So after a wonderful trip to Niagara and standing underneath the falls, we had to move to a quiet town – Harrisburg. We started at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course. We started there because we had to leave the Niagara Hartland Campgrounds because it was too expensive. So off to another casino. We are going to be on some list where all the casinos see us coming. However, if you can save money, this is the place to be. In fact, if you want to go to Hershey and have a camper, just park at this casino for free. That will save you a lot of money for sure. You can see from below how large one of the parking lots was with only our RV in it and how empty it was. Of course, we had to visit inside the casino so they didn’t think we were freeloading. lol.
After our 4 night stay there, we moved to the Hershey Park RV Park but could only stay there two nights because there was no Wifi.
So while we were there, we visited the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Mike had not been here for over 30 years he mentioned and got a new appreciation. We felt this was the most beautiful Capitol and the tour guide told us that they were #2 in the country on the best Capitols. “It is also a priceless architectural and artistic treasure, a majestic symbol of history and power, and an icon of democracy and freedom.” President Theodore Roosevelt attended the dedication of the building on October 4, 1906 which was 224 years after William Penn found Pennsylvania and 119 years after it became a state in 1787. Of course there were other Capitols before this one which were ruined by fire and/or were never finished. You can only see this Capitol on a tour. You are not allowed to do a self-tour.
One interesting note about the building of this Capitol was that $4 million of the building’s original cost went to pay inflated prices for furnishings due to a bizarre bidding scheme that had the state pay for furniture by the pound or by the foot. When this was exposed, it created a huge scandal in 1906, the year the building was dedicated. In all, 14 people were indicted and six were eventually convicted — including Capitol architect Joseph Huston.
Side view of “Labor and Love/The Unbroken Law”
“The statues, which had seriously deteriorated, were restored to their original grandeur during the Capitol preservation project and are now better protected against the elements.” What was interesting about these statues was that the women’s bust was fully exposed but the men’s genitals were in pockets.
The Senate Chamber in this Capitol is awesome. The desks are constructed of mahogany and imported from Belize and are original from the 1906 opening. The murals in the Senate Chamber and throughout were done by Violet Oakley, who was the first American woman to receive a public mural commission. She did a total of 43 murals which are also in the Supreme Courtroom and the Governors Grand Reception Room.
There are 10 stained glass windows in the Senate Chamber which were created by Philadelphia native William B. Van Ingen, who had been a student of Louis C. Tiffany. Each are framed in 24-karat gold left embellishments.
We then went to the Supreme Court, which also had some great work in it.
Then off to the House of Representatives.
After the Capitol, we found some great Murals. As we have travelled, we are finding many cities were have established funding for murals so that their cities can be improved. We are also finding fellow muralists like us taking pictures of the murals. In Harrisburg, Sprocket Mural Works is a mural project throughout Harrisburg working with neighborhoods, artists, and governmental agencies to create vibrant public murals that tell the stories of our Capital City’s community, culture, and history one wall at a time. The mission of Sprocket Mural Works, according to founders Megan Caruso and Jeff Copus, is to increase community pride and civic engagement in Harrisburg through united creative action.
Also Harrisburg liked to paint their electrical boxes on the side of the road. Nothing like sprucing up everything.
So another great visit to a Capitol and viewing Murals. We were not able to go to Hershey Park so we will have to put that on our bucket list for next time.
