The Supreme Court of Wisconsin

The Supreme Court meets in this room three or four times per month from September through June to hear oral arguments which are open to the public.

All of the furnishings in this room are original and the woodwork is hand-carved mahogany.  The colorful marble panels on the walls are Formosa marble from Germany and the columns are Italian Breche Coralline marble.  The small columns behind the justices' bench are Benou marble from France and are irreplacable because you can no longer get pieces this large.  I loved the nameplate on the desk, but hope it's just a funny coincidence and not truly appropriate.

The Supreme Court contained a skylight too!

The four murals on the walls, painted by Albert Herter of New York, illustrate historical events that influenced Wisconsin law.  The painting above the door shows Caesar Augustus Octavius presiding over the trial of a soldier.  Above the door is carved the word “LEX”, the Latin word for law.

The painting on the north wall shows the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 by King John of England, who is being forced to sign by the soldiers and noblemen on the left.  The boy with the dog is the artist's son, Christian Herter.  He was added to the painting as an afterthought to add balance, and coincidentally later entered politics himself, serving as Governor of Massachusetts and Secretary of State during President Dwight Eisenhower's administration.

The painting at the front of the room illustrates the signing of the United States Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787.  George Washington is seated at the desk and the man in the lower right corner with his coat over his arm is James Madison, the inspiration for the name of Wisconsin's capital city.  Ben Franklin is in the left foreground and Thomas Jefferson is shown standing to the right of Washington with his foot up on the podium, but he shouldn't be in this painting.  Jefferson didn't sign the Constitution nor did he help write it.  Herter may have placed Jefferson in the painting because of his influence on American law.

The final mural is an example of territorial law (Wisconsin was then part of Michigan Territory) and portrays the trial of Menominee Chief Oshkosh in 1830.  Oshkosh was accused of killing a Pawnee and was brought to trial before federal judge James Duane Doty.  Although the jury found Oshkosh guilty of murder, Doty ruled territorial law couldn't be applied to this case because Oshkosh proved he had followed his legal system, tribal custom of law.

My favorite part was the designs in the marble panels though.  Each one was different, and they reminded me of those rorschach ink blot tests...but prettier!

The bitter cold should break here by the end of the week and I'm hoping to head to Kettle Moraine for a much needed hike.  The Capitol was great and all...but I miss the outdoors.  I have a few more posts to finish out our tour, but I think I'll take a break for a couple of days.  Stay warm!

Rotunda Pendentives - Monday Mural goes to the Madison Capitol Building

Between the four arches in the Capitol rotunda are pendentives, which make the transition from the octagonal form of the rotunda to the circular form of the dome. The four pendentives of the rotunda are decorated with four panels of glass mosaic works designed by Kenyon Cox, for a total cost of $20,000. Kenyon Cox, born in Warren Ohio, (1856 - 1919) was an important American painter, draughtsman and art critic. He also painted murals for the Library of Congress and the Capitols of Iowa and Minnesota, as well as a mural in the Senate Chamber of the Madison Capitol.

Cox's mosaic panels are twelve feet high and have an average length of twenty-four feet. Each mosaic consists of approximately 100,000 pieces of glass tile and represents Wisconsin's three branches of government (the legislative, the executive and the judicial) and liberty - the foundation of all power in a free country. 

 "Justice" is represented by a young woman seated in a lion throne, who tests the scales in the balance to demonstrate the purely judicial function of weighing one cause against the other.

"Legislation" is represented as a powerful older man with a long beard who holds a stylus in his right hand and is seated by a sphinx symbol of wisdom.

 A young man holding a leading staff in his right hand while his left hand rests upon a great sword represents "Government"- the executive power.

 "Liberty" is represented as a young woman wearing the traditional Phrygian cap of red, but is otherwise dressed in two shades of green, the color of youth and hope. Her right hand guards the ballot box while her left hand points upward. 

