Sometime last year we decided to start visiting the State Capitols in the United States. Maybe it’s a bucket list, or a replacement for the ABCs of Touring we used to do on the motorcycles. Who knows? Either way, it will keep us occupied for quite a while if we plan to see all fifty.
We self-toured our first Capitol building while we were in Wisconsin two years ago, and that piqued my interest. Honestly, Tim might have twisted my arm at the time, as the younger version of myself would not have been remotely interested. I thought they would all look alike. Boy, was I wrong!
I don’t think I appreciated architecture much growing up. Aside, I was told at a young age that I especially detested history and geography as they were my least favorite subjects as a child, primarily due to the memory work involved (When was the War of 1812 anyway? LOL). I was lucky to pass those classes, but I wish now I had paid better attention . I do think the teacher makes a difference. My school teachers pale in comparison to some of the docents guiding our Capitol tours. Kudos to the teachers who know how to make history come alive!
At any rate, we bought ourselves a State Capitol Passport and started collecting stamps. Here is a recap of the first five we have visited.
July 24, 2022 Madison, Wisconsin. We drove to Madison where we rented a motorcycle to ride on the HOG National Superior Loop Touring Rally. That trip was our first State Capitol experience. It was a Sunday. We didn’t have a lot of time for some reason that day, or maybe we just didn’t want to follow some guy around, but we didn’t take a guided tour of the building. However, we did walk through the building and up the stairs to the top where you have a beautiful view of the city. We might go back and do the guided tour on another day.
On the way up to Madison, we stopped in to see Tim’s mom, who had recently been put on Hospice. We had a no-refund on the rental so we stayed a couple of days and then planned to see her again on the way back down. Unfortunately, she died on July 27th. We got the call while we were riding to International Falls. That bike trip in the Upper Peninsula (UP) was bitter-sweet for us.
October 27, 2023. Little Rock, Arkansas. A year later we finally saw our second Capitol. I think this is when we started taking it more seriously. We stopped on our way back from a trip to the north and northeast, where we finished the Superior Lake Circle Tour and spent time in search of fall foliage, all while pulling the Airstream.
We had been through Little Rock before, and visited several of the other historic places with some friends including the “Big Dam Bridge,” the “Little Rock 9” and Central High School, but merely drove by the State Capitol. On this trip, we made a point to go inside. They told us at the front desk to be sure and visit the treasury, so we scheduled a tour of the vault.
This particular capitol has a unique experience unlike any other. We were allowed to go inside the treasury vault (after a very detailed and jaw-dropping explanation of how they built it and got it here), and hold a half million dollars. No other State Capitol allows this. As I was handing off to Tim, I dropped the stack of money and it all went crashing down to the floor of the vault. Fortunately, they have it very well packed. In my defense, a half-million dollars is heavy!
December 26, 2023. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Apparently we had nothing better to do on the day after Christmas than to go to the State Capitol. Actually, our good friends in Florida invited us to come down for a few days between Christmas and New Years, and so we did. We left on Christmas Day and stayed in Baton Rouge where we could visit the capitol the next day (Capitol buildings are typically closed on Christmas Day).
The Senator wing has some stories. U.S. Senator Huey Long was shot in the hallway in 1935. By this time he was on track to become president, but he died 30 hours after the shooting. In 1970 there was an explosion in the Senate Chamber which rocked the Capitol. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in the building after that, but standing outside the top floor of the building was worth it.
The plaque inside the upper floor has some additional facts about the building. This Capitol is unique in that it is the tallest Capitol building in the United States. It was Louisiana’s first skyscraper. It was built in a mere 14 months from start (Dec 1930) to finish (Feb 1932), and cost about $5 million to complete. It employed many people during the Great Depression, and was championed by Gov. Huey P. Long who campaigned on a platform of building new roads and bridges and a new capitol.
May 11, 2024. Austin, Texas. This should have been our very first Capitol visit, since we live in the state. But we just never seemed to be going in that direction since we decided to do this. In May, we were heading back from an Airstream Rally in Bandera, so we added it to our list of things to do. We finally made it there. We were impressed with our State’s Capitol! You have heard everything is bigger in Texas – even the State Capitol! The goddess of liberty stands on top, making this capitol taller than the U.S. Capitol. It is the largest of the Capitols in square footage, with a $75 million underground extension adding 650,000 square feet completed in 1993. It has been damaged or destroyed by fire twice in its history, with the 1983 renovation still standing today.
The grounds are also very lovely, offering a place to sit and enjoy the well manicured landscaping. I wished we had packed a picnic lunch. We saw a baby mourning dove fighting off a blue jay, and had to come to its rescue while we were there. Momma dove was cooing not too far away.
I learned several things about our Capitol, as well as intriguing aspects of the history of Texas, the six sovereign nations that have governed Texas, why we had our own president in that history, the Republic of Texas, the Alamo, Mexican history, African American history, and so much more than my brain can hold. We did have a guided tour this time, which includes the underground extension. The docent was very good. Tours of the Capitols are typically free, and you can usually just walk in and join one, although you may have to sign up for one on busy days.
July 6, 2024. Springfield, IL. Every time we go to a State Capitol, we know we must be prepared to climb a lot of stairs. Yes, they have elevators to some floors, but there is something about going up those majestic staircases that makes us feel regal. This one has 110 steps to the fourth floor gallery, not quite as many as some of the others we have climbed. Illinois has had six state capitol buildings, as the capitol city changed in its earlier years. This current one has been in Springfield since it was built in 1868. It’s designed in the shape of a Greek cross.
We got there just after the tour started. Security said it would be about an hour before the next one got started. We really didn’t want to wait, but we wanted to do the tour. We saw them upstairs so we “snuck” past security and joined them. It was a weekend and not very busy, so no one seemed to mind. The docent was a young guy and likely the only one they could get to work on a Saturday. He did know some interesting things, but he wasn’t very good at crowd control. One little Indian girl kept running back up the stairs at the end of the tour. He finally asked the parents to go get her.
Poor guy was a bit flustered after he stamped my passport with the wrong date (July 5). I could tell he was really disturbed by this, as if he had just defaced a rare, historic document. I assured him, “well that fits. We just saw fireworks last night so the date is perfect.” He smiled with relief.
The building is undergoing construction, so we couldn’t go in all the wings. What we saw was pretty cool, and definitely worth the stamp, but the real experience of the day was when we saw the Capitol from the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, and walked around his historic landmark and neighborhood. Lincoln is seen everywhere in this city.
I’ll keep a running blog on state capitols, and share our personal unique experiences as well as some facts we learned by going there. You can only fully enjoy it by visiting in person. Maybe you can join us on one of our state capitol tours! We’d love to share that moment with you. The Capitol Passport book is a great way to keep track of our adventures! We keep ours in the glove box.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!