39 Comments - DCM - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 11:58 am: I recently went to Indianapolis for the Men’s Big Ten Tournament. When my brother and I walked around the city at night, we realized something odd. The Capitol door was wide open at 10pm. We didn’t go into the Capitol, but we did see a couple of people from Texas walk out. They said, “it’s all dark in there, and no one is here… but you can go in.” We came back the next day, and told the security guards. They were all really furious about the door being left open. As far as the Capitol, it was nothing compared to the Illinois State Capitol. It was only about a third of the size, and there rotunda was really not impressive. Their Senate Chamber looked more like a committee room, and their House Chamber wasn’t much better. I really enjoy our Capitol. I enjoyed much more after visiting our neighbors to the east. - wordslinger - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:01 pm: About a dozen. If you’re a history or politics junkie, they’re all pretty cool. Madison is interesting because its a 3/4 replica of the U.S. Capitol. St. Paul pays a lot of reverence to my Norwegian roots. Nashville is dominated by Andrew Jackson and has a very cool state Bicentennial Park on its north end. Tells the history of the state and each state county, all in a beautiful setting of native trees, flora and fauna. We should start planning something similar now. Nothing, though, can match the action and intrigue under that soaring rotunda facilitated by the Brass Rail. - off the record - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:02 pm: The Iowa state capitol building is very similar to IL. Nevada’s state capitol building does not house the legislature - there is a separate legislative building which is just a basic office building. Colorado’s state capitol has a step that is 1 mile high & I was amazed at the small size of the House floor & Senate floor. I have been to several others - but these stand out in my mind. - Euripedis Pantsoff - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:10 pm: Annapolis, MD. The oldest working Capitol in the country. - 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:11 pm: I’ve seen Nebraska’s capitol building in Lincoln and it was designed (I think) by the same architect who made the Louisiana capitol in Baton Rouge. They are almost identical, with a huge tower rather than a dome. It’s the tallest building in Nebraska outside of Omaha, and can be seen for miles. Look for it next time the Huskers are on national TV, it looms over the stadium. I’ve seen some others, IN, IA, MO, FL, WI, CA, but haven’t toured any of those. Call me a homer, but I still like ours the best. - Speaking at Will - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:11 pm: I have been to Austin Texas, Jackson Mississippi, Tallahassee Florida, and of course Springfield. Out of the four, I still think Springfield is the most impressive of the bunch. However the Mississippi State Capitol is interesting because of all the confederate flags waving everywhere. Those people still are not over that whole civil war thing. Another note about the Jackson Miss. State house, when I went there I was able to actually stand at the speakers podium on the floor of the house. No one was around. but it was cool all the same. - 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:22 pm: Probably about 20 of them. I love visiting capitols. In Georgia, they still have the confederate flag outside on one side. I really enjoyed the Texas capitol building; I believe they said it was a few feet taller than the U.S. Capitol building. Kansas’ has the great John Steuart Curry murals from the Great Depression of John Brown and Bloody Kansas. - Obamarama - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:37 pm: Outside of Springpatch, I have only been to Harrisburg, PA and Albany, NY. Harrisburg has quite the mural on the ceiling of their House chambers but overall I would rank their capitol pretty close to ours. Albany, on the other hand, is nutty. If I remember correctly, one of their legislative chambers has walls covered in gold leaf, there is imported marble and oak trim everywhere. Very cool. - Polignac - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:42 pm: Nashville, TN and Brimingham, AL. Both were pretty unattractive. - SpfldJimbo - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:44 pm: Ours…Indiana’s…Wisconsin’s…and Utah’s. My sentiments echo the previous posters re: Indiana and Wisconsin. Utah’s, on the other hand, is breathtaking from a distance. It is situated halfway up a mountain, and looks like this majestic white building perched over Salt Lake City. Up close, it is rather nice, but about 1/2 the size of ours. Looks much more striking from a distance than up close. - Ghost - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:47 pm: No Stateghouses, but the National Archive should be visited by everyone at least once! - Pat collins - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:48 pm: West Virginia has a very nice “golden dome” on top. Can’t say about the inside, but outside it’s nice looking. - Pot calling kettle - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 12:54 pm: Austin, TX The chambers are beautiful. But ours is nicer since the refurbishing. - Downstate weed chewing hick - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 1:01 pm: The most interesting thing to me about the Texas Capitol