February 7, 2025. Tallahassee, Florida.
We finally made it to Florida! The weather is so beautiful, as one would expect (hope for) in the Sunshine State. The humidity so common in the summer months has not yet arrived, and we have had a nice pleasant breeze so far. We left Texas two days ago wearing shorts and t-shirts, stopped in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and then on to Tallahassee, where we visited the State Capitol.
I wouldn’t say this is the most exclusive of the buildings we have toured. After seeing 17 to date, we have a general idea of what capitols might include. Big domes, cupolas, grand marble staircases and columns, famous artwork, rare and exotic wood, historic artifacts, governor’s office, senate, house, and the supreme court amongst other things. Tallahassee has a new capitol building that is 22 stories high with an observation deck overlooking the city. It houses all the current workforce. The New Capitol overshadows and dwarfs the smaller, Old (Historic) Capitol, which the state outgrew many years ago and has since been turned into a museum.
This is the fourth building to serve as a capitol for Florida. A log cabin served as the first capitol, erected just two days after Tallahassee became a territory in 1824 (Florida would later become a state in 1845). The cabin was replaced by a 2-story frame structure. The third Capitol was built in 1845. (Can you guess why? Hint: the date.) They considered demolishing that Old Capitol building, but thankfully cooler heads prevailed. The Old Capitol was restored to its 1902 state, and is now home to a museum similar to the ones we have seen in so many of the other capitols we have visited. The New (current) Capitol was built between the years 1973-1977, and opened in March of 1978.
This building does have a couple of interesting features. The State Capitol is one of four official Welcome Centers for the State of Florida. We stopped at the one in Pensacola and got some free orange juice, which they do not serve at this one. I’m not sure other state capitols have official welcome centers inside their buildings. Wikipedia was not helpful.
The lower floors have a nice display of the Florida State Seal, Florida Halls of Famers, and Florida fun facts. Of course there are chambers for the House of Representatives and Florida Senate where we looked down on from the galleries, but we couldn’t go inside.
FLORIDA FUN FACTS
- STATE DAY: April 2nd
- STATE MOTTO: In God We Trust
- STATE NICKNAME: Sunshine State
- STATE FLOWER: Orange Blossom
- COUNTIES: 67
- STATE PIE: Key Lime
- LENGTH NORTH & SOUTH: 447 Miles Long from St. Mary’s River to Key West
- WIDTH EAST & WEST: 361 Miles Wide from Atlantic Ocean to Perdido River
- ACQUIRED BY UNITED STATES: From Spain by Treaty 1821
- ADMITTED TO UNION AS STATE: March 3, 1845
- RANK AMONG STATES OF ADMISSION: 27th
More Florida Fun Facts:
- 27 first magnitude springs – more than any other state – and more than 200 total springs. (Wakulla Springs has the longest and deepest known submerged cave system in the world.)
- Ranks first in amount of groundwater of all states. More than 11,000 miles of rivers, streams, and waterways. Approximately 7,700 lakes of 10 acres or more.
- Approximately 1,200 miles of coastline,
2,300 miles of tidal shoreline, 650 miles of beaches. - 4,510 islands of 10 acres or more.
- 3 national forests comprising more than 1.1 billion acres.
- Sunshine about 66% of daylight hours
- No point more than 60 miles from coast
- 4th largest state by population; more than 80% of Floridians live less than 10 miles from the coast
An interesting carving titled “Resilience” is on display outside the State Senate. The plaque tells the story of the carving and the wood, which I’ll repeat here as well.
“Resilience”
Signifying the resilient and enduring spirit of Floridians, Resilience showcases the unique silhouette of Florida, highlighting the barrier islands of the Space Coast, the Northern flowing St. Johns River, Tampa Bay, the beaches and islands of the Emerald Coast of North Florida, the Florida Keys and many of Florida’s other unique natural features.
Resilience is constructed of pecky cypress recovered from the Ocklawaha River in North Central Florida.