                                               “. . . art is not a luxury, it is a civilization.” Kenyon Cox, The Nation, 1889



The mosaics were done so well that I wasn't convinced they weren't painted at first.  For more murals check out Monday Mural.  More on the Capitol tomorrow!

The Capitol's Hearing Room and The Year Ahead

This was the room I was looking forward into getting into!  Behind locked gates, guarded by a badger, "W"s hidden in the scrollwork of the iron and the painted decorations, you would think that would make it enticing enough, right?

In addition to the stairs and railings throughout the Capitol. this room had a high concentration of fossils, specifically ammonoids which is an extinct cephalopod.

But it ain't all about the fossils, baby, I mean, check out that leaded glass skylight! Above the skylight on the fourth floor there is a viewing area where you can look down on the skylight and up at the Capitol dome.  This is the only place that the “Wisconsin” statue can be viewed from inside the Capitol, something I did not get to do on this visit but that I would definitely like to do when I return.

Maybe your eyes were drawn to something other than the ceiling, maybe you noticed the Yellow Verona marble or the Monte Rente Sienna symmetrical panels.

Looks kind of like a badger, doesn't it?

The North Hearing Room is used for public hearings and the walls are all Italian marble.  The black and gold marble at the base of the wall is Port d'Or. That is one happy girl getting out from behind the camera for a change, isn't it?  Murals and fossils combined with all that buttery marble and great light, what more could a girl ask for?

There are also  four murals in the room that were painted in 1914-15 by Charles Yardley Turner of New York at a cost of $20,000.  Because the hearing room was originally used by the Railroad Commission, the murals reflect the history of transportation.  The mural at the front of the room shows Native Americans on horseback.  Moving clockwise, the next one shows a lake trading post with the canoe as the method of transportation.  Early French settlers are shown bargaining for furs with Native Americans.  The mural above the door shows colonial period transportation by stagecoach.  The last mural shows modern transportation by steamboat, railroad, automobile, and airplane.  Can you believe that besides the accidental shot above of the Native Americans I didn't take pictures?  I was so excited by those fossils it was like I temporarily lost my mind, so I guess you'll have to watch the video that I shot instead.  Forgive the shakiness, I was only planning on using it for the information she was giving us.  Turns out I found a great link to the script the use for the tour so I didn't have to worry about forgetting details!  Click on the little square to the right of the YouTube symbol at the bottom to see it in full screen.

Keep coming back over the next few days for more on the Capitol, including some more murals tomorrow for Monday Mural.


I'm noticing on the blogs I follow that most folks are doing a year in review kind of thing now that 2013 is over.  I'll mix it up a little for you and give you a peek at my plans for 2014!

January - taking a short trip to Reno with my son Cory to check out that Frida Kahlo exhibit!  Too excited for words!  Arriving on January 21st and staying for 5 nights if anyone wants to meet us there.

February and March....ready to take short road trips on the fly if weather looks good anywhere nearby.  Got a few places in Illinois that look interesting.  Also want to get in to Milwaukee and maybe Chicago for some architecture shooting.

April - Planning to try and return to Cumberland Falls State Park in Corbin, Kentucky by myself to do some tent camping and hiking.  Getting a new tent and everything!  I am hoping some other blogger offers to meet me there so I have a hiking buddy or two or three... (hint, hint!)

May - Maybe a long weekend together in Hudson, Wisconsin?  The second Friday of every month from May to October they host a classic car show and we've never gone to the Willow River State Park.

June - Wayne and I are heading to Door County, maybe even to Washington Island with the fifth wheel.  Lady slipper blooming time!  My friend Jeanna has already indicated she wants to get up to the U.P. for some exploring with me which is why I'm investing in a decent sized tent.  She said she worries about me when I'm out there alone so I guess I'll have to show her what it's all about so she doesn't worry anymore, right?

July - Taking Wayne to Point Beach State Park in Manitowoc so he can enjoy those bike trails and we can finally visit the Maritime Museum.

August - Third year in a row that we're going to attempt to get back to Bayfield and do some sea kayaking to explore Lake Superior's sea caves.  Hopefully no injuries will interfere this year.

