Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Exploring the South Dakota Capitol Building

South Dakota has a spectacular capitol building located in Pierre. We have traveled through many states and have seen some wonderful (and not so impressive as well) capitols, and South Dakota's ranks near the top of any of them. Completed in 1910 and restored in 1989, the building offers an insight into the excitement of the new state.

The entrance is beautifully landscaped and provide a great view as you walk toward the door.

The Capitol also houses the Supreme Court and this happens to be the earlierst written decision that remains. Interestingly, this decision deals with Jack McCall -- who murdered Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood, SD. The decision affirms the conviction and execution sentence of McCall. Real history in action!

The interior of the building is stunning! Here, Orinda shows the marble staircase where state law makes have traveled for over 100 years.

One interesting item is the legend of the blue tile -- like this one! The floors are made of a special, hand-laid tile that was installed by some 66 workers. Each work was apparently given a special blue tile as their signature piece and they installed it where they wanted. We found several of these as we walked through the capitol and thought of the great work they did.

This is quite an entrance. You can just see Orinda on the right side and can get an idea of the large scale of the stairs and entrance.

The dome is amazing. Rising 161', the dome is the focus of the entire capitol grounds. This is a great stop in Pierre and in the state of South Dakota!

1 comment:

squawmama said...

What a beautiful Capital. We try to visit as many Capitals as we can but we sure did miss this one. Hopefully we'll get back there one day.

Have Fun & Travel Safe
Donna