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.