On our way from Florida to Texas, we took a circuitous route through three neighboring states to visit their state capitols and mark yet another state (Georgia) on our Airstream map. While I can condense the information from these marvelous stops into one blog each, you may want to go and visit them all to see for yourself!
March 13, 2025. Atlanta Georgia.
We spent the day in Atlanta and earned two passport stamps. One for the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, and one for the State Capitol. The Carter Center is also worth a visit, although I was a little disappointed in the lack of display or mention regarding his recent death. On to the Capitol.
Downtown Atlanta. This was our 18th Capitol, and it is by far the hardest to get access to, out of the ones we have toured thus far. There is no parking close by, and our truck made it a bit more challenging with the full parking lots. We were SO glad we weren’t towing our Airstream to the Capitol, as we have been known to do. 
The previous picture of us was taken in the back of the Capitol. I failed to get a picture of the front (smh), but they had a nice model of it in the governor’s office.
Perhaps it was busier at the Courthouse because the Senate and House were both in session. We saw at least six school busses full of students eager to get a day out of school while going on a field trip (even if they aren’t fond of government). The building was hopping!! But the staffers did say it’s getting worse downtown, even when legislature is not in session.
Passport stamp! When I asked the security guard where I could get my passport stamped he said, “we don’t stamp passports here.” He thought I meant an actual passport 
. Yet he was the one with the stamp. 
They didn’t have any tours available, so we did our own self-tour. The governor’s office gave us a bag of peanuts, which were delicious!
House of Representatives. See all the papers on the desks? They were in session but currently on a break. We couldn’t go inside, so I snapped a picture from outside the balcony door. These rooms have been restored to their original design.
The Senate looks very similar to the House. Again this picture was taken through a guarded door from the other side of a roped off area for “non-members” outside the gallery. (No one said I couldn’t take pictures.) The desks are original from 1889.
A bit of history of the Capitol for the “buffs” (from the brochure). In 1868, Atlanta became Georgia’s fifth permanent capital city. James Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia in February of 1733, on the site of present-day Savannah, which was Georgia’s first capital. After the Revolutionary War, the General Assembly met alternately in Savannah and Augusta. As Georgia grew the capital city moved to Augusta in 1786, Louisville in 1796, Milledgeville in 1807, and, finally, Atlanta in 1868. The General Assembly first met in the Atlanta City Hall/Fulton County Courthouse before relocating to the nearby Kimball Opera House. In 1883, the legislature appropriated $1 million for a new building. Designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke and Franklin P. Burnham and built by Miles and Horne of Toledo, Ohio, construction began in October 1884 and finished in 1889– $118.43 under budget. The new Georgia Capitol was built using many of the state’s natural resources. Georgia marble is only found on the interior due to high cost. The Capitol’s exterior is Indiana limestone. The Capitol was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
The dome is not the tallest, nor is it the most exquisite. But it still made me stop long enough to get dizzy while looking up.
The fourth floor comprises a museum of Georgia artifacts, gems, agriculture, fun facts and oddities. Probably the most intriguing are the two-headed cow and two-headed snake. These reminded me of the movie Dupont, and made me wonder if there was something in the water from where these animals drank. Here are a few pictures from the museum. One could spend a lot of time reading everything up there.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!