#State Capitol Buildings

[deadpresidents]

Which state capitol building is the nicest in your opinion? Any fugly capitol buildings?

I may be biased because I was born and raised in Sacramento and have spent countless hours in Capitol Park over the years (two of my friends even got married there!), but I think California's State Capitol building is gorgeous:

And I hate to give credit to Texas for anything, but the Capitol building in Austin is pretty impressive, especially when you see it in person (however, as a California native, my first visit to the Texas Capitol resulted in quite the culture shock when I saw all the Confederate monuments):

As for the ugliest, I think the Hawaii State Capitol in Honolulu looks like a credit union:

And the New Mexico State Capitol in Santa Fe looks like the admissions office of a small community college:

What does everyone else think? Any other choices?

[mrsmoose54]

States 46 & 47 - Day 3 (Council Bluffs IA - Altoona IA)

[wandering-jana]

Central atrium of the Missouri State Capitol building.

Jefferson City, Missouri

April 2023

[illustratus]

Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861

Photograph taken by John Wood

[child-of-hurin]

"Justice," Kenyon Cox (early 20th century) glass mosaic panel, Wisconsin State Capitol

[omegasmileyface]

my fucking VISIONS for phantoms keep. grrrr grrrrrrrrrr

[arthistoryanimalia]

For #FrogFriday:

343. “Rana” (Frog)

From the ongoing search for all the animals from the 420 original 1906 Moravian tile mosaics by Henry Chapman Mercer on the Pennsylvania Capitol floor.

#ArtsAndCraftsMovement #AnimalsInArt

[stone-cold-groove]

Overflight of the U.S. Capitol building by Germany’s Graf Zeppelin - 1931.

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

David Mattingly

[nocternalrandomness]

Fireworks over the US Capitol, Washington, DC

[eternal--returned]

eternal--returned ֍ Utah State Capitol Building, Salt Lake City, Utah (2024)

[keiteay]

Summer getaways

[rabbitcruiser]

The city of Denver, Colorado was founded on November 17, 1858.

[wandering-jana]

Virginia State Capitol.

Richmond, Virginia

Oct. 2021

[nebulousfishgills]

I'm seeing Hamilton in a little less than a week, so here's a moodboard for what the audience in a Colorado auditorium is gonna be like during The Reynolds Pamphlet when they're going on about how Hamilton cannot possibly be president since... he had an affair.

[uwmspeccoll]

Milestone Monday

On this day, September 18, in 1793, George Washington laid the cornerstone of the United States Capitol Building. He was aided by eight Freemasons dressed in full masonic regalia marking the beginning of a period of construction that lasted seven years and the dawning of the growth of the nation. In 1792, Thomas Jefferson put out a call for architectural design submissions for the Capitol Building and was won over by a late entry from amateur architect William Thornton. Thornton’s design was officially approved in April of 1793, with the caveat that French architect Stephen Hallet would review and modify his plans as needed.

Architect Glenn Brown (1854-1932) explored the history and design of the Capitol Building in his book History of the United States Capitol, published in two volumes by the Government Publishing Office from 1900-1903. For a decade, Brown worked with numerous institutions and organizations to gather plans, illustrations, and the history of the building through architecture and interior design. He highlights that the importance of the building’s merit is not just in its construction and completeness, but its aspirations. Historian Charles Moore, secretary to Michigan Senator James McMillan, writes in the introduction, “[T]he Capitol is not a creation, but a growth, and its highest value lies in the fact that it never was, and it never will be, finished.”

View other Milestone Monday posts.

– Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern