In Capitol Form

Our beautiful State Capitol building. The grounds are the site of the annual Vandalia Gathering, but inside...

inside bring back so many memories. You see, about 40 years ago I walked all these halls and stairways at night. I knew practically every inch of this building. In fact, I have even been up the  inside of that huge gold dome, twice. Right up into the cupula at the top.

It was my first full-time job. I had been a stay-home mom with my 4 boys, then a tobacco farmer and a substitute rural mail carrier (this last meant that I had to get a Social Security number,  at 31 years old). But then I got a job as a security guard at the State Capitol, part-time at first but it soon turned into full time. I was still subbing on the mail route and growing tobacco though, because $3.45 an hour, which was minimum wage in 1985, just didn't cut it.

I had many different jobs here as a guard: monitoring a doorway that signed in all the people in the building that houses WV Public Radio at the time (and was there after the very first Mountain Stage to witness the jubilant return of the people who put on the show). I once worked as a "rover", walking the grounds between midnight and morning, an eerie and intriguing job; I manned a desk that took calls from guards at outlying buildings, which is how I met Larry---oh, that sent voice! When I was pregnant I was assigned another sit-down job because I was the first pregnant guard and they had no idea how to deal with me. And I was a night guard in the Capitol building, my favorite position of them all. I remember once the tourism division gave a banquet in the Great Hall. I was security, but also helped with the cleanup, and was gifts a beautiful fresh floral bouquet, and a set of Blenko Glass bookends, which I still have and cherish.

The Capitol, designed by well-known architect of the time Cass Gilbert, is almost all Italian marble. (Back when it was built, West Virginia was not the poor state it is today.) The workmanship is just stunning.

This is part of the Great Hall, and leads to the Senate chambers.  An identical hall leads to the House of Representatives chambers .

This sculpture of Robert F. Bird is a recent addition. Did you know, he was one of a very few Senators who didn't get rich while in office? 

This is the underside of the dome, centered ober the rotunda between the two hallways mentioned above.

Looking down from the second floor of the rotunda.

This huge chandelier is lowered for every gubernatorial inauguration.  It is lowered all the way to the first floor, where the thousands of crystals are cleaned, bulbs replaced, etc. I once helped lower it, and used to know where the electrical panel and controls were, but can't recall now, and I am sure it has changed anyway; it's probably done electronically these days.

First floor of the rotunda.

These beautiful steps lead from the Senate hall to the Governor's office.

Inside the Governor's office. Can you see the little crystal wall chandelier? I may or may not have relieved it of one crystal. Well, it had fallen off and was on the floor...

I am not a fan of our current governor. To me he's a xarpetbagger, moving here from another state and not even a resident when he was first elected to a role in our government.  I amcertsinly no fan of his policies.

The entrance to the Governor's office,. This circular area happens to be a fantastic echo chamber chamber. Just stamp your foot and it will echo echo echo... My grandson Clayton once threw up here when he was a little guy. You can imagine the echo!

The ceilings throughout the ground, first and second floors are just phenomenal. When I worked there, the marble walls and these beautiful ceilings were so stained with nicotine from years of smoking in the building that they all just looked yellow, and the murals were almost totally obscured.

I once got stuck in this elevator around 2 am. Well, actually the old elevator has been replaced, thank goodness, but the exterior was kept. I got out by prying the doors open and climbing up and out of the cage.

 I have always loved the graceful brass lamps in the building. This is the entrance to the West wing.

There are 4 sets of these spiral stairs, leading down from the Senate and House sides of the Great Hall.

 

There are many stories within these walls, as you might imagine. I will have to post one i wrote up some years ago about one of the ghosts in this old building.