is that on the floor are seals of every flag that has flown over Texas (France, Spain, Mexico, US, and Confederacy) but with a huge seal of the Republic of Texas in the middle as if to say that the ROT is the most special. - Conservative Republican - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 1:08 pm: Although many capitols are not as majestic as ours in Illinois, the ones I have seen have tremendous merit on their own. Virginia: One of the more unusual ones as it follows a classical Greek design. Simple and elegant, it carries a great deal of history given the legacy of Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, the Randolphs, etc. Set in a large, central park in central Richmond, not far from John Marshall’s Federal period home, also worth seeing. Maryland: In Annapolis, a two century old building with great early American architectural charm. Its location in the middle of close confines in historic old Annapolis gives it a great setting. Only steps from the Annapolis wharf on Chesapeke Bay. Texas: This capitol in Austin is enormous, perhaps befitting the “big Texas” image. Worth seeing due to the historical points of interest. I liked the statues and testimonials to the famous Texas Rangers. LBJ Presidential Library not far away at the UT campus. Massachusetts. I have not been inside, but its location at the Boston Commons and Beacon Hill is outstanding. It is sited along the Freedom Trail which carries you to nearly all of Boston’s colonial historic sites nearby. It is also across the street from the famous memorial to the African American regiment depicted in the great movie “Glory” (which memorial is the background for the film’s credits). Tennessee: I disagree with the earlier negative comment on this capitol. It has a wonderful, unique classical design with a central tower unlike your conventional dome. It is sited at the highest point in downtown Nashville, so there are some great panoramic views from some of its porticos. Some great history inside, including Civil War commemoratives — the Admirals of both the North and Southern navies were native Tennesseans and have been commmerated here. Outside is one of the three great equestrian statues of Andrew Jackson in the U.S. (the others being in D.C. and New Orleans). Also outside, which I really enjoyed, is a statue of Alvin York, the famous WWI Medal of Honor winner featured in the great Gary Cooper film, “Sargeant York.” Definitely worth seeing. I have also seen the exteriors of the “modern” capitol of Louisiana, site of the assassination of Huey Long, and those of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and California. The conventional dome look seems uninspiring due to repetition, I think, but I am sure they all bear a look inside. - Old Shepherd - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 1:22 pm: I’ve been in the Arkansas statehouse building in Little Rock, and it reminds me more of a county courthouse than a Statehouse. Nothing can beat our grand building in Illinois. It’s something we should all be very proud of. - Apple - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 1:36 pm: I’m surprised no one has mentioned the statehouse in Salt Lake City. It really captures the skyline unlike any other. It’s at the top of a bluff, looking over the entire city. Check it out! - Cheswick - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 1:44 pm: I’ve been to Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Missouri’s Statehouses. But, only been inside Michigan’s. I remember my first impression being that it’s atmosphere was very much like our own Capitol Building. It felt good, and real, and old, and imposing. Also, I thought it was kind of cool that the room I was in must have doubled for evening concerts since there was a large, old Grand piano in it. I remember wondering if there were any Grand pianos in our Capitol Building. Finally, I was so glad I got there early, because I kept driving around and around trying to figure out Lansing’s one-way streets. It seemed I could see the Capitol from everywhere, but couldn’t actually drive up to it. Ar. I finally found a parking spot, got out and walked about four blocks. I imagined out-of-towners to Springfield felt the same way about us. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 1:47 pm: Apple, the Utah Statehouse is beautiful inside, too. My high school prom was held there. - VanillaMan - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 1:52 pm: Let me see…hmmm… I walked through the Vermont State house in Montpelier, which was very quaint and adorable. I was by myself, so I made myself quite comfortable in the Speaker’s chair and ensured I left my scent behind. I know the Colorado State House better than I know the Illinois State House. It is an awesome building and a very nice place to work. It is definately more attractive than Illinois’ in my opinion. I made sure I sat in the Speaker’s chair there too, which made the Speaker at that time feel violated or something. Then Hartford, and Boston. I like those New Englandish capital buildings, there just seems to be a little bit more history in those places. Albany - yuk. Rockefeller laid a huge egg around it and it looks so weird, so “jet-set-60’s”. The building doesn’t fit it’s surroundings, and it is some kind of freaky Gilded-Age Baroque. You can suffocate in the woodwork. I couldn’t sit in the Speaker’s chair there, so I made sure I peed in the awesome urinals. Well, I think those were urinals. Santa Fe is awesome! It is too cool to be a capitol building, and I think it could be my favorite! If you just removed all that adobe stucco, the Navajo and other Indigenous People art, the mock wooden ladders and raised the roof about ten feet - it would make an awesome Ramada Inn. It even smelled nice in there - until I left. Of course I went to THE Capitol Building in DC. That place totally rocked - your tax dollars at work. It reeks of history and it is like a palace. Now that Queen Nancy is asking for Blue Dog heads to roll down the “bipartisan” aisle, the place even has a Marie Antoinette-like royalty ruling there! Boy, would I love to leave her a nice “parting” gift in her chair! Springfield’s capitol building is like the State’s scenery; kinda flat and corny. Thanks to our debt increases, the place got fixed up nicely - and I like that. But in nation with 50 other state capitols, it ain’t tops by any means. I’ve never been able to sit in the Speaker’s chair either, and gee, I really have an urge! Considering everything that place has put Illinoians through over the past decade, we all deserve an chance to express our opinions there, right folks! Make it loud - make it proud! - Stones - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 1:57 pm: Off topic a bit but in my younger years while serving as a Page I found a way to sneak up to the flagpole on top of the Illinois Statehouse dome. Did it more than once. - off the record - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 2:01 pm: I remembered more about the Iowa Capitol. Only leadership have offices in the Capitol complex. The rank & file legislators only have their desks on the Floor. Their secretary sits next to them on a small chair and they have a small 2 or 3 drawer file cabinet - and that is their entire office! They used to have only one fax machine for the House and one for the Senate (that was at least 5 years ago). - Been There - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 2:10 pm: New York has a nice old capitol building. A little dark, more like an old castle. Different than Illinois. I would take our Capitol over theirs though. What was interesting was they have gallery seats for visitors on the main floor. You sit behind the legislators just separated with stanchion ropes. - Just Observing - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 2:19 pm: I’m partial to Madison, Wisconsin’s capitol building. Some people have commented on this already, but I’ve heard from friends of visits to state capitol buildings where the building is very empty, including no security, and you can walk it freely. One friend freely walked into the Governor’s office in Idaho or Montana and had a five minute conversation with the Gov. - jbstyle - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 2:23 pm: My favorite thing about the Capitol in Salt Lake is the copper plating on the dome. The grounds were hashed by the tornado there in the late 90s. Most of the big trees came down, so it looks really different now. - LG - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 2:23 pm: I’ve been inside the capitols of WI, MN, ND, SD, NM, IL; outside of capitol in OK. The Oklahoma capitol is beautiful as it sits up on a wide open plain. Santa Fe, NM capitol is more like a municipal center, nothing remarkable. Bismarck is a tall ugly office building, but the people working there are wonderful and friendly. Pierre (pronounce it peer or they will increase their grimace) may be a nice building but the folks inside are uncompromising and hard-headed. St. Paul and Madison architecturally feel very familiar to our Springfield capitol, but the buildings are smaller and darker. St. Paul gives me claustrophobia with the small spaces and huge supporting structure. For best setting I have to go with Madison - elevated and absolutely stunning between two bodies of water. For most beautiful interior Springfield wins with sparkling crystal and gold chambers, museum-quality murals - plus our dysfunctional family atmosphere. It’s the best! - 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 2:32 pm: VM, displaying his contempt for government again, still can’t figure out that “Illinoisans” contains a silent (but deadly) s when spelled properly. - HoosierDaddy - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 3:16 pm: Used to work in Missouri’s. Had business in Indiana’s. Been to Iowa’s and Massachusetts’. I really enjoyed Missouri’s. It is beautiful in its own way. Illinois has grandeur far above that of either Indiana or Mo. Iowa is comparable. I have to say that Massachusetts outshines them with its gold dome and its incredible history. We do really have a fine Capitol, though. - Thomas J. - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 3:23 pm: Don’t forget Virginia’s capitol in Richmond. Mr. Jefferson designed it, and it shows. - Charlie - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 3:25 pm: Texas’s huge capitol building and nice leg. chambers are impressive. So is the vast underground office and meeting room complex. Most important for the symbolism, I guess, since they only convene every other year. - Give Me A Break - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 3:29 pm: Did the Vir. statehouse about 5 years while it was undergoing major restorations. Pretty small when compaired to Illinois but talk about history. They tell you about the number of US presidents who worked there and the things that went on up