September - Plan to tent alone near the Glacial Drumlin State Trail and take in the annual Sheep Show at Jefferson County Fairgrounds.  Variety is the spice of life!

October & November - Wayne and I are planning to celebrate our 25th anniversary with a 3 week trip that will wind from Mesa Verde to Blanding Utah to Albuquerque to Palo Duro Canyon!  This big trip with lots of miles is why our other plans will be closer to home throughout the year.

I know some of you are shaking your head at all the detailed plans I already have, but I'm pretty fluid too, and most of my adventures last year were spontaneous because my shoulder injury and Wayne's back problems shook everything up.  Believe it or not I already have two plans to choose from for a month long trip in 2015!  What have you got planned to get accomplished this year?

The Genius of Wisconsin and The West

There are two statues in the Capitol that weren't part of the original design. "The West" statue at the first floor southwest entrance was done by Vinnie Ream Hoxie in 1866-1868. Vinnie was born in Madison and was the first woman to get a commission from the United States Congress for a statue of Lincoln which is in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.  She was only 18 years old, and is the only sculptor for whom Abraham Lincoln posed in real life.

The statue displayed at Wisconsin's Capitol was carved in Rome and exhibited at the 1893 Columbian Fair & Exposition in Chicago. Her gowns were blown by the prairie winds and she holds a surveyor's compass and a sheaf of wheat.  I opted to shoot her in a way that highlighted all the architectural detail of the entryway so you'll have to trust me on the billowing gown thing.  She was meant to be a symbol of the abundancy to found in westward expansion.

The "Genius of Wisconsin" statue, which was originally sculpted by Helen Mears for the Columbian Exposition of 1893 is pictured below.  It was later recreated in marble by the Piccirilli Brothers and funded by women of Wisconsin. It now stands at the first floor southeast entrance of the Wisconsin Capitol.  I thought the sculptor's name sounded familiar and when I got home I looked it up and sure enough, I had seen her work in OshKosh when I visited the Paine Art Center!  No photographs were allowed on that trip, but the Capitol encourages photography so I can now share this replica of her wonderful work with you.

I found a great link about women's art from the 1893 World's Columbian Fair & Exhibition in Chicago.  Check it out if you like.   My first exposure to artifacts from the World's Fair were during a walking architecture tour in Chicago.  Can you imagine being there and seeing these sculptures along with everything else there on display?  The exposition covered more than 600 acres (2.4 km2), featuring nearly 200 new (but purposely temporary) buildings of predominantly neoclassical architecture, canals and lagoons, and people and cultures from 46 countries. More than 27 million people attended the exposition during its six-month run.  Only two of the buildings are still in Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Art Institute of Chicago.



Hey, why am I talking about Chicago?  I will take a moment to answer the question of whether or not I slid down the banister like Jeanna did.  I did not, but it's been on my mind and I'll be keeping an eye out for a banister to give it a try myself.  More about Madison on Monday!

Getting Up to Some Mischief in the Hallways and Stairways in the Capitol

 Inside the Capitol building in Madison visitors are treated to the unique textures of 43 varieties of stone from six countries and eight states. That red strip above the green columns, those green pillars, the stairs, the floors, the balustrades, and even the dome itself all limestone, marble and granite from near and far.

 In the rotunda is marble from Greece, Algeria, Italy, and France, along with Minnesota limestone, Norwegian syenite (Labradorite) and red granite from Waupaca, Wisconsin. Other Wisconsin granites are located throughout the public hallways on the ground, first, and second floors.

The red granite from Waupaca was especially beautiful, I couldn't take my eyes off the pattern and sheen

While traversing the stairways in the Capitol, make sure to keep an eye out for fossils.  We had help finding the "special hidden starfish" along with its great story, but this starfish fossil on the fourth step of the Grand Stairs of the North Wing we found easily on our own. There were some other types of fossils to be found near the stairways but there was so much else to see that I didn't get time to search them out.