This distinctive wood is unique to the Southeastern and Gulf Coastal Plains. The holes within the wood occur when a fungus enters a cypress tree after a limb falls or an injury to the tree occurs, typically in cypress trees more than 100 years old. Over time, the holes grow in number and size; however, the spring fed, low oxygen waters of certain Florida rivers protect the wood from decomposition. Estimates indicate the cypress wood used in this sculpture was originally harvested during Florida’s Steamboat Era, the time of the territorial State Senate.
We enjoyed visiting both the New and Old Capitol buildings. The New Capitol has an enclosed observation deck on the 22nd level, overlooking the city. It was foggy and cloudy when we went up there, so we couldn’t see very far away, which of course was disappointing. Try to go on a sunny day if you have options. Two groups from very different schools were also touring the building. It was interesting to see the first group, dressed in street clothes. They were not necessarily unruly, but they didn’t demonstrate the same decorum and level of respect as the second group, dressed in Ivy League uniforms.
Art exhibits are rotated on the top floor. Famous Noh Masks were on display around the deck when we were there. There are a few other interesting pieces of art, but otherwise, it’s a pretty neutral building. The exterior is also under construction, which makes it hard to find one’s way around to the visitor’s entrance. The Old Capitol has a small dome with stained glass,
One thing that really impressed me about this capitol was the elevator system. I know! It’s not a big deal, right? But it was the first time I have seen this technology in use. It has apparently only been around for the past few years, and is used in tall buildings around the world. Quite cool if you ask me. Watch this brief video of us using the elevator system, and be sure to watch to the end for views from the observation deck (and Noh masks).
The Old Capitol. The Old Capitol building has been turned into a museum, displaying artifacts among the hallways and chambers of the three branches of government: executive, judicial, and legislative.
One of the historians showed us how the Old Capitol has changed shapes over the years, and how it now fits inside of the New Capitol as it has been since 1982. You can see its transformation in the banner at the welcome desk.
There is a glass dome, which is a replica because the old one was removed when it started leaking within the first year after it was installed. Interesting fact: When they restored the building to its 1902 glorious self, they found over 100 pounds of broken dome glass in the walls of the building. The original glass was made by the Opalescent Glass Works, who also made the glass used by Louis Comfort Tiffany in their famed lamp designs. Perhaps hiding it in the walls was some worker’s way of saving the beautiful glass pieces. Or, it was simply easier than throwing it all away. Makes me wonder what we will find inside the walls of our new house that is currently under construction. The things that make you go “hmmm.”
Senate, House of Representatives, and Supreme Court in the Old Capitol are interesting to look at. Hard to believe Florida population used to be small enough to only need a building this size.
THE McCOOK FLAG
At the end of the Civil War, the United States Flag was raised over this Capitol as Union Brigadier General Edward M. McCook received the surrender of the Confederate government in Florida. In a transfer ceremony on May 20, 1865, Confederate Governor A. K. Allison officially turned the Capitol over to Union forces.
This flag is a reproduction of the large silk flag owned by General McCook. The flag appears to have started as a 31-star flag. Between 1858 and 1865, five states were added to the Union and the flag evolved into this unique 36-star pattern.
The original McCook flag is in the collections of the Museum of Florida History.
The governor’s private office is seen in the Old Capitol Building, along with some more historic flags and the Mountain Howitzer that sat on the Capitol steps for 70 years. “The roll top desk, made of Honduras mahogany, is Jennings’ original desk. William Sherman Jennings served as Florida’s governor from 1901 to 1905.”
This was the office room for the governor’s staff; a secretary, Mr. Charles Dickinson of Madison, Florida, and a stenographer, Grace Irene Marietta Mann, Governor Jennings’ sister-in-law. The large document file cabinet was in the room after 1902 and is almost completely original. Some of the original labels can still be seen, including “W. S. Jennings Private” and “Bank Pardons.”
I hope you enjoyed our little tour of the Florida Capitol. Sign in and comment below to let us know what you think! I promise we won’t bug you or send you a bunch of spam emails, but it will give you an opportunity to interact with us in the comments.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!