Casilie big USA adventure…
Cassie visit to California State Capitol USA…
| California State Capitol | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
 The California State Capitol
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| Location: | Sacramento, California |
| Built/Founded: | 1860-1874 |
| Architect: | M. Frederic Butler |
| Architectural style(s): | American Neoclassicism |
| Governing body: | State |
The California USA State Capitol building is in Sacramento, California at the west end of Capitol Park. The beautiful grounds are 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 houses the California State Legislature and the office of the Governor of California.Arnold,I’ll be back. The nice looking building was constructed in the neoclassical style between 1861 and 1874 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as of 1973.
The beautiful Exterior…
The building is somewhat based on the distant Capitol in Washington D.C. The west side facade ends in projecting bays as well as a portico projecting from the center of the building out ward. At the base of the portico, seven large granite archways brace and support the porch above. Eight wonderful fluted Corinthian columns line the portico. A cornice supports the pediment above which depicts Minerva surrounded by Education, Justice, and Mining.
Above the almost flat roof with balustrade rises two drums supporting a major dome. The first drum consists of a colonnade of Corinthian columns, the second with Corinthian pilasters.Very big arched windows line the drum walls. The dome rises some 225 above the roof, matching the aforementioned dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC. The dome itself supports a lantern with a smaller dome capped with a gold ball.
The stunning Interior…
The California Senate Chamber seats the 40 members in big chamber room. The colour red envelopes the room in a nod towards the British House of Lords, which like the California Senate is 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 (daughter of Gilbert Stuart) looks down from the wall above. The state seal hangs above.
Gold Corinthian columns support the gallery above, and dark red curtains are tied back along the columns, but may be drawn for privacy. Very high arched windows run along the bottom, above are rectangular pane windows. Just behind the rostrum are two big chairs with deep 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 far opposite end of the Senate. Its deep green tones are based on British House of Commons. 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.
Hope you enjoyed this Peter Bruce
