The Capital Building

The weather was slightly cool but very sunny which was nice since we had to wait outside until our complete group arrived and our tour guide was ready. This area has so much history. The Grace United Methodist church, which is some 400 feet from the capital stairs, was used by the State Legislature from 1897-1899 when the original Capital building burned down. Within sight of the capital is St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Old Brick Capital, the Obelisk, the Old Capital building and much more.

The Capital Building is listed as one of the top 3 most beautiful capital buildings in the world and once inside you can see why. The marble, murals, gold leaf and stained glass show that its architecture was inspired by St. Peters Besilica in Rome. The first thing I noticed was the floor in the Rotunda and the halls heading east and west which were made up entirely of 2" x 2" tiles. These showed Pennsylvanians history, symbols, insects and animals. Of course, the focal point of the entire structure is the green glazed terra-cotta tile dome, some 272 feet above our heads and weighing 52 million pounds.

Each room we entered was created in a specific design such as Italian in the House Chamber, French in the Senate Chamber, English in the Governors Reception Room and so on. Joseph Huston, the architect, envisioned the building as a "Palace of Art" and that is exactly how I would describe it.