historical and relevant policital and Georgia-related items.

Visitors can't go to the top of the dome, so unfortunately we didn't get to see a view of Atlanta from the top. But, you can walk around the central nave from the third and fourth floors for nice views of the Victorian-styled floors below.
Unbeknownst to us, Atlanta was actually the fifth capital selected for the state, but once it was the capitol was erected with a $1 million budget, and $134 leftover, which was deposited into the state's general account. They seem to be quite proud of this.

Topeka Capitol, March 24, 2008

We drove down from Omaha, baby-free, through the flat nothing-ness that is rural Nebraska and Kansas. Literally. Oh well, we pumped up near a friendly Indian Reservation and found the capitol very easily in the small city that is Topeka. The downtown strip was fairly vacant but there were some nice restaraunts and quiet people. Surrounding the capitol was construction-on all sides. Not a pretty site, but nonetheless a nice looking building.

We wandered in on this Monday morning, to lots of political business. Legislature was in session for the House of Representatives, so there were suits abound, chatting, drinking coffee, buying snacks in the snackroom, etc. Here we are in the House of Representatives room after they finished their meeting (which, we did visit along with press above, but it was pretty boring, as expected, and no pictures allowed).

The capitol is a nice one, similar to the other midwestern ones we have been through. One big dome, which they state is the third tallest dome, which depends on your definition of "dome (they claim there are only 38 states with domes, while other capitols have claimed there are 49). Nice art inside the dome and along the walls, of the standard figures signifying various virtues and academia, as well as historical figures. There are also some big sculptures of random historical figures, that have Kansas links, like Amelia Erhart.
Here is me looking at some state flags, with a sculpture of a prominent publisher in the background.
The stairs to the dome are closed off to the public, and we found out why. We went on a tour (296 steps) to the top of the dome, and saw much carvings and paint by various visitors of the past--some at least 75 feet in the air above the top of the glass dome below. They say something like "JT was here 1950." Craziness! Here you can see how the stairs went accross and way up into the tip-top dome, it was kinda scary! Some people on the tour didn't venture all the way up. Here's the urinals which my husband said were the strangest ones he has ever seen. As expected the bathrooms were old fashioned, but these were really ancient and odd, according to John, so he took a nice picture.

Overall it was a great trip! We had lunch just down the street from the capitol at a quant Irish pub. Not a notable town, but a friendly one nonetheless. 8 down!

Kansas next Monday!

Next Monday we will be going to the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka. We are stoked....More then!!

Baton Rouge!

We made it to our 1st capitol of 2008, 7th total, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We stayed the weekend in the infamous New Orleans. One can imagine how crowded it was due to the national champions that took place. Loads of Ohio and LSU fans roaming the streets wasted, espesially Bourbon street of course! We had a blast as you can see here.

But on to the capitol!! We drove the 78 miles along the swampy highway 10 to Baton Rouge Sunday morning and ate breakfast at a kind Waffle House before making our big stop.

The capitol as you can see, has a seemingly simple exterior, but does have quite a lot of symbolism, with the steps naming the fifty states, and the state symbol of the pelican used extensively, as well as various patriots and pioneers statues.

Inside is very ornate - Louisiana governor Huey Long fought for the $5 million project in the 1930s during the depression and made the most of it. Its truly very beautiful with heavy gold chandeleirs throughout, relief sculptures lining all of the walls, handpainted ceilings, and a bronze relief map of the state. There's also many life-size statues of prominent Louisiana politicans or war vets, like one governor that even lost his hand (shown) and his campaign slogan was "vote for what is left of me."

Another interesting tidbit is regarding Huey Long, the governor who built the capitol - he was assassinated in the hallway outside of the House of Representatives by a doctor who felt threatened by his strength and tenacity. There have since been movies filmed there, including All of the Kings Men, with Sean Penn. My husband and I have now put that movie on our Netflix list.

Other random note - in 1970, the Louisiana senate in response to what they thought was poor leadership, set off a bomb in the senate chamber, which put a whole in the ceiling and displaced most of the room, as you can imagine. All was restructured and cleaned, except they left a pencil that got stuck in the ceiling, which you can see in this picture, as a reminder of what happened.

Unlike our other capitol visits, we actually took a tour from this kind lady, shown. She was a great guide, who told us these interesting stories but didn't go on so long that we were bored. We also got to ride the elevator (not climb the steps like in Oregon) to the observation deck on the 27th floor, which was an outstanding view of the 27 acre garden and grounds around the building. They claim to be the tallest capitol at 450 feet - thus far, they are. The one that comes the closest is Nebraska's, at 400 feet. We will see!!

We then walked around their grounds which were very nicely kept. There's also a Louisiana history museum in walking distance, and a quaint downtown area, but as it was Sunday morning, nothing was open.