Post #11, Artistry at the Statehouse Podcast

Link to the Kansas State Historical Society Article: http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kansas-state-capitol-foucault-pendulum/11752

Post #10, The State Library

The Kansas State Library is located on the 3rd floor in the North Wing of the Capitol building. Its beautiful decorated doors and flooring will be a sure sign that you have found the library. The State Library was founded by the Kansas Territorial legislature in 1855 and the State auditor had the duties of Librarian. In 1900, the Library was moved to its current resting place where it lies now. Actually, the State Library was the very first place in the State Capitol building that introduced electric lighting to the room. That soon carried out to the rest of the Capitol building as you can assume. The second deck of the library showcases glass floorboards in order to take advantage of the lighting scheme of the room. The final deck (the 3rd deck) was not added until 1917, and now it features offices and computers for individuals who want to browse the Libraries inventory. The beauty of the room comes from the lighting and floor scheme. The Kansas State Library is one of a kind and is very unique to this building. This room has to be in your top 3 to stop by and just take a glance while you're visiting.

(Enjoy some beautiful photos below)

The Kansas State Library also
has two elevators that are specially
made for books to be moved from the
1st to 2nd floors for easy access to store
them away.

Jo Budler (The current State Librarian)

Elevator for books.

This blog post was made with the help of the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS) at kshs.org
For further information regarding the State Library please visit the following link (http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-capitol-online-tour-state-library/18657)

Thank You,

Post #9, Senate Gallery

Before I begin, I would like to thank you for joining me today. Today, I am going to showcase the wonderful Senate Gallery that is confusingly placed on the East Wing of the capitol building, but yet is called the "Senate West Gallery." This can be confusing for many visitors, including myself, but my hypothesis is that this room may have once resided in what once was the West Wing but is now the East Wing of the building. This may or may not be true but regardless, it is extremely confusing. I thought that I should provide you with a little bit of information about the current Senate and then we can delve into the beauty of this room. Currently, there are 40 members of the Senate who represent certain districts of the state of Kansas. The Senate consists of 31 Republicans and 9 Democrats; I know, it seems pretty uneven. The Senate holds annual meetings that normally begin on the second Monday in January and it typically lasts around 90 calendar days. 

Changing gears to the discussion about the architecture and beauty of this room. First, the room was first constructed in 1865 and it wasn't completely finished until 1873. Although, the first session took place in January of 1869 (while construction was still being done). The original construction was a bit different than what we see today as renovation of the room began in 1999 with the refinishing of the 28 columns that are present within the chamber. These columns are made out of bronze with cast iron plates made out of copper and silver. What makes this room so interesting and unique is its variety of contributors to its beauty. The carpet was hand designed in Indonesia, the stain glass windows were imported from France, the ceiling is of European Renaissance design that was originally done by artisans from Egypt. What really amazes me is the lighting of the room; it is just absolutely stunning when you get to see those chandeliers first hand. The new chandeliers that are currently residing in the chamber were apart of the renovation process that occurred in the early 2000's and are direct replica's that are based on the original design of the room back in the 1860's. When combining all of the beautiful architecture and pieces from this room you get a room that was designed by a large portion of the world and different countries. 

(Please make sure to check out the images below!)

The renovation and restoration process
was finalized in December of 2005 and
a celebration ceremony was held in January of 2006
to honor its true beauty.

The Senate Chamber/Gallery

Original Carpet that was hand-designed in Indonesia.

This desk was originally purchased in 1885 about ten years
after the original construction. It has sat here ever since.

Entrance to the Chamber (looking out
 to the Rotunda)

The Information included in this blog post was interpreted and verified for use by crew members and 

tour-guides that are currently employed at the Statehouse. In addition to this, information was received by the Secretary of the Senate on his release of a documented article containing information regarding the restoration of the Senate Chamber/Gallery.

