Category: Capitols

Kansas State Capitol

Topeka KS – August 2021

Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, completed 1903. There are 38 domed state capitols in the US. This capitol is the second tallest of the 38. The dome is pure copper. It would take 2.3 million pure copper pennies to make up this dome! 
The statue atop the dome is the “Ad Astra” statue, which represents a Kaw warrior pointing his arrow at the North Star. The state’s official motto, “Ad astra per aspera,” is Latin for “To the stars through difficulty.”
President Dwight Eisenhower is the only president from Kansas.
President Abraham Lincoln statue on the capitol grounds.
Also on the capitol grounds.
The rotunda.
Chandelier hanging from the top of the rotunda.
There is much copper throughout the building. Quite beautiful.
An Eisenhower statue inside the building.
Mural depicting the civil rights struggle in Kansas. The landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka outlawed segregation of public schools.
Senate chamber.
From the Senate chamber, looking across the building to the House chamber.
House of Representatives chamber.
Speaker’s podium in the House.
View from the podium.
From the House chamber, looking across the building to the Senate chamber.

Missouri State Capitol

Jefferson City MO – August 2021

Missouri State Capitol
Statue of President Thomas Jefferson, for whom Jefferson City is named.
The Ten Commandments monument is still on the capitol grounds – yay!
Monument showing Secretary of State James Monroe signing the Louisiana Purchase agreement with France.
The Rotunda.
Like West Virginia’s capitol, there is a chandelier hanging from the top of the rotunda.
House of Representatives Chamber
Senate Chamber
Bust of President Harry S Truman, only president from Missouri.
Mark Twain
Rush Limbaugh
Portrait of William Henry Harrison, first governor of Missouri Territory, and 9th President of the US.

West Virginia State Capitol

Charleston WV – August 2021

When we came through here last fall, the dome was covered for repairs and the building was closed to visitors. This time, we could see everything. Beautiful gold dome!

President Abraham Lincoln created the state of West Virginia by Presidential Proclamation in 1863. He cut it out of Virginia, which was in the Confederacy during the Civil War.
This was a cool shot with the moon visible to the west in the morning sun.
The rotunda. There is a chandelier hanging from its center.
Here is a view that shows how the light hangs from the top of the rotunda.
Senate chamber. The House chamber was closed.
Stonewall Jackson was born in Clarksburg, Virginia (now Clarksburg, West Virginia), so his statue is on the grounds here and his bust is inside the building.

Georgia State Capitol

Atlanta GA – May 2021

The Rotunda.
Senate chamber.
House of Representatives chamber.
Lincoln outside the private office of the Georgia Governor.
Former Georgia Governor and ex-President Jimmy Carter, 39th president, served 1977-1981.
Robert E. Lee
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King statue.
Atlanta skyline.
Mercedes Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons.