BGuthrie Photos: CA -- Sacramento -- State Capitol -- Interior

CA -- Sacramento -- State Capitol -- Interior:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SCAPCI_140718_007.JPG: A Gift of Generosity and Controversy A large statuary group titled Columbus' Last Appeal to Queen Isabella has occupied a prominent position at the center of the first floor rotunda since 1883 when Darius Ogden Mills gifted it to the State of California. In a letter read at the dedication of the statue, Mr. Mills wrote the sentiment, "that the Rotunda of our State Capitol is an appropriate place for a work of art commemorating an event that had so great an influence on the destinies of the western world." Larkin Goldsmith Meade, an American artist in his studio near Florence, Italy, carved the Carrara marble statue. Legrand Lockwood commissioned the sculpture for his Norwalk, Connecticut, mansion. Meade began the project in 1868 and completed it six years later. Mrs. Lockwood, after the death of her husband, sold the sculpture to D.O. Mills for $30,000. Mills had been a prominent Sacramento banker and a long-time advocate of Sacramento being established as California's capital. He organized a fundraising effort among local merchants and secured money for the purchase of the original plot of land upon which the Capitol was to be built. His continued support for Sacramento and the Capitol was reflected when he decided to gift the statuary group to the California State Capitol. At the full expense of Mills, workers prepared an appropriate pedestal on which the statue was to be placed. He also funded the cost of shipping the sculpture from the East Coast, which arrived in Sacramento in the summer of 1883. Edgar Mills, Darius Ogden Mills' brother and a former Capitol Commissioner, presided over the official dedication ceremony for the statue on December 17, 1883. During the dedication Edgar read a letter his brother had written to Governor Stoneman. In the letter Darius expressed his sentiment that the Capitol Rotunda was the appropriate place for the work of art. In reading his brother's words Edgar added his own sentiment by proclaiming, "that California, more than any other state in the American Union, fulfills [Columbus's] visions of marvelous lands beyond the setting sun." Not all of California's citizens agree with Mills that a statue of Columbus is appropriate for the Capitol Rotunda. Before the restoration in the 1970s, members of the Native Sons of the Golden West and other groups suggested that the Legislature relocate the statue and replace it with another statue of an important Californian. After all, Columbus himself never made it to within a couple thousand miles of California. During the restoration Native American and Latino groups, critical of Columbus's legacy in ushering in an era of genocide and colonialism for the Native Peoples of the Western Hemisphere, advocated that the statue not be returned to its former location after its temporary removal during the restoration. Despite such criticism, the statue was returned to the Capitol Rotunda. The above from http://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/In%20English/exhibits-collections/exhibits-statues
2. SCAPCI_140718_013.JPG: I will assume the undertaking she said, "for my own crown of Castile, and am ready to pawn my jewels to defray the expenses of it, if the funds in the treasury shall be found inadequate."
3. SCAPCI_140718_024.JPG: State Capital Museum Treasurer's Offices 1906-1933 This room recreates the 1906 Treasurer's Office, to the right is the 1933 Treasurer's Office. In 1906, the State Treasurer was essentially guardian and cashier of the State's money. In 1905, the Treasurer's vault had held something over $8,000,000 in gold and silver coin. It was not until the California Bank Act was implemented in 1907, that the Treasurer was allowed to invest State revenues. The 1933 Treasurer's Office illustrates how much California government had changed in less than thirty years. The Treasurer's vault is a primary example. A new vault was built in 1929. It had a much different look than the 1905 vault, both inside and out. The Bank Act removed the large amounts of cash. For the most part the new vault contained bonds and securities. On June 30, 1930, the Treasurer's Office vault and counter held little more than $23,000 in cash. Today, funds invested by the State Treasurer provide California government with a substantial part of its income.
4. SCAPCI_140718_043.JPG: Abraham Lincoln This portrait of Abraham Lincoln, painted by William Cogswell, overlooks the Assembly Chambers. Originally, an 1855 portrait of John Sutter, painted by California's first portrait painter, William Smith Jewett, graced the chambers. It was replaced in 1909 by the portrait of President Lincoln, which remains there to this day. The above from http://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/VirtualTour.aspx?Content1=1282&Content2=1404&Content3=398
5. SCAPCI_140718_066.JPG: Jerry Brown portrait
6. SCAPCI_140718_071.JPG: "We can pioneer the new technologies that emphasize quality over quantity and we can make the tools to lift millions out of poverty and ignorance. The world still looks to California." -- From the State of the State Address, 1982
7. SCAPCI_140718_073.JPG: Ronald Reagan portrait
8. SCAPCI_140718_078.JPG: George Deukmejian portrait
9. SCAPCI_140718_081.JPG: Pete Wilson portrait
10. SCAPCI_140718_084.JPG: Gray Davis portrait
11. SCAPCI_140718_094.JPG: George Washington This painting of George Washington that hangs above the dais in the Senate Chamber is a copy of the famous original by Gilbert Stuart and is attributed to Jane Stuart, his daughter. It is the oldest artifact in the Capitol. The painting was presented to the Senate in 1854. Legend has it that the painting was rescued from the Capitol's Lincoln Portrait temporary home at the Sacramento County Courthouse during a great fire that year. The above was from http://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/VirtualTour.aspx?Content1=1282&Content2=1404&Content3=398
12. SCAPCI_140718_117.JPG: C.C. Young portrait
13. SCAPCI_140718_132.JPG: Henry T. Gage portrait
14. SCAPCI_140718_224.JPG: Notice the name "Rita" in the artwork
15. SCAPCI_140718_231.JPG: In case you missed it
16. SCAPCI_140718_242.JPG: If you look at the ceiling fourth to the left from the bottom and then up two, you'll see a clunky section which is actually a gargoyle. You'll see it later.
17. SCAPCI_140718_248.JPG: Note the gargoyle
18. SCAPCI_140718_262.JPG: Another gargoyle. Look for the light chain in the middle right. The gargoyle is to the right and down from where it's attached to the ceiling.
19. SCAPCI_140718_275.JPG: Note the stakes just off the middle section are upside down. You'll see them later correctly.
20. SCAPCI_140718_299.JPG: Note the breasts in the middle section
21. SCAPCI_140718_312.JPG: Note the fruitfly
22. SCAPCI_140718_317.JPG: Just to the left of dead center is a flower. Just below it is the location of the fruit fly.
23. SCAPCI_140718_355.JPG: Governor's Private Office July 1906