The lighting fixtures were beautiful also, and Madison's Capitol has always been electrified due to the nearby Madison Gas & Electric Steam Plant nearby which ran off burning coal.

Just when you think you've seen it all on the tour, we came around a corner and stumbled upon a wedding shoot.  About 20,000 weddings are performed here a year I think our guide said.  I found a great link to a wedding photographer's site with lots of cool shots done in the Capitol.   It would make me want to get married if I wasn't already taken!  I'm sure the professional photographers get great light and take full advantage of all that gorgeous stone with the right array of equipment.  I had a little trouble "shooting on the move" with my handheld Canon SX50, but I did the best I could.

Every hallway we walked down was different, and the one below had skylights in the floor to allow the natural light to pass through.  How cool is that?

One of my favorite photos from our trip

We got up to a little mischief while waiting for Dave to use the men's room.  We probably shouldn't have.  It's probably the kind of thing that is frowned upon in buildings that are on the National Historic Register and normally I'm not the type to break rules.  Jeanna was tempted...and I encouraged her so I could photograph it.  This was the result of getting the two of us mischief makers together.

Think the photo is fun?  Check out the YouTube video.  All I could think of afterward is that Jeanna keeps me young and I should hang out with her more often.  Our tour isn't over yet...keep checking back!

The Governor's Conference Room

Ever wonder why the Wisconsin state animal is the badger? Miners who wanted to work through the winter in the 1800's found that the most useful shelters were their excavations. They added makeshift roofs or walls to complete them. Since these miners dig for their livelihoods and live in "burrows," they nicknamed them badgers.  There were badgers throughout the Capitol, but the best one was the bronze statue outside the Governor's Conference Room. This badger was mounted on the first USS Wisconsin battleship in 1901.  Designed by Milwaukee artist Paul Kupper in 1899 for the State of Wisconsin to present to the U.S. Navy,  the badger was cast with bronze salvaged from Spanish cannons captured in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.  It is hollow and weighs 1200 pounds.  Looks pretty good for such an old guy, doesn't he?

The Capitol recently underwent a 14-year renovation and restoration project.  The project was undertaken wing by wing just as the original construction of the Capitol was.  The renovation started in 1988 and was finished in 2002 at a total cost of $158.8 million.  The purpose of the project was to convert the Capitol into a modern working building while restoring and preserving its original 1917 appearance.  One of the rooms that had been affected by previous "remodeling" that needed attention was the Governor's Conference Room.  A previous first lady had painted over a lot of this room's gorgeous cherry wood with off white paint.  I can't even imagine it. I'm still shuddering whenever I think of it. Thank goodness they fixed it.

The Governor uses this room for press conferences, bill signings, cabinet meetings, and receptions.  It is modeled after the small council chamber in the Doge's palace in Italy.  The chairs and furniture are the originals, with the state seal carved into the chairbacks. But my favorite part of the room was this little corner with the bust of Wisconsin's first territorial governor, Henry Dodge.  It made me smile and remember the time we took the Girl Scouts to Governor Dodge State Park not far from Mineral Point.  The bust was made by Elisha Knowles and survived the fire in the previous Capitol.

The pretty parquet floor is made of teak, dark mahogany, white oak and white mahogany.

The Capitol is very accessible to the public; the guide invited us to sit in the chairs in every room we visited.  I don't know about you, but I've never had that happen on a tour of a historic building!  The fireplace below is made from hand-carved Italian Botticino marble.  I hope no one plans on lighting a fire until they remove that dry tree on the left!  But I'm guessing by the size and condition of the logs in there that it's just for looks.

Jeanna and Dave listening to the tour guide

Jeanna and I both noticed the ceiling lights made from French lead crystal.  I tried but it didn't photograph very well.

In the entryway into the room was this great fountain.  There were quite a few fountains throughout the Capitol which is interesting considering the water originally came from the lake and wasn't drinkable until the plumbing was remodeled in 1968!

