Capitol Buildings

 

CAPITOL BUILDINGS

After visiting my sixth state Capitol building, I realized that it was a thing, not just something I did. I tend to go to historic places and museums, so this made sense.

However, I had no real purpose for it. And that's fine. I've met people with traditions and specific fascinations.

I just go because it's appealing.

The buildings are very nice to look at, but I have little interest in architecture. I don’t particularly care how state government works. And I have no ritual at these places, such as doing a certain pose in the rotunda.

So why go?

I don’t know. But it has continued, and now my count is up to 20.

I’ve taken a picture of myself in front of each Capitol (sometimes called a State House). I even returned to Columbia, South Carolina, because I had toured that building but failed to get a picture with it.

So yeah, I guess it kind of is a thing.

A goal of mine is to visit all 50, which would mean returning to some capital cities I’ve already been to, such as Juneau and Denver.

I am from New Jersey but have never been to the building in Trenton. I would like that to mark my 50^th, followed by the US Capitol is Washington, D.C.

Each building has a rich history, was probably not its state’s first, and is beautiful outside and in.

Explore for yourself if you’re curious about architectural inspirations, the materials used, and/or artwork adorning the halls, such as meaningful portraits and statues.

My journey has consisted of getting some fun facts. Follow it below.

DISCLAIMER: Some buildings have more interesting histories than others. And that’s the way it goes.

Albany, New York

*was first called the Stadt Huys, because of New York’s Dutch settlers
*most expensive building at the time (completed in 1899), delighting some but annoying others, who thought it was a giant waste of money
*is said to be haunted by the ghost of Civil War veteran Samuel Abbott, who was the only fatality in the its 1911 fire
*the cornerstone isn’t visible because somebody forgot to mark it
*if I had to pick, this would be the nicest building I’ve seen yet, though that may just be because the city surrounding it looks terrible

Annapolis, Maryland

*where the Treaty Of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, was signed on January 14^th, 1784
*George Washington resigned there as Commander-In-Chief on December 23^rd, 1783
*the country’s oldest continuously-used Capitol
*dome was built without using nails
*honors Mary Risteau, an important political activist and the first woman elected to the Maryland House Of Delegates, a year after women got the right to vote
*only state house to serve as US Capitol, from November 1783 – August 1784, because the Congress of the Confederation met there and Annapolis was being considered for the national capital
*lightning rod on top was designed by Benjamin Franklin

Boston, Massachusetts

*built on land owned by John Hancock, the state’s first elected governor
*main doors only get opened for three reasons- a visiting US President or foreign head of state, when the governor leaves on their final day, and returning a flag from battle (which hasn’t been done since the 1970s)
*the dome was painted gray during World War 2 to avoid attracting attention

Charleston, West Virginia

*the state’s sixth Capitol building
*constructed purposely to be impressive and for a city to be built around it
*the eight-foot chandelier looks small under its impressive dome
*during a House session I watched, the buying of vaping products increased to 18, even though one delegate vocally did not understand bill

Columbia, South Carolina

*had the US’s only black-majority state legislature (in 1869), which was likely only used to frighten white people
*six stars adorn the building, marking the places where artillery from William Tecumseh Sherman’s army hit while the building was still being constructed

Columbus, Ohio

*only Capitol with its state's original constitution displayed
*the city was created around building

Dover, Delaware

*until Dover was founded, there was no capital city in Delaware, since it was part of what Pennsylvania
*US delegates ratified the Constitution in a nearby tavern
*in a special deal with schools, children are able to propose bills witness them being debated

Frankfort, Kentucky

*dome was modeled after Napoleon’s tomb in Paris
*proudly displays a statue of Abraham Lincoln, who was born in Kentucky, though his family moved out of state when he was seven
*site of the US’s only assassinated governor, William Goebel
*there is a famous floral clock on the grounds near the building

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

*called “the handsomest building I ever saw” by Theodore Roosevelt
*former home of the Liberty Bell
*murals made from Mercer tiles make up the floor in the rotunda
*Pennsylvania’s capital was in Lancaster until politician John Harris (son of the city’s namesake) offered four acres of land, provided it be used for the Capitol Complex

Hartford, Connecticut

*has a statue of state heroine Prudence Crandall, a teacher who was ahead of her time and fought for equal rights
*touchable replica of the Liberty Bell

Indianapolis, Indiana

*the building is in the shape of a cross
*a time capsule containing government reports, crops, newspapers, coins, and other items was installed in the cornerstone, which was laid in 1880

Jackson, Mississippi

* built on the grounds of a former penitentiary
*double-domed, meaning the inside is different from outside
*the building features prominent light bulbs, which can be sponsored by individuals or companies
*a lawsuit requiring the Illinois Central Railroad to pay one million dollars to Mississippi covered most of the cost of building the Capitol

Little Rock, Arkansas

*built on the grounds of a former penitentiary (apparently this was a thing)
*an eagle on the main chandelier can only be seen from the fourth floor

Montgomery, Alabama

*Capitol Hill was originally called Goat Hill
*legislature meets at the State House instead
*first capital of the Confederacy and where Jefferson Davis was sworn in
*third and most-famous march from Selma ended in front of the building

Montpelier, Vermont

*smallest Capitol building in the US, which makes sense because it’s in the country’s littlest capital city
*the front doors and main stair-case were painted to look more expensive than they are
*the governor’s chair is partially made from timbers of the USS Constitution, better known as Old Ironsides
*unrelated but interesting- Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald’s

Nashville, Tennessee

*one of 11 Capitol buildings that has no dome

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

*only Capitol grounds to have oil rigs, which stopped use in 1986
*one of two Capitol buildings along Route 66, the other being Springfield, Illinois
*first building to use geo-thermal energy

Phoenix, Arizona

*the state’s official Capitol but not currently in use by the government
*statue of woman on the dome is also a wind vane
*built to prove seriousness about wanting statehood
*a hallway features art from a nearby juvenile detention center
*has elected five female governors, the most of any US state

Richmond, Virginia

*designed by Thomas Jefferson
*first post-Revolution Capitol
*Virginia (along with Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Kentucky) is officially a commonwealth instead of a state, though the meaning is historical and meaningless
*second-oldest active Capitol
*in 1870, the supreme court’s floor collapsed onto the House, killing 56, in what would become known as The Capitol Disaster

Santa Fe, New Mexico

*the US’s only circular Capitol building, giving it the nickname The Roundhouse
*was designed to look like the sun symbol of the Zia Pueblo people, which makes up New Mexico’s state flag
*Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the country

 

SOURCES
google.com, ourcarpediem.com, cbsnews.com, legislature.ky.gov, kids.kiddle.co, Wikipedia.org, uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com