State Capitols – Austin, Texas – Inside

Let’s take a break from plague-related stories and finish what was introduced on February 28, when the Texas capitol and grounds were presented.

The Texas State House is another fine example of the design, materials and craftsmanship that flourished in the post-Civil War period. I was fortunate to have been bitten by the capitol bug at a time shortly after many states put significant resources into restoring their capitols to their former grandeur.

Rotunda, Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008) 

By now, you know I try to take a balanced, symmetrical shot straight up from under the rotunda. The lighting in this cavernous space did not work for my hand-held camera. Here’s a good image of the inner dome on the Wiki page. The Lone Star at the center measures eight feet from point to point and was added in 1958.

Ground Floor Under the Rotunda, 

Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008)

The terrazzo floor beneath the rotunda features the seals of the nations that have governed Texas since European colonization began in 1519. We East Coast types have a much shorter list…British colonization followed by the United States. Period. Texas was under the flags of Spain, France, Mexico, the Confederacy, and finally, the United States. As the photo confirms, the biggest deal in the hearts and minds of Texans was the nine-year period when it was an independent republic, 1836-45.

Under the Texas Dome, 

Austin (19 June 2008) 

Above the terrazzo, Six Nations floor, the rotunda rises up to the Lone Star, 218 feet overhead.

Along the walkways on three levels above are hung the portraits of the forty-eight governors of Texas, the most recent on the first level. The fourth floor portraits include the presidents of the Republic of Texas with Sam Houston being the first.

Statue of Steven F. Austin by Elisabet Ney (1903) 

Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008) 

Accomplished artist Elisabet Ney moved to Texas from Germany and was commissioned to create statues of Texas founders Sam Houston and Steven F. Austin for the capitol. Houston led the revolution of independence from Mexico and was the republic’s first president. Austin is considered the “Father of Texas” because he was instrumental in the early settlement of the area. Marble copies of the same works are the two Texas contributions to the National Statuary Hall collection in Washington, D.C.

A Mass of Lines and Shapes 

Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008) 

Another image I thought improved as a monochrome.

By the time the 1983 fire damaged the capitol, it held three times as many workers as it was designed for. From that point on, a number of major renovations over the next dozen years restored the 1888-1915 appearance, modernized its infrastructure and added a significant extension of work space…all underground so as not to spoil the views of the capitol.

Texas House of Representatives, Austin (19 June 2008) 

The largest room in the building is the House chamber. The 150 representatives sit at original oak desks with a gallery above them on all sides. On this day a group of lucky school kids were sitting at representatives’ desks getting the kind of civics lesson I wish I had at their age.

Texas Senate (19 June 2008) 

The lieutenant governor presides over the Senate and its 31 members. As with the House chamber, the Senate has been restored to its turn-of-the-century appearance. The walnut desks are original and the room has a grand wrap-around gallery. The chamber is also known as the place for art, as the walls hold some of the oldest and most grandiose paintings in the building.

Detail of ‘Dawn at the Alamo’ by Henry Arthur McArdle (1905) 

Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008) 

Born the year Texas gained independence, the artist in the last few years of his life re-painted this monumental work (8 x 13 feet) that hangs on the back wall of the Senate chamber. The fire that destroyed the old capitol in 1881 also torched his earlier work. It is a vast panorama of the last day of resistance by the Alamo’s valiant defenders, with various heroes included in the depiction. This portion of the painting is where Davy Crockett is left to swing his empty rifle before he meets his maker. I couldn’t help but notice the Mexican soldiers are shown with villainous looks and are way darker-complected than most Mexicans I know.

Door Hinges, Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008) 

Have to hand it to Texas. When they build a capitol, they go all the way. I didn’t know custom fixtures included these beautiful door hinges. Since most doors are closed, I might never have. Now I wish I had removed that annoying thread that was caught in the works.

The Texas State Preservation Board has a terrific web site with many photographs of the capitol’s interior. If you wish to see many of the grand spaces displayed as 360° controllable, panoramic images, go to this page.