That's our tour for today.  We had snow coming down all day yesterday for New Year's Day so I stayed inside prepping the rest of my Capitol posts (seven more of them to come!) and watching reruns of "Shameless" on Showtime (new season starts January 12th) while Wayne went ice fishing again.  What did you do on New Year's Day?

New Year's Eve at the Madison Capitol Building

If I wanted to see the Christmas tree before they took it down I had to make a quick decision on whether to make the drive to Madison on New Year's Eve.  When I checked their website and found out they had a Festivus Pole on display in addition to the tree I was sold!  Five degrees outside with late afternoon snow in the forecast, so what?  I called my girlfriend Jeanna and didn't even have to try to convince her and her boyfriend to tag along for the ride.  Dave is visiting from New Jersey via Afghanistan, so some Wisconsin touring was in order no matter what the weather.

Since Wisconsin was granted statehood in 1848 it has seen three Capitol buildings.  After a devastating fire left the second Madison Capitol badly damaged, George B. Post & Sons designed the current Capitol, which was built between 1906 and 1917 at a cost of $7.25 million. The Madison Capitol is distinguished as being the only State Capitol ever built on an isthmus.  It's dome is the fourth largest in the WORLD.  Yes, the world, not the country.  Maybe you recognize the building from all the protests against Governor Walker during the big Union-Busting Brewhaha a few years back.

Reaching to a height of about 265 feet, the Capitol dome is topped by Daniel Chester French's gilded bronze statue, "Wisconsin." Her left hand holds a globe with an eagle on it and her right hand is extended outward to signify "forward" which is Wisconsin's state motto.  Our guide told us her arm is extended toward the nation's capital.

The exterior stone is Bethel White granite from Vermont, and I thought it looked very nice against the bit of winter snow.  The exterior stairs were closed as an access point to the Capitol so we entered underneath them.  Dave and Jeanna were nice enough to point out to me the cool door handle which depicted the state's coat of arms on the backplate and "Wisconsin" on the knob.  There were quite a few of them throughout the building.  Ready to go inside?

The Christmas tree is a 25 foot balsam from Antigo, and is decorated with ornaments made by students from Wisconsin's public and private schools as well as with energy saving LED lights.  The Festivus Pole?  We were told it was taken down a day early.  We did see a display honoring the Flying Spaghetti Monster.  Our tour guide didn't seem to approve.  Her words were something along the lines of  "I guess everybody has the right to believe what they want to believe or not believe".  Don't know what the Flying Spaghetti Monster is about?  I didn't either until I found a reference to it and maybe I have a more "evolved" sense of humor because I laughed out loud and seeing it represented there kind of made my day!  Nothing brightens the holidays like a little good natured religion oriented satire in my opinion.

 But, back to the tour. Edwin Blashfield's mural "Resources of Wisconsin" lavishly decorates the ceiling of the rotunda, which is the only granite dome in the United States.  The woman in the center with the red headdress represents Wisconsin.  She is holding a sheaf of wheat symbolizing Wisconsin's agriculture.  The other figures are holding various products from Wisconsin such as tobacco, lead, fruit, and fish.  Visitors used to be able to go all the way to the top, within arm's reach of the mural at 184 feet until the 1950's.  If you're doing mental math you'd realize that isn't actually the top of the dome, they are another unaccounted for 80 feet still above the painted "ceiling".  As for today, visitors can access the observation deck at 92 feet from Memorial Day to the first weekend in November.  If I make it back during the summer I'll definitely hike up there and get some pictures of the view inside and outside as well.  Still, I think New Year's Eve was a great day to visit as the place was practically empty and the three of us were the only ones on the 1:00 tour.

There is so much to see in the Capitol that I'm going to do a series of posts so we can savor it.  I'll leave you today with my little video of the singers who were performing when we first arrived.  If you watch it by clicking on the YouTube symbol you can see it larger.

One more thing.  Remember the weather issue?  This is what it looked like for most of our ride home, though the main highway was mostly clear as far as Janesville.   Luckily we made it back without mishap.  

Happy New Year, Followers!