This is the view from the visitors parking lot, of the state capital of Iowa, located in Des Moines. It is the back side of the building where all the visitors enter. The security is compared to an airport, except you can leave your shoes on. The dome of this capital is covered with a thin layer of gold leaf and absolutely beautiful-it is redone approximately every 50 years and the cost of the labor is much greater that the cost of the gold.
At the level that we entered was a display of replicas of all of the first ladies inaugural ball dresses. The first lady that started this display, had porcelain faces made and she had them all made in her likeness. Above the display is 1 of the worlds largest reproduction photograph that was taken in 1891.
Here we are (again) in the old supreme court of Iowa-the court is now across the street in a new building.
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| One of the beautiful painting in the capital building |
I took this photo from the floor beneath. These murals are made of small pieces of colored glass-when we walked up to look at them, the tour guide encouraged us to touch. The feel was really ruff-
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| Senate |
These chandeliers originally were powered by gas, when electricity became stable they were all updated.
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| Again the glass murals from the same floor they are displayed on. |
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| This is me at the very top of the dome of the capital-approximately 265' from the first floor. The last 2 flights are in a spiral staircase-room for only 1 person to go up, approx 140 steps up and then down. |
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| At the very top of these pictures is where I was standing. |
Spiral stairs to the four upper levels of law books.
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| The law library was very impressive and we spent about 45 minutes with the head librarian. This library is a must see-absolutely awesome. |
This is the main entrance to the capital-again an amazing place to visit.
After our visit to the capital we went to Des Moines Art Center where we saw a Picasso and Monet paintings- 1 more thing off my bucket list.
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