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.