Arkansas — The Blocks

image courtesy of DWQ_Online

detail from image at left

An Association
The general look of the central portion of the Arkansas capitol is very solid. The minimal ornamentation makes it simple, and at the same time massive. The blocks especially have a massive and solid look to them. Solid, solid like a rock. Which rock? Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas.

The central portion of the Arkansas capitol is more solid and massive in appearance than many. While it has the columns and dome we expect, it does not have the quantity of ornamentation and frills that so many others do. The dome and the pediment are particularly simple with no ports in the dome or sculpture in the pediment.

The Blocks
Also particularly simple are the two structures which I call the "blocks." I have learned several architectural terms while building this website, but the correct term for these elements has escaped me so far. My "blocks" are the two towers above and beside the pediment in the views at right and above. They are large and rectangular, like a child's building blocks, with shallow roofs of their own, and on this capitol they have no extra ornamentation. No other state capitol has blocks as massive, simple and obvious as these.

Illinois — The Balconies

image courtesy of Sid Webb

A Visitor-contributed Association
Thank you M.S. for sending your idea for this association. We appreciate your originality and hope our visitors will enjoy your story. Many will notice the error in the pronunciation of 'Illinois,' (the 's' is silent) but we're used to that. Perhaps it even makes this easier to remember!

"My Grandma has a balcony and she lives in a noisy part of the city. Whenever she hears a lot of noise outside she runs out on her balcony to see what it is. I can think of her balcony when I look at the Illinois capitol and remember she is looking for the noise like in Illi - noise."

M.S., Spring Hill, Florida

image courtesy of mhowry

The black wrought iron balconies of the observation deck along with the columns below them give the Illinois capitol's otherwise typically shaped drums the appearance of being octagonal. While other capitols have observation decks around the drums, theirs are round. These are quite unique because of both their shape and their color.

The front of this capitol building is difficult to get into an image without much of it being hidden behind the trees and the backdropped statue of Abraham Lincoln. This arial image shows nearly the whole front beautifully.

image origin unknown, provided by Mrs. Zumpano's Fourth Grade Class

Rhode Island — The Cupolas

image courtesy of Roger Williams

The entrance to this capitol is hidden behind trees in the image above. The image at left shows the entrance steps and first-floor arches.

Cupolas
Around the drum of the Rhode Island capitol are four distinctive cupolas. The Illinois capitol (see the Illinois section above) is the only other one with cupolas there, but they only have two, in front. Many capitols have decorations in those two front corners that would be hard to mistake for cupolas.

The size of these four cupolas makes them easy to distinguish from the Illinois ones. When the finials on top are included, they come to the top of the columned section of the drum. They are huge!

A Two-part Association
The four cupolas look like smaller versions of the main dome; the domes are all the same color as the main dome and very similar in shape. Think of the main dome as a mainland, and the cupolas' domes as islands - Rhode 'Islands.'

The island association might be enough if you can remember Illinois' balconies and not confuse the two capitols. Just in case, notice the cupolas are colossal in comparison to Illinois' like the Colossus of Rhodes compared to normal statues. Colossus of Rhodes - 'Rhodes' Island.

South Dakota — The Ears

image courtesy of capsfan

An Association
The South Dakota capitol has a dome rather like the top of a head with large, stone ears below it. Mount Rushmore has tops of heads, and President Washington's likeness there is especially dome-like and has large, stone ears - well, one ear at least. So when you see the large, stone ears on a domed capitol, think of the stone ears of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

The Ears
The South Dakota capitol has four unique structures around its drum. They look like alcoves intended for statues, but they are curiously empty. Another characteristic that makes them unique is how they stand out so far in front of the drum, making them a very noticeable feature of the building. With their hollow centers and their placement on either side of the entrance portico, the front two look like ears.

Mount Rushmore
One of the most recognized works of art in this country is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Gutzon Borglum's depiction of four presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln, sculpted from a mountain is known worldwide.

Texas — The Arch

image courtesy of jonl
Some Rights Reserved through Creative Commons

A grand building with a grand entrance; an extra-tall, three-plus story arch, the space beneath it uninterrupted by columns or balconies. There is no other capitol entrance like it. Also unusual is the pinkish color of the capitol, which it has because it is faced with Texas sunset red granite.

Two Views
The aerial view above is the only way to see the whole Texas capitol building at once. The view of the building front shown at left is the one every visitor sees - from ground level. The trees block the rest of the building, which makes the arched entrance and the dome especially dramatic.

An Association
It is a large arch. Large and Texas go together. If you've heard much about Texas, you've heard they make everything big there in the largest of the 48 contiguous states, and they are very proud of that. So the capitol with the really big arch is in the state where everything is really big, Texas.