Best And Worst Located State Capitals - Page 3

Steely Dan · #41 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 5:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoLith

Man, what a pain for most Alaskans it would be to get to the capital. What if you lived on some far away place like Unalaska, it would probably cost 600 bucks or so to get to the capital if you had to.

this brings up a good question though: do most citizens of any given state ever really NEED to visit their state capital?

i was born in IL and have lived in this state for 45 years now.

other than drive-by's on I-55 on my way down to st. louis, i've never been to springfield.

Centropolis · #42 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 5:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

this brings up a good question though: do most citizens of any given state ever really NEED to visit their state capital?

i was born in IL and have lived in this state for 45 years now.

other than drive-by's on I-55 on my way down to st. louis, i've never been to springfield.

illinois state fair baby!

springfield is closer than jeff city to st. louis and i have done more work around springfield than jeff city by far. ive been to jeff city once not counting a drive-through to the lake of the ozarks.

iheartthed · #43 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 5:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

this brings up a good question though: do most citizens of any given state ever really NEED to visit their state capital?

i was born in IL and have lived in this state for 45 years now.

other than drive-by's on I-55 on my way down to st. louis, i've never been to springfield.

Probably not in the modern era, since most states with large cities have administrative offices in those cities. I've never done more than drive through Albany. Similarly, if I ever have stepped foot in Lansing then it was incidental. I've only ever gone to that area to visit MSU's campus.

iheartthed · #44 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 5:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Centropolis

illinois state fair baby!

springfield is closer than jeff city to st. louis and i have done more work around springfield than jeff city by far. ive been to jeff city once not counting a drive-through to the lake of the ozarks.

Before it went defunct, the Michigan State Fair was always held in Detroit.

SIGSEGV · #45 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 5:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoLith

Man, what a pain for most Alaskans it would be to get to the capital. What if you lived on some far away place like Unalaska, it would probably cost 600 bucks or so to get to the capital if you had to.

if you live in Unalaska, it's hard to get anywhere. But yeah, I wonder how much Anchorage/Fairbanks to Juneau flights cost...

Steely Dan · #46 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 5:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Centropolis

illinois state fair baby!

that's funny, growing up, my family occasionally went up to the wisconsin state fair, which is hosted in west allis* (suburban milwaukee).

a much shorter drive than springfield and CHEESE CURDS!!!

(*) i don't know how WI's state fair ended up in suburban milwaukee instead of madison, their state capital, but now i'm curious to know how many other states host their state fairs away from their state capitals.

photoLith · #47 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 5:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

this brings up a good question though: do most citizens of any given state ever really NEED to visit their state capital?

i was born in IL and have lived in this state for 45 years now.

other than drive-by's on I-55 on my way down to st. louis, i've never been to springfield.

Good point, not really any reason a normal citizen will ever have to travel to the capital for anything, unless of course theyre in a court case battle with the state, which rarely ever happens. Only reason Ive been to Harrisburg is to see the interior of our amazing state capitol building and the same for all of the states Ive lived in.

Im trying to think of any reason a normal person would have to travel to the capitols for anything and I cant really think of any lol.

Steely Dan · #48 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 5:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoLith

Only reason Ive been to Harrisburg is to see the interior of our amazing state capitol building and the same for all of the states Ive lived in.

that's a fair point.

IL built one hell of a grand palace to itself back in the 19th century (at 361', its the tallest domed capitol in the nation).

at the very least, i should probably make a pitstop the next time i'm travelling down I-55 just to check out the building itself.

Illinois State Capitol by Jimmy Emerson, DVM, on Flickr

lio45 · #49 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 6:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

I love Juneau, but it's a terrible location for a state capitol.

Phoenix, Indianapolis and Columbus are all pretty much centrally located within their states. I don't know why, but I think that's a relatively important element of a state capitol.

Many capitals were chosen to be centrally located in their states, the list is much longer than those three

Even Tallahassee was chosen to be centrally located based on FL's population distribution at the time! So was Washington DC.

lio45 · #50 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 6:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

If we are talking national capitals, Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, is located on an island with only 20% of the country's population, and that is 35 km off the coast of another country (Cameroon).

