Iowa

Many thanks to Christina Irene for these wonderful images of the Iowa capitol interior.
 

Law Library
This tour of the Iowa capitol interior starts in the law library. Why? Because this library is outstanding!

Inner Dome
Next is the view looking up into the inner dome from the rotunda.

 
The Climb
On a capitol tour, you can go up to a balcony near the base of the dome. It must be an interesting trip since you use the 130-step staircase pictured below.

 
Rotunda
Finally, the view back down into the rotunda from the dome balcony. I would have been dizzy!

Rhode Island

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The dome mural has four scenes about the lives of the Rhode Island settlers, each with its own name. "The Land Grant" shows Roger Williams receiving the first land grant from Narragansett Indian Chiefs Canonicus and Miantonomi, "Religious Tolerance" has settlers enjoying their new freedom from religious persecution, "Pioneering and the Origins of Construction" is about the settlers building their own homes, and "Beginnings of Industry" shows settlers beginning to support themselves through trades.

The Rhode Island State House was refurbished in the mid-1940s. During that time, the inside of the dome was painted with a mural called "The Four Freedoms" designed by James Allen King from Scituate, Rhode Island.

Virginia

When you look at the exterior of the Virginia capitol, you would not guess it has an interior dome. Domes are usually over round rooms called rotundas, but this building has . . . well, a square rotunda. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson, who also designed his own famous home at Monticello and buildings at the University of Virginia. They are domed too, but those domes are over round or octagonal rooms.

The Virginia capitol underwent major restoration and expansion from 2004 to 2007. The reopening and rededication took place May 1, 2007. Some of the projects included were restoration of original interior decorative painting, renovation of exterior surfaces, repair of the grounds, and construction of a 27,000 square foot underground extension for a visitors' center.

Rotunda
A life-size statue of George Washington,
a Virginia-born President, stands inside a fence at the center of the rotunda.

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Dome
This dome has an unusual oculus, for a capitol - a skylight. This is more like ancient domes where the center (oculus) is open to the sky.

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