to, during, and after the civil war in the building. Makes our “new statehouse” seem like a couple of years old. - Robo - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 3:38 pm: Agree with you re MO hoosierdaddy. A lot of local stone and warm colors and nice view of the river. AR is tiny, senators don’t have microphones. IA is pretty nice,but not as nice as IL. WA was very nice, bright with lots of marble (committee rooms like Stratton though). AZ is just plain awful (although I couldn’t get inside on weekend). MI is small (for a major state)and dark. CO was impressive from the outside, but less so inside. - OldSmokey2 - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 3:44 pm: I’ve been to capitol buildings in Mass., Md., Ga., Miss., La., Texas, Col., and Idaho, as well as in Springfield, and Illinois’ capitol is very nice, especially inside with the beautiful rotunda and dome. From the outside, the Texas Capitol is pretty impressive, but the Idaho Capitol and grounds in Boise are the most scenic I think I’ve seen. Colorado’s looks pretty nice from the outside, too. Just a note as far as capitols go, I’d urge everyone to consider a trip to Ottawa to see Canada’s national capitol sometime. It’s really different and a great old building. I was there about two years ago and was blown away by the capitol and the city itself. And it’s a relatively affordable trip, too. - Joe Schmoe - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 3:52 pm: Jimbo and Rich are right - the Utah capitol is as impressive as Tennessee’s at night. Did the SLC thing last week….the mountains are a hell of a lot better backdrop than the Stratton Building is in Spfld. - Jake from Elwood - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 4:01 pm: I was in Oklahoma City earlier this week. The OKC Capitol is a cool looking building that sits on a flat piece of earth, but it is not located in the best part of town. I did not venture inside. The National Memorial to the Federal Building bombing is a sight to behold however. Try to see it if you can. I liked the Denver statehouse and the Wisconsin capitol the best of those that I have toured. I had a nice conversation with the then-Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the Capitol building. - muon - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 4:35 pm: In the summer of 2002 I was in Boise and had a chance to visit the Idaho capitol. The most memorable item was that there was no security check to get in - and this was the year after 9/11. I asked one of the guards about the lack of metal detectors and he said that the legislature felt that it was the people’s building and should be open to whoever walked in. - Native Son - Friday, Aug 21, 09 @ 8:28 pm: Friendly reminder: It’s pronounced Peer - Cynic - Saturday, Aug 22, 09 @ 1:50 am: The so-called leaders of Madison, Wisconsin, under the guise of infill development, completely ruined the formerly beautiful view of the lighted white dome of the Capital that people once enjoyed as they approached from the south. It was one of the most lovely sights in this country. Instead now all one sees is the top tip of the dome, obliterated by ugly high-rise apartments and condos. Boy did they blow it! - Capitol View - Monday, Aug 24, 09 @ 9:36 am: So far, I have visited over 20. I agree with one commentator that the Sante Fe capitol of New Mexico is special — built as a roundhouse, an indian meeting house, and the first floor features a series of cultural displays. Lots of missionary art, but that is part of that state’s history in the early encounters of native indians and European settlers. New York is gothic monstrosity, a square block big and with thre differnet architectual styles — reflecting the three lead architechs fired for excceding costs and construction schedules. They have a “million dollar staircase” from the first to the fourth floor that has carvings of early historical figures, wildlife, and trees that was scandelous in its day for its lavishness. The Senate chamber is so big and so sound conducive that senators have chairs in their two oversized, never used fireplaces where whispers cannnot be heard all across the chamber. New Hampshire’s exterior is an exact duplicate of Illinois. Some have commented on Nashville — Tennessee has a past president buried on its back capitol lawn, President Polk and his wife. Also Sgt. York and a few other military and popular figures. The capitol buillding itself is built on the highest point in the city, as if expecting to be militarily defended, and looks like a warehouse with a beer can on top of it — a small cupula that lets in incredibly little air or light. Recent restorations have left the capitol so dark that you cannot read in any of its hallways. The Governor’s Office entrance area has original paintings on the walls, including slaves at work but smiling… As has been mentioned, Texas built its Stratton equililent underground, so as to not detract from the sandstone capitol on its hill. Texas also had the best capitol gift shop of any state that I have visited to date, of Texas items including books and maps. Indiana’s included a wall inscription of thanks from confederate soldiers who were imprisoned in Indiana - for the kindness with which they were treated as prisoners of war. It’s been said that if the south had won the Civil War, Alton would be as well known as Andersonville, for all the same terrible reasons. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.