24. SCAPCI_140718_366.JPG: State Capitol Museum 1906 Governor's Office This is the Governor's Main Office as it appeared in 1906. The Governor and his staff occupied just three offices. The other two offices were the anteroom, the room to the left, and Governor George C. Pardee's office, visible through the door to the right. By 1906, state government was expanding and a remodeling of the Capitol had begun. Remodeling hardly started when on April 18, 1906, San Francisco's Great Earthquake and fire struck. The state's most powerful earthquake killed over 2,500 and caused approximately 1 billion dollars in property damage. Relief efforts were coordinated through the Governor's Main Office. The continual threat of earthquakes led the State to undertake a restoration of the State Capitol building from 1975 to 1982. The restoration made the structure earthquake safe and recreated the Capitol's architectural beauty, destroyed by 100 years of well-meaning and misguided modelings.
25. SCAPCI_140718_387.JPG: State Capitol Museum 1902 Secretary of State's Main Office The Secretary of State's Main Office is a re-creation of the staff office as it appeared at the time of the 1902 November election. The Secretary of State was responsible for proper conduct of elections and certification of the resulting vote. Besides election duties, the Secretary of State enforced election laws regarding campaign contributions and expenditures, acted as the chief recording officer and archivist of California, files Articles of Incorporation and trademarks, and maintained the Capitol. In 1911, the maintenance of the Capitol became the responsibility of the newly created position, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds. Today, the Secretary of States also is the chiefs of Notaries Public, registrar of lobbyists and keeper of the Great Seal.
26. SCAPCI_140718_422.JPG: Governor's Office
27. SCAPCI_140718_436.JPG: The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award is the nation's most prestigious honor for public servants. In 1989, members of President John F Kennedy's family created the Profile in Courage Award, named for Kennedy's 1957 Pulitzer prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, to recognize political courage in public servants. The award encourages elected officials to choose the greater public interest over partisanship, to do what is right rather than what is expected.
28. SCAPCI_140718_443.JPG: Go, stranger, and tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here in obedience to their laws. Battle of Thermopylae From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ... Monuments There are several monuments around the battlefield of Thermopylae. Epitaph of Simonides A well-known epigram, usually attributed to Simonides, was engraved as an epitaph on a commemorative stone placed on top of the burial mound of the Spartans at Thermopylae. It is also the hill on which the last of them died. The original stone has not survived, but in 1955, the epitaph was engraved on a new stone. The text from Herodotus is: Oh stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, trusting their words.
29. SCAPCI_140718_452.JPG: California Firefighters Memorial
30. SCAPCI_140718_456.JPG: In memory of the men and women of the California fire service who have made the supreme sacrifice. These gallant firefighters who by their heroic deaths have protected our lives and preserved our future, their selfless courage will stand as a legacy for generations to come.
31. SCAPCI_140718_472.JPG: The Capitol is home to two stunning murals, one is a 1914 depiction of California's past, present and future, the other depicts the origin of the state's naming. In 1913, the California State Legislature appropriated $10,000 to decorate the Capitol rotunda as part of a trend to bring art and history to the building. Arthur F. Mathews, a prominent San Francisco artist, was given the commission to create a series of murals that would depict the historical periods of California. Mathews completed twelve murals in four sets of three (triptychs) in time for the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition. The murals are an excellent example of a regional artistic style known as "California Decorative." Arthur and his wife Lucia Kleinhans Mathews combined a romantic classicism and idealism with a Renaissance color palette and California imagery to create this distinctive style. We have included Mathews' own words and interpretations of the murals for context and to illuminate his era's distinctive interpretation of California history. Mathews chose to describe the four epochs and the panels within them in flourishes of language typical to his era. Mathews' 12 murals were displayed in the first floor rotunda until the beginning of the Capitol's restoration project in 1976. At that time, the murals were removed and conserved. In 1981, they were installed in the basement rotunda to better preserve the original appearance of the first floor rotunda. This installation safeguarded an historic piece of art for California and its Capitol. The above was from http://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/In%20English/exhibits-collections/exhibits-murals
32. SCAPCI_140718_521.JPG: The Drum: This circular drum wall shapes the rotunda and rises 160 feet above you to form the inner dome. The brick steps here at the base once helped distribute the dome's enormous weight. During restoration, workers reinforced the drum exterior with concrete and steel.
33. SCAPCI_140718_563.JPG: This display is one of four original ceramic tile floor designs representing California's State Seal, installed in the Capitol in 1896. These tiles are called "encaustic" designs because the patterns are inlaid 1/8" to 1/4" below the surface. They were made by a method patented in England in 1863, and perfected by the American Mosaic Tile Company of Zanesville, Ohio, the manufacturer of the Capitol tile. Colored clay dust was poured into a tile mold containing 1/8" x 1/8" cells, then backed with uncolored clay dust and finally compacted in a tile press. The tile were fired for durability but were usually unglazed. The tile now seen on the first floor is a simulation of the original, made by spraying liquid colored clay on the file bisques through metal screened designs, one screen for each color. The finished product was fired and glazed. Another original "Eureka" tile floor design was donated by the Joint Rules Committee of the California Legislature to the American Ceramic Society for display in its national museum at Columbus, Ohio.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: California State Capitol
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The California State Capitol is the seat of the government of California, housing the chambers of the state legislature and the office of the governor in Sacramento, California. The Neoclassical structure was completed between 1861 and 1874 at the west end of Capitol Park, which is framed by L Street to the north, N Street to the south, 10th Street to the west, and 15th Street to the east. The Capitol and grounds were listed on the office of the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and listed as a California Historical Landmark in 1974, with a re-dedication on January 9, 1982 to commemorate the close of the bicentennial restoration project.

