We understand that Iowa probably isn’t the first state you think of when you’re looking for a new place to travel, but we also think that the Iowa State Capitol building might be one of the prettiest state capitol buildings west of the Mississippi.
After a could-not-miss stop at Maxie, the World’s Largest Goose in Sumner, Missouri, we made our way north to Des Moines.
The capitol is set atop a hill and offers a panoramic view of the city’s downtown. Various monuments and memorials are to its sides and front, including the Soldiers and Sailors Civil War Monument with one of the strangest bronze statues we’ve seen on a war memorial.
.
.
Iowa’s State Capitol is the only state capitol with 5 domes, but what really makes it special is the incredible workmanship throughout the building. This includes wonderful hand-painted murals, faux finishes, stenciled patterns, and detailed painted walls. In fact, what appears to be wallpaper is actually hand-painted! Conservators have worked carefully to preserve these original hand-painted decorative elements using traditional techniques. Their dedication to authenticity has helped maintain the capitol’s historic artistic integrity and the results are nothing short of stunning!
Here are some other interesting facts about this capitol
- The capitol was built between 1871 and 1886 by designer Alfred Piquendard and at the time cost $2.9M ($800-900M today)
- Its main dome stands 275 tall, 80 feet in diameter, and is covered in 23-karat gold leaf that must be re-done every 25-30 years. It’s a painstaking application of 10,000 sheets of gold leaf to maintain its brilliant shine.
- The building’s foundation is composed of 25,000 cubic yards of concrete, resting on nearly 1,800 wooden pilings that extend down to bedrock – an engineering marvel for its time.
- 14 million bricks were used in constructing this capitol.
- The building contains 29 types of marble, 12 types of wood, 24-stained glass windows, and 8 large murals by Edwin H. Blashfield.
- In addition to the impressive hand-painted walls, the stone is hand-cut, the wood hand-carved, and the mosaics are beautifully assembled.
- The capitol building survived a devastating fire in 1904 that started when a worker left a kerosene lamp burning.
- It has the only 5-story law library in the United States, featuring pretty spiral staircases and over 100,000 legal volumes. Its design was inspired by Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, which I hope someday we’ll get to see, as we enjoyed the one in the Iowa State Capitol so much!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
You can’t visit the Iowa State Capitol without feeling a deeper appreciation for this magnificent building. It’s not just a government facility. It stands as testimony to the craftsmanship of another era and the ongoing commitment to preserve this golden treasure for future generations.
Did you know that the oldest and largest aviati
#camphairdontcar
