Iowa – Des Moines / Iowa Capitol (Jun 2019)

cimino.adventures@gmail.com0

On our way to the Capitol. We had to chuckle about this.

All strapped in.

The Iowa State Capitol with a gold gilded dome.

House of Representatives. This room was refurbish after a major fire on this side of the Capitol in 1904. Everything was rebuilt.
Pulled this picture from the internet. An exterior view of the northwest side of the Capitol shows the fire in the House of Representatives Chamber on January 4, 1904. Both the House Chamber and committee rooms were badly damaged. The blaze, apparently caused by a workman’s candle left burning, caused an estimated $400,000 to $500,000 in damages.
Newer chandeliers. Replacement after the fire and weighs approximately 500 pounds
This is the original chandelier that originally was gas and converted to electric in 1905. Weights approximately 300 pounds.

We were also given a special Dome tour by Lawrence. Lawrence was nice enough to give us a personal tour of the dome since all tours were finished. We were grateful. They did tell us beforehand that it would be a tough walk upstairs but we were ready.

When you reach the top you get to see all the details. This picture does not capture that a flag and everything is laying across wires. You have to get a special tour by a Legislator to go all the way up there. In fact there were 4 bulbs burnt out but the guy who replaces them was on vacation. They are replaced from the other side by laying across the dome (carefully).

This wrapped up another visit to a great Capitol.

Leave a Reply