Montgomery Alabama: Alabama State Capitol

November 6, 2017

Historic Capitol

Entrance Hall

                 These stairs appear to float and were designed and built by Horace King, a bridge-builder who was a former slave.

Supreme Court Chamber and Library

                 The shell of the Supreme Court chamber has been restored to look as it did in 1870-1900.

                                    The photo above depicts an example of trompe l’oeil (fool the eye) painting which was originally added to the Supreme Court chamber in 1879 and reproduced in 1991-92.  The wall is flat but the painting makes it look as if has depth.

                 The Supreme Court Library will become a museum.

Rotunda

                 The rotunda features a skylight in the center surrounded by neoclassical plasterwork from 1906.  Between 1927 and 1930 murals were painted by Mobile artist Roderick Mackenzie.

                 Close-up of the skylight in the rotunda.

                 Murals beneath the dome illustrate Alabama’s history as it was popularly portrayed in the early 20th century.

                   Hostile Meeting of DeSoto, Spanish Explorer, and Tuscaloosa, Indian Chieftain, 1540

    France Establishing First White Colony in Alabama under Iberville and Bienville, Mobile, 1702-1711

             Surrender of William Weatherford, Hostile Creek Leader, to General Andrew Jackson, 1814

                         Pioneer Home-seekers Led into the Alabama Wilderness by Sam Dale, 1816

Governor William Wyatt Bibb and Committee Drafting the First State Constitution at Huntsville, 1819

           Wealth and Leisure Produce the Golden Period of Antebellum Life in Alabama, 1840-1860

                   Secession and the Confederacy, Inauguration of President Jefferson Davis, 1861

   Prosperity Follows Development of Resources, Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry, 1874-1930

House of Representatives

Senate

Contemporary State House

Exterior

House of Representatives

Senate

Refreshments

We found gumball machines in three separate places in the State House.  Yum!(?)

Thinking about food, look what we found in the gift shop of the Capitol:The very same rival jerky we found at the Busy Bee in Lake City, Florida with University of Florida and Florida State University labels on it is here in Montgomery labeled for Auburn and the University of Alabama.  People must all be the same inside.