Our Capitol Tour... STUNNING!

Hi Chickies!


Well, I've lived in Washington State my entire life. And, the sad truth is, I've never, EVER toured our capitol.



I'm happy to say that has been rectified.



I'm always looking for something fun to do with my little grandson, so we planned a fun little trip to Olympia. The Hubbs took the day off work so he could come along. I was able to score a private tour and I'm sure that only comes along once in a lifetime, so he didn't want to miss the opportunity.



And, let me tell you... It was FAB.U.LOUS!



I couldn't believe what I was missing!


Landscaping designed by the Olmstead Brothers. Think Central Park. WOW!


CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE.... YOU'LL WANT TO SEE THE DETAIL!

My darling grandson sitting in the Governor's seat..... I'm seeing the future Governor here. :-)

The architecture was amazing beyond belief!




This fabulous structure is the tallest masonry dome (287 ft) in the United States! And, is the forth tallest in the WORLD, after St. Peter's Cathedral-Rome, St Paul's Cathedral-London and St. Isaac's-St. Petersburg.




The dome weighs 26,000 metric tons..... IMAGINE!.... and was not held together by any bolts or fasteners, but by gravity alone! Can you believe it? YIKES! The columns moved up 3" in the Nisqually quake (2001) and in 2004 the dome was permanently attached to the building. I'm thinking that was probably a very good idea. :-) There are a few cracks around the building from previous earthquakes. Yeah, we get 'em here every so often..... I felt that one, for sure!



It has more marble than any other state capitol, coming from four different countries; Belgium, France, Italy and Germany. Alaska is represented as well.



There are 42 granite steps into the building representing Washington's position as the 42nd State.

If I remember right, this photo is from the Senate Chambers. Each county is printed around the border of the room. It is SPEC.TAC.U.LAR!



I took sooooo many pictures and was trying to enjoy the beauty and take in all the information at the same time.... That was a LOT to take in for this Chickie!

The detail was over the top amazing. It is, by far, the most beautiful building I've ever been in. I was in AWE!

Even the water fountains were wonderful! Marble? WOW!

They restored and repainted everything several years ago. How painstaking to paint all of these medallions. They were EVERYWHERE!

This is the carpet in the reception room.... It is the WORLD'S largest single loom carpet. I don't remember what the measurement was, but by golly....that thing was HUGE! And, quite beautiful. Not only that, it's been there since the capitol was built and it's still in VERY good condition. Amazing, I KNOW!


For a very nominal fee any Washington State resident can attend the Inaugural Ball! I had no idea. I want to do that one of these days! What a thrill that would be!

Yep, there's Washington himself! He's brass and has one VERY shiny nose. It seems everyone rubs it for good luck. You can be sure my boy gave it a rub!



Did you know Louis Comfort Tiffany.... Yes.... THAT Tiffany.... did bronze? (Personally I always think of the little blue box......) Our capitol has the largest collection of Tiffany bronze in the WORLD! And, his last commission before his death.

Look at all of that marble! They actually rent this space and lots of happy couples have been married in this very spot. How perfectly perfect! That's the state seal in the middle of the floor. It was getting worn down from all the foot traffic, so now it has a little barrier to keep folks off of it.

It was a BLUE SKY day in the Pacific Northwest! Whooopee... Look at the workmanship on those columns.

Isn't it beautiful???

One of the MANY chandeliers.



They are ALL Tiffany! Simply STUNNING!

This one was in the reception room....Can you see the little glass shields in front of the bulbs?

Ahhhhhhhhhh............


I didn't want to post too many pictures, but I hope you can get a "feel" for the beauty of it.

I am no photographer, but I was THRILLED with this shot!

You cannot imagine how HUGE this was.... look at all detail above it.... They just don't do this kind of work anymore, do they???

Another shot...... I think our guide told us you could fit a phone booth inside of this fixture.

More Tiffany!

Now, this one is totally amazing.... It's in the dome. It looked big when we were standing there, but, because everything else is so big it didn't seem big enough to hold a VOLKSWAGON!.... but it IS! It weighs FIVE tons and is suspended by FIFTY feet of chain....and has 202 lights!

A close up of the bottom of the chandelier.... Those faces are life size!


What a wonderful experience. I just wish I had done it sooner....


I hope you enjoyed that little tour. :-)



Huggies and Lovies!!!


Spence




*All photos are mine except the outside shot.... I found it on Flickr. I totally forgot to take a picture outside.