TOPEKA, KANSAS

Our Traveling Friends took a tour of the state capitol building on Jan. 28, 2000. It snowed lightly all day, and was a  good day to tour near home.

Our special guide was Dr. Robert Harder, who spent the past 40 years in these Halls of Influence. He was a state representative, 1961-65, and was Secretary of the Dept. of Social and Rehabilitation Services, 1969-1987.

ROUTONDA The rotunda is 5 floors and the interior glass dome. The outside copper dome is a few feet higher than the dome on our nation's capitol. Left photo shows the spiral staircase leading to the newly re-opened observation deck at the top. I climbed it once—296 steps—as a brownie scout and once again during my college years. The view is impressive.

						MURALS On the 2nd floor are by Kansas native son, John Steuart Curry. John Brown's portrait is his most famous work.
HOUSE CHAMBER 125 reps. The chair second from the right in the back row was Dr. Harder's, 1961-65.

UNRESTORED SENATE CHAMBER				Senate light  fixtures are lowered and raised at the touch of a switch.
For newly restored Senate Chambers [See below]
Senate ceiling murals, inspired by the European Reaissance, have now been removed. [see below] The columns are bronze. Pink marble is Italian Carrara. Tan marble is from Tennessee. Onyx is from Mexico. The round glass windows, imported from France, were also removed.					Chamber seats 40. It is a froth of metal, plaster, wood and light. Desks are from Kansas wild cherry wood.  The Senate Chambers were first used in 1885,

RENOVATED SENATE CHAMBERS Interior renovation was completed for the beginning of the 2006 legislative session. Extensive exterior building restoration is also underway.

Glass floorsin the State Library made stacks brighter before electricity. Kansas logos decorate newelposts. The cage elevator, installed in 1925, was the first in the building. It is one of the few hand-operated elevators still in use.

Take a Virtual Tour of the Kansas capitol building

Read more about Capitol renovation and "improvement"
Capital-Journal newspaper coverage   See also Rising costs

Ad Astra sculpture graces Capitol dome

Capitol dome tours reopen in 2006   See also Tiptop View

Bob Keith relaxed under a portrait of Charles Menninger, father of Dr. Karl, at the  Heritage House Restaurant. The building was once tthe Menniger Psychiatric Clinic -- before it moved north to the river. G.A.R. memorabilia decorated the lobby of the rennovated  G.A.R. building. Originally dedicated by Wm. Howard Taft in 1914, this building was rededicated on Fri., Jan. 28, 2000, and is the new home of the Kansas Secretary of State.,

We also visited the Kansas History Center, northwest of Topeka
near the site of an old Indian Mission. January 29th is Kansas Day
(Kansas became a state on Jan. 29, 1861). In celebration, many school children were at the museum  on Fri., Jan. 28--receiving living history lessons from dedicated staff and volunteers.