Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Cheri May-31-11
10:54 PM | 
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We had plans to tour the State Capitol today. We arrived there at 9:30am and the tour began at 10 am.
The Capitol was built in 1866 and took 37 years to complete at a cost of 3.2 million dollars. The renovations to the capitol are in progress now, one wing at a time. The dome is being renovated right now and so we were no able to climb the stairs to the top and overlook the city. They are stripping the inside down to its original colors. The trim colors on the moldings up close to the ceilings are really neat. There is a mauve strip, a beige strip and a cream color with beige walls. It looks really neat. The floors are marble, brought in from Mexico, Belgium and Italy.
Topeka Capitol building is the 3rd tallest dome capital at 304 ft, It is16 feet taller than the US Capitol in Washington DC, and also taller than the Statue of Liberty.
We began our tour by taking the cage elevator, which was installed in 1923, up to the 3rd floor. We stepped into the Senate Chambers and WOW! What a beautiful room. The massive copper & bronze columns were striking. They were shipped here from Italy. There was marble on the walls and floors. The woodwork was beautiful. There were massive chandlers with etched globes. The desks were all the original pieces.
The next stop on the tour was the House of Representatives. It was not quite as beautiful as the Senate but never the less it had its own charms. The ceilings were all stenciled and the gold on the ceilings and columns were 22 carat gold leaf. It also had lots of marble on the walls and floors.
We were then taken to the Supreme Court Chambers. Today this room is used mainly for committee meetings. All the stenciling on the ceiling has all been restored, along with beautiful marble and woodwork throughout.
The Governor’s Ceremonial Office was decorated with elaborately carved white oak trim. The fireplace is one of 11 located on the second floor.
There are murals pained on a number of walls depicting different events throughout Kansas history.
It was a beautiful Capitol building!
We went from the Capitol Building over to the Grace Episcopal Cathedral for a tour of the parish with its twin towers modeled after that of Magdalen College in Oxford, England. Our guide told us the history of the church and showed us all the beautiful windows.
We ate a bar for a fast lunch and then headed to the Kansas Museum of History. It tells the story of the early people of Kansas, Indians, trails, civil war, settling in the frontier, trains and towns, and items of the early 20th century. It was a lot to take in.
About half way through the exhibit we got a call from our friends Don & Doreen Foster from Oregon. They are here in Topeka also, so we made plans to go over to their RV Park and visit. It was great to see them. About 5 pm we all headed over to Boss Hawg’s Barbeque restaurant for supper and more visiting.
The weather was great today. The attractions were lots of fun to see and being able to visit with our friends made this day memorable.
Gay got pictures of the day and also pictures from Sunday uploaded. He still needs to do the captions but they are there to view. Click here http://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravelsand then click on the album that you want to see.
The Capitol was built in 1866 and took 37 years to complete at a cost of 3.2 million dollars. The renovations to the capitol are in progress now, one wing at a time. The dome is being renovated right now and so we were no able to climb the stairs to the top and overlook the city. They are stripping the inside down to its original colors. The trim colors on the moldings up close to the ceilings are really neat. There is a mauve strip, a beige strip and a cream color with beige walls. It looks really neat. The floors are marble, brought in from Mexico, Belgium and Italy.
Topeka Capitol building is the 3rd tallest dome capital at 304 ft, It is16 feet taller than the US Capitol in Washington DC, and also taller than the Statue of Liberty.
We began our tour by taking the cage elevator, which was installed in 1923, up to the 3rd floor. We stepped into the Senate Chambers and WOW! What a beautiful room. The massive copper & bronze columns were striking. They were shipped here from Italy. There was marble on the walls and floors. The woodwork was beautiful. There were massive chandlers with etched globes. The desks were all the original pieces.
The next stop on the tour was the House of Representatives. It was not quite as beautiful as the Senate but never the less it had its own charms. The ceilings were all stenciled and the gold on the ceilings and columns were 22 carat gold leaf. It also had lots of marble on the walls and floors.
We were then taken to the Supreme Court Chambers. Today this room is used mainly for committee meetings. All the stenciling on the ceiling has all been restored, along with beautiful marble and woodwork throughout.
The Governor’s Ceremonial Office was decorated with elaborately carved white oak trim. The fireplace is one of 11 located on the second floor.
There are murals pained on a number of walls depicting different events throughout Kansas history.
It was a beautiful Capitol building!
We went from the Capitol Building over to the Grace Episcopal Cathedral for a tour of the parish with its twin towers modeled after that of Magdalen College in Oxford, England. Our guide told us the history of the church and showed us all the beautiful windows.
We ate a bar for a fast lunch and then headed to the Kansas Museum of History. It tells the story of the early people of Kansas, Indians, trails, civil war, settling in the frontier, trains and towns, and items of the early 20th century. It was a lot to take in.
About half way through the exhibit we got a call from our friends Don & Doreen Foster from Oregon. They are here in Topeka also, so we made plans to go over to their RV Park and visit. It was great to see them. About 5 pm we all headed over to Boss Hawg’s Barbeque restaurant for supper and more visiting.
The weather was great today. The attractions were lots of fun to see and being able to visit with our friends made this day memorable.
Gay got pictures of the day and also pictures from Sunday uploaded. He still needs to do the captions but they are there to view. Click here http://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravelsand then click on the album that you want to see.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments: