State Capitols – Atlanta, Georgia - Inside

The second visit to the Georgia capitol allowed for a more detailed walkabout during a time when the legislature was not in session.

The City of Atlanta showed how much it wanted the state capitol by donating the high ground acreage occupied by its own City Hall. The five-year construction project was budgeted at an even one million dollars. When completed, a balance of $118.43 was returned to the treasury. Well played.

Right Place, Wrong Time, Georgia Capitol, Atlanta (17 October 2008)

Under the heading of “You pays your money and you takes 

your chances,” capitol visits can happen when major

 renovations are under way. Fortunately, the other side of 

the building was clear of scaffolding and caution tape.

Georgia Capitol, Atlanta (17 October 2008)

I was glad that there are two sides to the atrium

space and two grand staircases to appreciate.

The layout of the Georgia capitol is such that the legislative chambers do not occupy the wings of the building. They are positioned front (House of Representatives facing west) and rear (Senate facing east).

Statue of Benjamin Harvey Hill [1886],

Georgia Capitol, Atlanta (5 September 2006)

Originally erected in a public park, the statue commemorating the Confederate legislator and spokesperson for the traitor president Jefferson Davis was moved inside the capitol in 1890, making it the first major sculpture in the building. I find it interesting that many Confederate depictions are expressed so seriously. Every image I have seen of John C. Calhoun, for example…painting, statue or photograph, makes it look like his face would break if he didn’t glower. I guess one has to look menacing when your entire society is founded on subjugating other people.

Bust of James Oglethorpe, Georgia Capitol, Atlanta (17 October 2008)

The founder of the Georgia Colony is memorialized inside the capitol. England wanted to settle the area between the Carolina’s and Florida to blunt the threat from the Spanish colony to the south.

Rotunda, Georgia Capitol, Atlanta (17 October 2008)

The rotunda lacks the kind of ornamentation we see in other capitols. The budget noted earlier that came in with no deficits had no appropriations for art work or decorations.

Georgia House of Representatives (17 October 2008)

[Image made from 18 separate photos]

The House has 180 members who are elected to two-year terms and the Senate has 56 members also elected to two-year terms.

Decorative Details, Georgia House of Representatives

(17 October 2008)

In 1993, the Senate and House chambers were renovated and restored to their 1889 elegance. That process included analyzing the original stencil patterns and paint colors which were often under layers of subsequent painting. The House restoration used forty-eight different colors on the walls and ceiling and the Senate required twenty-six different colors.

Georgia Senate (17 October 2008)

During the 1993 renovation, the original cherry wood desks in the House and oak desks in the senate were upgraded to include full electronic data, audio and voting capabilities.

Sorry to close this way. State houses are beautiful places…showcases of history, materials and craftsmanship. In that idealized fiction they fed us in elementary school, this is where DEMOCRACY happens in ways that separate the Exceptional U. S. of A. from all those other inferior countries. Yet, even in this modern advanced age, we find our elected representatives acting against democracy…suppressing voting rights so the nation goes backward to being one “Of the (right) people, by the (rich) people and for the (White) people.”

It’s not supposed to be that way.

Since it doesn’t look like I will be King any time soon, I hope the people of Georgia and every other state that codifies voter suppression, recognize how wrong that is and vote the scoundrels out.

State Capitols – Atlanta, Georgia - Outside

Georgia Capitol in Atlanta (5 September 2006)

Constructed: 1884-1889

Architects: Frank B. Burnham & Willoughby J. Edbrooke

State Admitted to Union: January 2, 1788 (4th)

State Population (2010): 9,687,653 (9th)

Gotta love how the Republicans are bending over backwards to call the left ‘hypocrites’ because the voter suppression law they rushed to pass and sign behind closed doors was really about increasing voter access. Who knew? I guess if you’re going to act on the ‘Big Lie’, you might as well keep lying. Anyway, with that state in the news constantly, I bring you images from where it all happened.

While the Spaniard DeSoto explored the area in the 1530’s and the French briefly attempted to colonize what is now Parris Island in 1562, it was the British who finally established a permanent colony. First settled in 1733, the tract was named for the monarch at the time, George II, and Savannah was its first capitol. Initially, slavery was forbidden but that pesky restriction was jettisoned by 1749. I guess the economic competition from the surrounding colonies was too strong.

As settlement and growth moved inland from Savannah, so did the seat of government. Atlanta has been the capital since 1868. Milledgeville was the capital from 1807 and Augusta and Louisville served briefly before then.

Wet Segway Tour at the Jimmy Carter Statue

Georgia Capitol, Atlanta (17 October 2008)

The classic Renaissance/Victorian building has long been on the National Landmark and Historic Places lists. I’ve been there twice. The first visit happened before state houses became an ‘odyssey’ and the second occurred during a steady rain. However, the elements did not prevent this group of two-wheel tourists from their appointed rounds.

Many of the memorials on the capitol grounds honor controversial figures in Georgia history. The photo at the top includes a prominent equestrian statue of General John Brown Gordon. Erected in 1907, when folks were getting uppity and needed to be reminded who was in charge, it honors the Civil War general, slave owner and Klan leader who was elected the state’s 53rd governor. Last year, forty-four descendants of Gordon sent an open letter to Governor Kemp urging removal of the statue from the capitol grounds as it continues to glorify the Confederacy and white supremacy. Not gonna happen.

Statue of Richard Russell [1975]

Georgia Capitol, Atlanta (5 September 2006)

The former governor was a force in the U.S. Senate. 

He was there for over 38 years and that seniority 

allowed him to chair vital committees. For years, he was the 

leader of Southern resistance to civil rights legislation.