Thank You, 

Post #8, House of Representatives Hall & Gallery

The House of Representatives Hall has to be my favorite room in the statehouse. Its exquisite architecture mixed with its delicate interior design makes for a must-see when you're planning your visit. From the patterned carpet to the ceiling murals, this truly is an artist's life work at display. Believe it or not, but the ceiling murals were actually painted over for many years and were re-discovered during the restoration process that started in 1999. I was astonished when I had heard this information from my tour guide and asked as to why the murals would have been painted over. He replied, "We assume that the murals were seen as erotic during certain time periods throughout history." Even he was amazed at how they could have removed the paint without harming the murals that laid underneath.
This room houses the 125 state legislators for the state of Kansas. The room resides in the east wing of the building which was the second wing that was completed in the construction of the Capitol (it was completed in the early 1880's). My favorite aspect of the room has to be the gold that is placed around the murals and in other areas on the ceiling. The gold is 22-karat gold leaf and is also placed around the ceiling columns that are located upstairs in the viewing deck. The lighting, architecture, murals, and the overall interior design of this room makes for my favorite room in the statehouse and I think it'll make its bid to be yours as well. Be sure to enjoy some photos below!

*Note: please note that the Kansas State Historical Society website states that the room resides in the West Wing of the building but the gallery signs state that it is the "East Gallery". 

For any further information regarding the House of Representatives Gallery please refer to the following link posted below:
House of Representatives Hall & Gallery (KSHS)

Please be sure to catch me again soon 

as the next post will cover the room 

just across the statehouse. 

Post #7, Wall Paintings (1st Floor)

Hello, and thankyou again for joining me. Today, we are going to talk about some of the wonderful wall paintings that you will find on the 1^st floor of the rotunda in the Kansas State Capitol Building. While all of these pieces are paintings, it’s important to notice that these paintings, in particular, were painted directly on the plaster walls of the Kansas Statehouse. That means there was no room for mistake; literally. All eight of these murals were completed in 1953 and they highlight important and significant events in Kansas history. The murals cover everything from small battles that occurred with native Indian tribes to the creation and implementation of the railroad system that forever changed how farmers would trade livestock and how people would travel.

At first glance, you become very aware that all the paintings were done with extreme care and detail, but what you probably didn’t notice is that each painting has a hidden object that the artist (David H. Overmyer) delicately placed. For example, you more than likely didn’t catch the rifle in the bottom left hand corner of the “Arrival of the Railroad” mural and that’s ok, because I didn’t either. In addition, some of the murals were painted using only three primary colors and I found this to be amazing when my tour guide told me this bit of exquisite information.

I encourage you to take a long and detailed look at all eight of the murals as it is likely that you will spot the hidden image if you do so. It is clearly obvious that Mr. Overmyer took his time in the creation of all eight of these beautiful decorated paintings and I guess he doesn’t have to worry about them going anywhere anytime soon! The names and photos of each mural are posted below, and I also encourage you to use the following links to gain a further understanding of just how special these paintings really are!

*Below you will find the corresponding plaques and paintings that are directly below one another.* 

(Links will be posted at the bottom of the page, after the photos).

For further information please refer to the following links:

Arrival of the Railroads: http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-capitol-online-tour-arrival-of-the-railroad/16591

Battle of the Arikaree: http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-capitol-online-tour-battle-of-arickaree/16585

Battle of Mine Creek: http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-capitol-online-tour-battle-of-mine-creek/16586

Building a Sod House: http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-capitol-online-tour-building-a-sod-house/16587

The Chisholm Trail: http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-capitol-online-tour-chisholm-trail/16592

Lewis and Clark in Kansas: http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-capitol-online-tour-lewis-and-clark-in-kansas/16588

The Coming of the Spaniards: http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-capitol-online-tour-spaniards/16583

Westward, Ho!: http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-capitol-online-tour-westward-ho/16590

Please make yourself aware that I consistently use the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS) website

to gain an understanding of my topics which reside on this page. In addition, I would also like

to give thanks to my wonderful tour guide that provided me with further information that cannot be found 

on the KSHS website. 

Thank You, 

Please join me again soon as I delve into the 

House of Representatives conference room which is 

surprisingly an exhibit that visitors can visit as well.