Your Capitol Building (National/State/Province/Territory) & Grounds

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Syndic

I'm blown away by how well this turned out. We have a state mall now; a place to peaceably assemble. I'm impressed.


courtesy of ecafsub on reddit

Here in Texas we just complete phase 1 of the Texas Stage Capitol Complex Master Plan, with three blocks of underground parking, new office structures, and a capitol mall on Congress Avenue north of the Capitol Building and ground proper. This follows a massive renovation and expansion of the State Capitol Building in the 1990s which expanded the structure underground for legislative offices.

https://austin.towers.net/downtown-a...dbOqc8XUcd7aSk

Phase 2 will extend the parking, mall, and have two new office buildings:

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Texas Facilities Commission Capitol Complex Phase II

The entire master plan has a dedicated website here:

https://www.tfc-ccp.org/

——————

What about your Capitol Building, Grounds, Malls, Complexes, and their surrounding neighborhood?

[sopas ej]

Here's my state's Capitol building from Google Streetview. Spin the camera around and see the streetscape: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.5769...4!8i8192?hl=en

I always liked the Capitol's park behind the building, too: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.5760...!3m1!1e3?hl=en

I think that's where Squeaky Fromme tried to assassinate President Ford.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Here's my state's Capitol building from Google Streetview. Spin the camera around and see the streetscape: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.5769...4!8i8192?hl=en

I always liked the Capitol's park behind the building, too: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.5760...!3m1!1e3?hl=en

I think that's where Squeaky Fromme tried to assassinate President Ford.

I used to live on N and 16th! A really nice park with great views of downtown.
My pic:

[JManc]

Total Capitol building nerd here. Drove out to Sacramento recently just to visit our state capitol. Been to about 40 of them now.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by JManc

Total Capitol building nerd here. Drove out to Sacramento recently just to visit our state capitol. Been to about 40 of them now.

Which haven’t you been to?

And what, in your educated opinion, are the best ten experiences overall?

[JManc]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Which haven’t you been to?

And what, in your educated opinion, are the best ten experiences overall?

Never been to Alaska (too far from Anchorage), the Dakotas, MT, ID, WA, OR, MN, MI, NE and IL.

TX, NY, CT, LA, CA, GA, AL, RI, VT and AR stood out to me. HI and NM are pretty unique though. VA and OH not so much.

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

And what, in your educated opinion, are the best ten experiences overall?

Now this is really what the thread is about, right?

I believe the general consensus is that Connecticut and Iowa have the best, followed by Texas. I personally put Rhode Island's about on par with Texas'. Hawaii gets real points for beautifully using native styles. New York's looks like a cool superhero villain's mansion.

On the other hand, I think Mass' gold dome is striking, but the wings don't match the main structure and overall the capitol gets a bit lost in the Beacon Hill skyline. Something about the Michigan capitol's proportions look unsettling to me, both North and South Carolina's domes are too small, and I don't know what that thing is on top of the Ohio capitol - but it's not my cup of tea.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by JManc

Never been to Alaska (too far from Anchorage), the Dakotas, MT, ID, WA, OR, MN, MI, NE and IL.

Washington's state capitol is nice, but Oregon's is quite odd. Especially inside.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Shawn

Now this is really what the thread is about, right?

I believe the general consensus is that Connecticut and Iowa have the best, followed by Texas. I personally put Rhode Island's about on par with Texas'. Hawaii gets real points for beautifully using native styles. New York's looks like a cool superhero villain's mansion.

On the other hand, I think Mass' gold dome is striking, but the wings don't match the main structure and overall the capitol gets a bit lost in the Beacon Hill skyline. Something about the Michigan capitol's proportions look unsettling to me, both North and South Carolina's domes are too small, and I don't know what that thing is on top of the Ohio capitol - but it's not my cup of tea.

No, when I posted I genuinely was after more detailed local impressions and history, not just of the structures themselves (which we hear plenty about) but also the grounds, malls, and complexes — and perhaps loads of lovely photos as well.