Construction and design:

Exterior:

The building is based on the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. The west facade ends in projecting bays, and a portico projects from the center of the building. At the base of the portico, seven granite archways brace and support the porch above. Eight fluted Corinthian columns line the portico. A cornice supports the pediment above depicting Minerva surrounded by Education, Justice, and Mining.

Above the flat roof with balustrade rise two drums supporting a dome. The first drum consists of a colonnade of Corinthian columns; the second, Corinthian pilasters. Large arched windows line the drum walls. The dome rises 220 ft (67 m), matching that of the U.S. Capitol, and supports a lantern with a smaller dome capped with a gold-leafed orbed finial.

Interior:

The California Senate chamber seats its forty members in a large chamber room enveloped in red, which is a nod to the British House of Lords, also the upper house of a bicameral legislature. The chamber is entered through a second floor corridor. The red carpeting has a Victorian-era design. From the coffered ceiling hangs an electric reproduction of the original gas chandelier. A hand-carved dais caps off a recessed bay framed by Corinthian columns.

The Latin phrase "Senatoris est civitatis libertatem tueri" ["It is the duty of a Senator to protect the liberty of the people"] lines the cornice. A portrait of George Washington by Jane Stuart, the daughter of Gilbert Stuart, looks down from the wall above. The State Seal hangs above.

Gilded Corinthian columns support the gallery above, and dark red curtains that can be drawn for privacy are tied back along the columns. High arched windows run along the bottom below rectangular pane windows. Behind the rostrum, there are two chairs with red velvet cushions, reserved for the president pro tempore of the senate and the speaker of the assembly, but are never used.

The California Assembly chamber is located at the opposite end of the Senate. Like the Senate, its green tones are based on British House of Commons, the lower house. The dais rests along a wall shaped like an "E", with the central projection housing the rostrum. Along the cornice appears a quotation from Abraham Lincoln in Latin: legislatorum est justas leges condere ("It is the duty of legislators to pass just laws"). Almost every decorating element is identical to the Senate Chamber.

2001 attack:

On January 16, 2001, Michael Bowers, a semi-trailer truck driver with a criminal history, drove over a curb, up a short walk-way, and rammed his truck into the southern portico. The truck's fuel tank ignited, killing the driver, and caused US$15 million in damage to the building.
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