Cool I should check it out sometime

I love our State House, the marble is gorgeous!

Had the opportunity to spend a week on the capitol campus in middle school working as a legislative page. That was quite a fun experience - got to work on the Senate floor, run messages between offices, ended up broadcast on TVW at one point.

Fun facts I've heard from there:

One of the tour guides told me that sometimes they have brass ensembles come in and play back and forth across the rotunda from the different levels - that must be quite a thing to hear!

Apparently the central chandelier there is large enough to enclose a VW bug, and when the 2001 earthquake hit it didn't stop swinging for days.

The dome is the largest self-supporting masonry dome in the USA, and the light at the very top of the building is the southernmost navigational light on Puget Sound.

I actually met governor Locke there once while singing with my high school chamber choir way back in the 90s (we were on our way back to school from a performance and decided to stop by and take advantage of the acoustics). The Governor heard us and came out of his office to meet us, then invited us back into his office briefly for a photo op which ended up in the school news lol.

I’ve also helped produce the AV for several inaugural balls held there, for governors Locke, Gregoire and Inslee, and ran the jib camera for a couple of them 😁 It’s a beautiful campus.

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What a beautiful building where such terrible policy is made....

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Came here to say this. Glad they feel fancy while they kill much needed bills we've been fighting for

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Imagine the bland Modernist crap they would build today

Literally every bill introduced is “much needed” to someone. There were over 1000 bills introduced in JUST the House this session. It’s impossible to get through them all in the 8 weeks before chamber of origin cutoff, and at the end of the day the majority party (and the speaker herself) decide what bills get through Rules and out to the floor. Even on the historic resurrection of the police pursuits bill in the Senate this week could only happen with the majority caucus being on board.

Oh so this is where they conspire to take away our rights. Cool, I'm glad they have somewhere so nice.

One of the best states in the union. What are you crying about? Vaccine mandates?

I did not know these things, but will definitely share them. Thank you!

No.

Why is the seal on the floor roped off?

Neat!

Because it’s been worn down from people walking on it. https://i.imgur.com/qJKOqBp.jpg

To keep people from accidentally damaging it by walking across it. It's made of bronze, which is fairly soft, so it wouldn't stand up to foot traffic. There's a bust of George Washington on one side of the rotunda that is rumored to grant good luck to those who rub his nose, and as a result his nose is much shinier than the rest of him because the patina wears off from everyone touching it.

Similar to an Abe Lincoln in the Illinois capitol and another at his grave.

I walked to the top of the dome as part of a tour before the earthquake. Lots of stairs but it was incredible and the view of Olympia was pretty good too. If I remember correctly there was only room for 4-6 people at a time in the outside area. The stairs were accessed from the second floor and they hugged the edge of the outer dome.

I've got to wonder how that tradition started - seems like there must have been a common thread.

Cool! Do you know if they still do that? I got to climb up to the top of the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and the view from up there is similarly amazing.

Ohh that's the place where they've been passing unconditional legislation!

I was there as a kid not old enough to appreciate it - so beautiful

Multiple people have already posted similarly vague comments intended to be insulting.

I'd say passive-aggressive if anything, but luckily, I have the right to speak my mind.

Are you all struggling with this year’s legislation to establish a state dinosaur, too?

Is there a specific thing you’re talking about? Or just a general statement?

That’s true, you do.

That sounds incredible! I believe that the dome has been closed since the Nisqually earthquake. Too many cracks etc.

My kids went to Centennial elementary school with Gary Locke’s kids. Mona would show up at the school to pick up their kids with her State Patrol entourage. I waited in the hall for kids on many occasions. My daughter had one of the Locke kids in her class and they went to the capital to plant a tree in honor of the third one.

I've always thought the marble was super tacky and overly gaudy.

I'm NOT saying public buildings should be bland. IMO, public works should be beautiful yet also feel accessible to the common person. I also understand that's an impossible goal based on the subjectivity of beauty.

The marble looks great in a vacuum, but it's association with upper class wealth is a poor choice for government buildings. At least in my layman's design philosophy.

The building is still super impressive. Cool pic!

No people love stuff like that so it enjoys widespread bipartisan support.

It's all Washington stone - it's of this place.

I don't disagree with the aethetics but it's a narrow view.

This is a few years old but has great info, including views from the top of the dome that is not longer accessible.

https://www.tvw.org/watch/?clientID=9375922947&eventID=2020111058

Thank you!

Ohh that's an interesting tidbit, thanks!

Idk how much it changes my thoughts about highly ornate design elements on public buildings though.

Not sure what narrow means here, but I do understand it's not the materials fault for being naturally intricate and that my feelings are a symptom of my experiences and environment.

I wouldn't advocate for a redesign.

It’s been a while since I was down in Olympia (live on the east coast now) but I had to go and do a day of meeting with reps and try to advocate for the passing of legislation related to my profession while in grad school.

I seem to recall the guide that gave me an informal tour telling me that the only gold in the building (not being worn on people) was woven into a few state flags that were gifted from France. It could be a lie and I never sought to fact check, but it always stood out to me. It’s something I strangely think about to this day!

It was my first and only time in the capital, but there is some lovely architecture in Olympia!

When they get music in there us is quite impressive. Brass or chorale, it tends to be beautiful sounding.

But no fun to walk on for hours on end.

I bet!

I went there too! For a year, anyway. I had just moved to Oly from Shelton and went there for a year before going to Washington Middle School.

Both

I miss having him as Governor. My parents were die hard Republicans, but even they voted for him.

Beautiful building.

Too bad HB1240 violates section 24 of the WA constitution and is being rammed through anyways.

Ok. Cool.

As an orchestra kid in Olympia, I ended up playing in the rotunda a couple times and always hated it. The echoes were brutal and always threw off the cellos and first violins. Made us sound so sloppy!

The space is awesome though if you aren’t holding a Viola.

Where freedom goes to die.

This is where freedom goes? And then it dies there? Where was it before it went inside a building to die?

I bet!

Do you mean all the marble is from Washington? That’s not correct, we were just there and did the 3 hour tour. Almost all the different areas are made from marble from different areas. Some from Alaska, some from France and Greece I think it’s from all over the world. And they have like 489 Tiffany lamps from the Tiffany lamp company that went out of business in the Great Depression. The finished the capital building in 1928 I think, a year before the depression, otherwise they would never have been able to build it as grandly as it is.

Biggest waste of fucking money imaginable. Full of self important losers drunk on power. I'll never understand why people think this shit is impressive.

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Cool.

Nice! I stand corrected! Thanks for sharing

Okay I'll give you that. I might disagree because I'm really pained by how much we've worked to get things through that were already stripped beyond measure but I do wonder why you're arguing me if you're actually connected to trying to get important bills through. And it's legitimately bs that they walk in fancy floors while they harm people. It's silly

I’m simply offering an explanation of the reality. No arguing here, not worth it and doesn’t do shit. However, not a single person there is trying to harm people, everyone wants betterment of society for people and there are just different approaches to that. If you really feel some type of way then run, win, and be the difference you want to see there.