Augusta

is the capital of Maine and we finally went for a visit, making this the 7th State House.

This one is plain and simple, much like its people.

There are no bullet holes, no scandal, no opulence...totally utilitarian.

The building has been remodeled and enlarged, but the original front of the building was preserved.

As you can see, there is work being done on the dome, but "Lady of Wisdom," standing 15' made of copper and overlaid with gold, shines brightly. She holds a pine bough in the form of a torch in her right hand and a pine cone in her left.

Our tour guide, Dan, gave us a private tour starting out in the rotunda.  The bust is of Percival P. Baxter who was a governor and the man responsible for Baxter State Park...he donated the land with the stipulation it would forever stay wild.

The dome rises to a height of 185'.

The building was designed by Charles Bulfinch of Boston who also designed the Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

The building stands on 34 acres which was deeded to the state for ten dollars.

There are four stories.

This caught my eye. The floor of the rotunda has these tiny one inch tiles that were individually placed on the floor. I forget how long it took to lay those. By the way, David and Marianne, the marble and limestone came from Vermont, the black limestone also contained fossils.

Taking a peek out one of the windows produced this view...of course I had to go sit and admire the view from the rocking chair for a while. Do you see the chair in the photo to the right?

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CHAMBER

SENATE CHAMBER

This portrait of a standing Abraham Lincoln is one of three painted by Albion Bicknell. The second one is in the State House in Massachusetts. They don't know where the third one is...where might that one be?  Ah, maybe there is a little mystery here.

And that concludes our visit.

Until next time...