The mainland of Equatorial Guinea, where most of the population lives, is over 200 km away.

Ottawa would be an extremely bizarrely located capital for the RoC should Quebec achieve its independence

SIGSEGV · #51 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 6:18 PM**

Pretty sure Juneau at one point was centrally located for the population as well! Anchorage wasn't a place when Juneau became the capital. At the time, everybody went to Alaska by boat from Seattle, I imagine. Also, before Juneau, the capital was Sitka...

lio45 · #52 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 6:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Cheyenne is the most "uncentralized" (I can't remember the technical term) capital in the US; it is the most in a corner/away from the rest of the state than any other capital.

Victoria, BC and St. John's, NL likely both beat it.

Other U.S. contenders would be Juneau, Boston, Albany...? Tallahassee too I suppose.

lio45 · #53 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 6:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtown,man

This topic brings up another issue:

States that are deceptively large. Florida fits the bill for me. Once you enter Florida from Alabama its like "Miami here we come!"....10 hours later. Which is only 3 hours faster than it takes me to get from Chicago to Pensacola.

Very true: the % of the drive from Quebec to Miami that is within FL is surprisingly high.

When you finally cross into the Sunshine State you'd think you're almost there, but no.

lio45 · #54 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 6:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

this brings up a good question though: do most citizens of any given state ever really NEED to visit their state capital?

i was born in IL and have lived in this state for 45 years now.

other than drive-by's on I-55 on my way down to st. louis, i've never been to springfield.

Really good question. Over the years those times I've needed to access "higher government offices" those have all been in Montreal which is closer for me (things like a Passports Canada office, etc.) which is all stuff that I assume in IL would be in Chicago.

I have a court case at the moment against the govt that might escalate to provincial superior court, that would likely be the first time in my life that I would HAVE to go to Quebec City for the reason that it's the capital.

I would agree with you that a typical citizen never has any reason to need to show up at the capital of their state or nation nowadays.

MolsonExport · #55 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 7:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnyc

thats interesting. i wonder what the story is on why they backed off?

MolsonExport · #56 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 7:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

Ottawa would be an extremely bizarrely located capital for the RoC should Quebec achieve its independence

yeah, we should take back Montreal and move it there

JManc · #57 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 8:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoLith

I never knew how tiny Wyomings Capitol building is. There many county courthouses here in PA that are bigger and Alaskas Capital building is about the most boring of them all, along with Hawaii.

Vermont's is even smaller. I've been to the HI capitol and while bland, it works because a domed or some other neoclassical building wouldn't fit the urban and historical setting there. Plus the old palace is across the street.

I'm a huge a state capitol nerd and have been to about 30 or so of them.

SIGSEGV · #58 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 8:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

Vermont's is even smaller. I've been to the HI capitol and while bland, it works because a domed or some other neoclassical building wouldn't fit the urban and historical setting there. Plus the old palace is across the street.

I'm a huge a state capitol nerd and have been to about 30 or so of them.

you should start a ranking! Of state houses I've been to, Massachusetts and Wisconsin are the nicest.

Steely Dan · #59 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 8:40 PM**

i've only seen the capitols in boston, hartford, indianapolis, madison, st.paul, and of course our national capitol in DC.

excluding the US capitol, i thought the one in madison was the most impressive of the limited ones i've seen in person.

and its siting at the top of a hill on a narrow little isthmus between two lakes is pretty damn excellent.

those silly cheeseheads sure thought that shit out.

The Wisconsin State Capitol by Brandon Bartoszek, on Flickr

craigs · #60 Posted **Apr 7, 2021, 8:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

(*) i don't know how WI's state fair ended up in suburban milwaukee instead of madison, their state capital, but now i'm curious to know how many other states host their state fairs away from their state capitals.

California's state fair started out in San Francisco in 1854, but was held in Sacramento's Capitol Park for 50 years starting in 1859. It eventually settled into its expansive, permanent grounds in suburban Sacramento and, in addition to all the usual food, rides, exhibits, and shows, it features one of California's two monorails as well as a gondola.