We took time out from planning a bunch more trips to take a trip all the way to downtown Phoenix and the state capitol. The old territorial, then state, capitol building is now the Arizona State Capitol Museum. The executive branch is now in a tower behind the old capitol building and the House and Senate are in modern buildings adjacent. (Well, the buildings were modern when they were built in the 60’s.)
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- The Greek goddess Nike adorns the copper-colored dome. In the early days, cowboys (or maybe the legistators) would shoot her to make her rotate. When she was taken down for rennovation, 200 pounds of lead was removed.
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- The museum has a room full of artifacts from the USS Arizona.
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- The silver service was donated by Arizona, mostly by the mining magnates. It had been removed from the ship when it was put on a war time footing.
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- Behind this model of the USS Arizona is the actual superstructure from the ship.
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- I remember visiting Legend City in the early 60’s. The ventriliquist entertaining in the saloon made a big impression. She was pretty enough to be a Miss America. And she was. In 1965. Vonda Kay Van Dyke.
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- The state flag made out of LEGOS. Why not?
The old Secretary of State’s office featured these signs explaining who is allowed to vote:
A careful reading of the last item in each reveals that idiots are now allowed to vote. But you probably already knew that.
In front of the capitol is Wesley Bolin Plaza which has dozens and dozens of monuments (and parking). Many of the monuments are veteran-oriented, but there are also monuments to fallen firefighters, peace officers, and even K9 peace officers.
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- Father Kino, early explorer and priest
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- Anchor from the USS Arizona
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- Desert Storm
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- Navajo codetalker
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- Battle of the Bulge