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

No, when I posted I genuinely was after more detailed local impressions and history, not just of the structures themselves (which we hear plenty about) but also the grounds, malls, and complexes — and perhaps loads of lovely photos as well.

Sorry, I was being a smartass.

Connecticut's capitol is gorgeous, and it sits inside Bushnell Park, which is an Olmsted and has the cool Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch.


Wikipedia


source


source

[Comrade]

Utah's capitol actually sits north of downtown on a hill (affectionately known as Capitol Hill) and is located in the middle of a residential neighborhood:







They're in the process of redeveloping the complex to the north - including rebuilding the north building:



This is the building they're demolishing (I kinda always liked it):

[tdawg]

That mall in Austin looks great. I remember being blown away by how beautiful the TX Capitol is, I think because of the pink marble. We have this thing in Albany (care of the State Capitol website):

[EastSideHBG]

I've been to many Capitols and Harrisburg's is still one of my favorites and the building and grounds are beautiful. One of my least favorites was Arizona's which was unfortunate, as I enjoy Phoenix otherwise.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by TWAK

I used to live on N and 16th! A really nice park with great views of downtown.

Cool! It's been a while since I've been to Sacramento, I actually don't remember the exact year. I've been through it on the freeway fairly regularly though, visiting my sister who lives in Chico.

Originally Posted by wwmiv

No, when I posted I genuinely was after more detailed local impressions and history, not just of the structures themselves (which we hear plenty about) but also the grounds, malls, and complexes — and perhaps loads of lovely photos as well.

I know, I was being lazy when I posted those Google Map links.

I like looking at historical photos of now-historical buildings, to see the context of what the area looked like when the building was newer. I found this for California's capitol, what it looked like in the 1870s (construction of the building was started in 1860 and completed in 1874:

tclf.org

The capitol in 1890. Looks like the streets were still unpaved.

Wikipedia

Here's an overview of the capitol where you can see the added annex and State Capitol Park:

glumac.com


Wikipedia

Inside the rotunda.

buyoya.com

Obviously as the state grew, its government also had to grow, and the capitol started to lack space. Construction of the annex began in 1949 and was completed in 1952.

dgs.ca.gov

Here's another view of the annex; from this angle, it looks kind of awkward in proportion to the original capitol building:

sactownmag.com

I did not know that there's a controversial plan to demolish the current annex and build a much larger one. It's controversial because it will destroy a large part of the State Capitol Park. Not only do they want to create a much larger annex, but they also want to build an underground visitor center. Does anyone know if this has already started?

Some renderings:

tclf.org/Courtesy Dick Cowan - Cowan Construction Services


tclf.org/Courtesy Dick Cowan - Cowan Construction Services

I also did not know that there are plans to makeover the Capitol Mall. It did always seem sleepy to me and underutilized: https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramen...-makeover.html

[AviationGuy]

I provided data for a hearing at the California state capitol several decades ago. The building itself was very nice, but what I remember most was the trees.

[craigs]

The plan to demolish and replace the California state capitol annex is still on, but will be delayed as it requires extensive environmental review.

[dc_denizen]

wow CTs capital is incredible

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

I've been to many Capitols and Harrisburg's is still one of my favorites and the building and grounds are beautiful

yeah, I have always been a fan of the Pennsylvania Capitol Complex.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Arizona's original capitol building is fine. It's now a museum and the nine story executive tower behind it as well as the surface parking lot west of the executive tower are abominations, and I typically like brutalist architecture...

Ohio's capitol is strange looking from the outside (did they forget to complete a dome!?) but I visited it for the first time ever last year and developed a newfound appreciation for the rotunda.

Alaska's capitol is kind of nondescript but it's got some subtle art deco flourishes and Juneau is a neat little city.

[ChiSoxRox]

The majesty of the Iowa State Capitol:



With lovely prairie flower beds:


And a stunning law library:


Although, while Des Moines itself has a good skyline for a city of its size, the capitol is a mile to the east, across a river and amidst residential areas.