Random Rambler: Utah State Capitol: Inside

The Utah State Capitol is full of the some of the absolute most despicable garbage excuse for humans you will find in the state. But there is some neat history there as well. So, while we were enjoying the cherry blossoms on the grounds, we randomly decided that maybe we should go inside. It’s been a while since we have done that, and we only did so briefly, so we were happy we had enough time to explore it today.

Quick Details:

Length: Depends on what you do, but we wandered about for close to 1.75 miles.
Trail Type: Meander.
Difficulty: Its flat, and ADA compliant, DR2.
Elevation Gain: 4 stories.
Restroom: Several.
Dogs? I am pretty sure only service dogs are allowed inside.
Other Info:

To Get Here:

From Downtown SLC take State Street north until you reach the Capitol. The main Visitor Entrance is on the east side.

The Trail:

We approached it from what appears to be the front, or the south side.

Pro tip: This is not a proper entry point. The East Side is the main Visitor Entrance.

Is there some kind of tradition I am not aware of that involves wearing a princess dress and taking pictures of it? Cause, uh, this was not the only one I saw today.

Getting closer. As you can see people are coming through the doors here.

At 285 feet tall it is currently the 17th tallest building in Salt Lake City.

The stairs. Oh boy, these are a little more intimidating up close.

The doors. They have the cute little Utah beehives on them. Also they, were locked. We were a little confused, because it was supposed to be open for another hour, plus we just saw people using them. What gives?

Well, it turns out these are exit only doors, and we should have gone to the east doors. However, we caught the doors after someone exited, so.. not the end of the world.

It also would not have been the end of the world if we had to hoof it over to the east entrance either, but you know, hind sight.

Inside. This doorway puts you on the 2nd floor.

Some of the Pendentive Murals above and 2 of the Niche Sculptures by artists Eugene Daub, Robert Firmin, and Jonah Hendrickson created sometime after the 2008 restoration. Science and Technology left, and Land and Community right.

The Utah State Capitol was built between 1912 and 1916. The neoclassical revival, Corinthian style building was designed by famed architect Richard K.A Klettlng. Among many other buildings, Kletting also designed the original Saltair pavilion, and the Albert Fisher Mansion. There is a peak in the Uintas named for him, as well as a park in Salt Lake City, which I have yet to explore, but is on my list. In fact, I think I found my next random gross weather scavenger hunt day (finding Kletting buildings).

Looking up at the rotunda, with a view of the Cyclorama as well as the Seagulls and Clouds painting at the top created in 1915 by Philip Dern Decorating Company

Back to the Niche Sculptures. This one is Immigration and Settlement.

And this is Arts and Education.

West end.

East end.

Closer view of Land and Community. I don’t think I got a closer view of Science and Technology today. We were both a little overstimulated between the neat old building, and the large crowds so we were just kind of flipping around. Plus, the art was not at the forefront of either of our minds, but I will point out what I can, with the help of the Capitol website (outside link).

The east end again, as well as another random princess photoshoot on the stairs.

Pretty marble stairs.

The mural above is the east lunette called Madonna of the Covered wagon created in 1917 by artists Gilbert White and Girard Hale.

View from the 3rd floor.

The pretty chandelier. As well as 2 of the 4 pendentives. We will see these closer soon.

The House of Representatives Chamber. The House Gallery is on the floor above.

Panoramic.

I didn’t catch any of the art in this room.

Looking across the building.

The Senate Chamber.

Panoramic. Which offers a view of the Senate Viewing Gallery above.

Up to the 4th floor. Which has a bunch of busts and statues.

Simon Bamberger.

Emmeline B. Wells.

The west Lunette, The Passing of The Wagons, painted in 1917 by Gilbert White and Girard Hale.

Hallway behind the mural.

Maurice Warshaw.

David Abbott Jenkins.

The chandelier and more pioneer murals.

2 of the 4 Pendentives. created between 1933 and 1934 by artist Lee Greene Richards with assistance from Gordon H. Cope, Waldo P. Midgley, & Henry Rasmusen. Lets see: Fremont First Sees Great Salt Lake – 1843 left and Peter Skene Ogden at Ogden River – 1828 right.

You can also see part of the Cyclorama above those in the rotunda.

I asked Landis if other states are obsessed with pioneers like Utah is, or if it is just Mormon culture. We both did some digging and found other states do celebrate pioneers, but certainly not nearly as much as Utah does.

This was the statue that I was really hoping to find today! Philo T. Farnsworth, the father of Television.

I don’t know why they put this statue facing the balcony, but like, 3 feet from it. It makes it really hard to see the whole thing. But, I mean, I guess that is par for the course for Utah. Why think ahead?

Statue base.

Neat gryphon hiding in this corner.

I made a panoramic image of the statue to try and capture the whole thing. It’s a bit wonky, but not horrible.

Chief John Duncan.

Unca Sam

After this, to be perfectly crass, I added some more waste to the pile of waste that is our local government.

Just to be clear I used the restroom haha. I am absolutely disgusted by our local lawmakers right now, but I am not an animal.

View of the mountains and Memory Grove below from the 4th floor window.

Fancy pillars on the other side of the window.

Richard Whitehead Young.

Philo T Farnsworth across the way.

The Capitol Lions.

There are 4 lions on the Capitol grounds. 2 on the eat entrance, 2 on the west. The original lions were commissioned in 1916, the year the capitol was dedicated by sculptor Gavin Jack. They were built with concrete and they weathered over time. In 2007 they were replaced with marble. We will eventually see those today.

Abraham Lincoln.