On the other hand, this honored Georgian’s statue actually was relocated. Thomas Edward Watson was a politician and newspaper editor who came to prominence in the late 19th century as a champion of the poor farmer. He was against lynching and for African-American voting rights. He was William Jennings Bryan’s VP candidate for the Populist Party in 1896. He was quite the lefty at the time, calling for poor Blacks and Whites to unite against the powerful elites.

Statue of Thomas Watson [1932],

Georgia Capitol, Atlanta (5 September 2006)

By the time he died in 1922, his views had darkened as he embraced White supremacy and anti-Semitism. It is said his writings fired up the lynch mob that strung up Leo Frank in 1915…just the kind of qualities that get you a monument on the capitol grounds. As the statue base notes, “A champion of right who never faltered in the cause.”

Anyway, in 2013, a renovation project on that side of the capitol required the statue to be moved and the official excuse for keeping it off the capitol grounds was to save money. The Anti-Defamation League approved while the Sons of Confederate Veterans complained about re-writing history. I guess the Sons were fine with the White supremacy and anti-Semitism though.

Statue of Jimmy Carter [1992], 

Georgia Capitol, Atlanta (5 September 2006)

Although the liberal Democrat may no longer be the model Georgia politician in these times, the state has recognized its only president…even if the top line identifies “The Horrible Jimmy Carter” (Kidding. Just kidding). The one-term governor succeeded segregationist Lester Maddox and went on to become a one-term president.

The bright golden copula distinguishes the landmark and can be seen from far and wide. The original dome was covered in tin. During the 1957 capitol renovation, it was decided it should be gilded. What better source for the precious metal than the Georgia counties that were the site of America’s second gold rush. Capitol literature call the 1828 discovery the nation’s first, but that ignores the Carolina gold rush of 1799.

Prospectors streamed into what was then known as the Cherokee Nation to do what we always do when we lust for riches. The decade that followed was marked by the forced removal of the Native Americans to lands west of the Mississippi River.

The 42 ounces of gold leaf lasted only 19 years since it was unwisely applied during cold weather. A second full gilding was completed in 1981 and now repairs to the dome are done as any damage is noticed. The Georgia capitol is one of eleven state capitols with golden domes. The others are in Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Statue of Liberty Replica [1951],

Georgia Capitol, Atlanta (5 September 2006)

During those years right after WW II when the idea of Communism made us all nuts and we were adding God’s name to the Pledge of Allegiance and our money, the Boy Scouts of America donated replicas of the Statue of Liberty to boost our patriotic impulses. The ‘Strengthen the Arm of Liberty’ campaign produced 200 stamped copper reproductions that can still be found across the nation.

There will be a second post to showcase the grand interior of the capitol.

Ballparks - # 17 - Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City

Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

(from Google Images)

8/1/98

In 1998, on the weekend of my birthday, we visited Kansas City. Southwest Airlines had bargain fare deals and our Orioles were going to play the Royals. It would be a great chance to savor a good steak dinner, check out the famous jazz quarter where all the greats played, visit the Negro League Baseball Museum and see the O’s lose.

In 1969, the Kansas City Royals became one of four expansion teams added to the Majors along with teams in San Diego, Montreal and Seattle. The city had a team for a while. Before they moved to Oakland, the Athletics played in Kansas City from 1955 to 1967.

The town appears to have a superiority complex as it was also the home for the NBA (now Sacramento) Kings, the old Negro League Monarchs and the current NFL Chiefs.

The team is another of those small market, low budget organizations that can’t collect high-priced stars. Despite that, they’ve managed to make it to four World Series and have won it all twice…in 1985 and 2015.

The thirty year stretch between when Dodger Stadium was completed in 1962 and the latest White Sox field was done in Chicago was the (not so) golden age of symmetrical, boring, plastic, multi-purpose stadia. The venues offered parking, better views than being stuck behind support beams and the fake grass stood up to the wear and tear of football. That said, Kaufman Stadium was the only new park constructed in that period that was exclusively for baseball…and they had the good sense to toss the Astro-turf and plant real grass there in 1994.

Away from downtown at the junction of two interstates, it is part of the Truman Sports Complex with Arrowhead Stadium where the Chiefs play next door. No corporate name here. Ewing Kauffman was a pharmaceutical entrepreneur and the first owner of the team. Originally called Royals Stadium, it took the name of the popular owner in 1993.

View From our Seats, Kauffman Stadium (1 August 1998)

We sat in the lower grandstand…down the third base line.

No protective netting in those daring old days.

The seating capacity is a modest 40,000. Among the milestones that occurred here are the first of Nolan Ryan’s record seven no-hit games in 1973 and Hall of Famer Pail Molitor’s 3,000th hit in 1996.

The August 1 link at the top will take you to the box score and anything else you might want to know about that game. As expected, my O’s took it on the chin again, losing 9-5. It was fortunate they scored five runs since they managed just five hits all night. The visiting team lineup included future Hall of Famer, Cal Ripkin and otherwise would-be HOF but lying steroid juicer and disgraced (but Sweet-Swinging lefty) Rafael Palmeiro.

Center Field, Kauffman Stadium (1 August 1998)

A charming feature – instead of seating beyond the outfield

fence, there is a 322-foot-long fountain and water display.

The dark walls and absence of people gives this

park the best visibility for batters to track incoming pitches.

I brought the camera to the stadium to essentially document that we were there, not to search out interesting images of the place itself. The pictures are scant but at least document another ballpark on this Quest.

That trip will always be remembered for the visit to the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum which included Harry’s grave. The Dead President Quest began that day.