Arkansas State Capitol

We have a beautiful State Capitol. It was built to resemble the Nation's Capitol. in fact, it has been used as the US Capitol's "body double" in a few films, including "under Siege" (1986)

A little trivia about the Capitol

The grounds the Capitol sits on used to be the site of a prison. The whole thing was walled in. The plan was to build the Capitol within the prison walls using convict labor and then tear down the walls and demolish the prison.

The Capitol construction site was aligned incorrectly by the builder, future Governor George Donaghey, due to his failure to use surveying instruments. Instead, he aligned the plot visually using Fifth Street as a guide without recognizing that the street was not aligned east–west; Fifth Street was parallel to the Arkansas River. Therefore, the structure is situated in a north–south manner from end-to-end which does not fit the grid street pattern of Little Rock's downtown.

The exterior of the Capitol is made of limestone which was quarried in Batesville, Arkansas. Arkansas materials were used whenever possible. Total construction cost was $2.2 million with today's value of the building being $320 million.

The next few shots show some of the beautiful detail work on the outside of the building.

A softer Indiana limestone was used for the dome. The dome is topped with a lantern-style cupola and capped with a ball finial, which is a hollow copper sphere. It and the supporting rooftop are gilded in 23-karat gold leaf, an extremely thin gold foil, which was applied by hand.

The six front entrance doors are made of bronze, which are 10 feet tall, four inches (10 cm) thick and were purchased from Tiffany's in New York for $10,000.  

Notice in the right door, a reflection of the Arkansas State Flag. I had to wait awhile to get this shot. I wanted the flag as unfurled as possible.

There are several memorials and monuments around the Capitol. I'll show you a few.

This is  American Revolution Bicentennial Monument. It is a replica of the Liberty Bell. The bell is one of 50 distributed to the states in 1950. The bell pays tribute to the "spirit of  '76" America's bicentennial.

 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

With a central figure of a soldier the granite monument bears the names of over 400 Arkansans killed or mortally wounded during the conflict in Vietnam

 Medal of Honor Memorial

 Its central figure is a bronze eagle surrounded by a memorial of Congressional Medal recipients who served in conflicts ranging from the Civil War to Vietnam.

The Eternal Flame

This simple structure symbolizes the "Spirit of Freedom"  The flame memorializes the founders of the American Legion and that organization's 50th anniversary. The flame was lit on July 11, 1969.

War of 1812 Memorial Fountain

Many veterans of the War of 1812 received land grants in Arkansas Territory for their service. This stone structure memorializes 56 veterans who are buried in Arkansas.

This is not a memorial, but I forgot to add it to yesterday's post. This sundial is in the Iris Garden. I've always been fascinated by sun dials. You can see what time I was there, about 11:00 a.m.

I didn't take any pictures inside the Capitol, both houses were in session and it was very busy. I'd like to go back sometime on the weekend to get some people-free pictures.

Hope you enjoyed the small tour the Arkansas State Capitol.

Flowers At The State Capitol

I had to be in the down town area last week, so I spent some time at our State Capitol. The only way to get a center shot of the Capitol is as you drive up Capitol Avenue. I took this shot stopped at a stop sign. Thankfully there weren't any cars passing by!

I plan on posting again to show some more shots of the building, but today I wanted to show you the flowers. This is the Iris Garden tended by the Central Arkansas Iris Society. It's not quite in bloom yet, but it is loaded with Iris buds. Can you imagine what it will look like in full bloom!

 There are some really amazing colors. I've never had any luck growing Irises, but I do enjoy them! They are so frilly, and lady-like to me!

 The photo didn't do this one justice. I was there at mid-day and the light was very strong. It's really so deep that it's almost black.

 Isn't this one pretty with the different tones?

 There's is also a rose garden that has more than 1,500 rose bushes of over 50 varieties. Ranging from the English rose and hybrid teas to shrubs and climbers, these are part of the national test program. Growers submit 20 specimens to the test garden each year, where they remain for three years before being replaced by younger plants and new varieties. The removed plants are donated to schools and organizations. There are two sections in an "L" shape. This will be unbelievably beautiful in a few weeks. I sure intend on going back to see them in bloom.

 This one reminds me of a peppermint and really looks like a carnation.

A beautiful bud opening. It is the same variety as the above rose.

 This one was such a gorgeous color. Wish my pictures were better.

And who doesn't love a beautiful red rose!!

There is a pretty little azalea bed with benches and bird bath under a beautiful oak tree.

Here's a closer view of the flowers and the birdbath.

The grounds of the Capitol are a peaceful, beautiful place to stroll around even on a busy work day. I'll try to post some shots of the Capitol building itself next. It seems I'm so behind in posting that I'm feeling a little pressure. I started the quilt series here and haven't gotten back to that yet. And then I had a great weekend and I want to post about that! I may be posting a lot this week to catch up!