The other 2 Pendentives: Brigham Young and Pioneers Entering the Valley left and Father Escalante Discovers Utah Lake – 1776 right. Also more of the Cyclorama above.

The Cyclorama in the rotunda. I don’t think I caught good enough images to identify the individual pieces within it, but it was panted in 1933 and 1934 by artist Lee Greene Richards with assistance from Gordon H. Cope, Waldo P. Midgley, & Henry Rasmusen.

Back down to the 3rd floor, we found some remodeling happening.

The chandelier.

Back to the Senate Chamber.

Inside. The mural above is called Utah Lake by artists Lee Greene Richards and Alma B. Wright painted in 1916.

Skylight.

The viewing gallery. That painting above it is called the Orchards along the Foothills painted in 2007 by artist Keith Bond.

I did not catch Ancestral Home today, also by Keith Bond in 2007. It looks like a nice painting too, I am sad I missed it.

The seal on the glass partition.

The Supreme Court Chamber.

Inside.

This is the art piece that was so controversial???

No, no it is not. That is a painting called Capitol Reef by artist Douglas Snow and it is at the Utah Supreme Court chambers at the Matheson Courthouse. It was created in 1997. The painting which represents a thunderstorm in Capitol Reef was deemed a distraction, so it was covered by a big grey curtain. but in 2023 they voted to display it again. More info in this article from Fox 13 News (outside link).

As for this painting, which appears to be a natural bridge. Ah, I found it is H.L.A. Culmer's painting, “Caroline Bridge,” from Natural Bridges Natural Monument. Painted in 1905. This bridge spans 210 feet making it one of the longest natural bridges in the world.

Panoramic of the room.

In 1998 the Utah Supreme Court moved from here to the Matheson Courthouse just a few blocks south. It would seem they wanted a larger space, as well as more modern facilities. This room is a little small and well, the Capitol is over 100 years old so, that makes sense.

I need to explore that building someday.

The House of Representatives sign again. We already explored that so we moved on.

Back to the 2nd floor with a neat old lamp.

Looking at the fancy stairs and the Passing of the Wagons Mural again.

Office of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

Fancy stairs leading down to the 1st floor.

State Reception/Gold Room. It's fancy.

The old State Flag. We will see the new one eventually.

A few less people, but still busy.

The chandelier again.

Directly underneath. Plus the Cyclorama.

Stairs on the east end again. With a view of Madonna of the Covered Wagons mural again. We decided to see if we missed anything under the stairs on this side.

Under the stairs we found the Capitol Board Room.

Office of the Attorney General.

The stairs down on this end are closed for remodeling. so… back to the west side.

The stairs heading towards the 1st floor.

Liberty Bell Replica.

From the other side.

The original 1916 Capitol Dome Light.

It was installed at the top of the Capitol dome in 1916, just in time for the grand dedication ceremony.

It was removed in the 1990's due to the fixture crumbling apart due to the decades of exposure to the elements.

The bulb was replaced to what currently sits atop the dome, and the original was carefully pieced back together and placed here.

Fossils found in Utah. I have had the amazing experience of digging my own trilobites out of the ground in Utah.

The first floor is kind of… meh as compared to the rest of the building.

Apparently there is a gallery of former Governor paintings somewhere down here, but we did not come across it today.

The Great Seal of the State of Utah.

It is surrounded by these little bronze plaques for each of the counties. I did not bother taking a picture of all of them.

A display of the new State Flag.

Another county plaque.

A smattering of some of the movies filmed here. High School Musical (2006), Thelma and Louise (1991), Pirates Of The Caribbean: At Worlds end (2007), Footloose (1984), and Stagecoach (1939).

I know I have driven past the school from High School Musical. I have been to Dead Horse State Park for Thelma and Loise. I have been to the Salt Flats (ish) used in Pirates Of The Caribbean, I have also been to the Lehi Roller Mills and an old Bridge that were both used in Footloose. Lastly I have been to Monument Valley where Stage Coach was filmed, when I was little, and we kind of started out that way not too long ago as well. So, that is kind of fun.

From here we decided to check out the Capitol Lions, which are outside of the east and west entrances.

There are cute little Utah beehives on the doors here.

Patience.

Honor.

These two, as well as the two on the east side were all Sculpted by Nick Fairplay in 2009 (we will eventually make our way over to the east ones).

The original lions were built out of cement in 1916 by artist Gavin Jack. Unfortunately cement was not the best material to stand up to the elements. In 1978 Raphael Plescia did some restoration work on the cement lions. Unfortunately, the cement did not hold up very well, so the current versions, as shown above were installed in 2009 sculpted by Nick Fairplay. They were sculpted out of marble, so they should last longer. I still wonder what became of the original ones.

View west.

View south towards downtown.

Panoramic.

Downtown again.

1914.

Since the building was built between 1912 and 1916, I imagine it might be a corner stone? Or at least something else significant while it was being built. Well go me, I was correct that it is the cornerstone. Dedicated in a ceremony in April 1914.

Heading across the terrace.

The east side.

Fortitude.

Integrity. I can’t recall the last time I have seen any of that on display in this building.

East side.

The East Senate Building.

View east.

Heading back down the south side where we started.

State of Utah sign.

Well, I am glad we finally got to really explore the inside of The Capitol. It is a pretty building, with some fun history and art. Landis saw what he wanted to see (the various chambers) and I saw the Philo T Farnsworth statue, so we were both happy. I know there is a pretty area behind it that we did not explore today, but maybe we will come back. It’s a pretty building, it’s a shame it is full of horrible people that don’t resolve any of our problems and instead chose to divide us. But, I digress, 8 out of 10 squirrels today.