Lexington - Virginia State Capitol

We stopped off for a look at the State Capitol Building in Richmond Virginia. Finding the entrance was a little difficult but once we did it was well worth the time. Since we visited the capitol on a Saturday the building was empty. We had to go through a metal detector and Ms. Wood had us in her backpack. I wonder what the security guy was thinking.

We had the chance to walk around the Capitol and to learn about the different people who are located in the building. We also had the chance to look in on the Senate chamber and the House chamber. We were really surprised by how small each of these chambers was.



I wanted to share some facts that I learned about the Capitol:

• Richmond is the third State Capitol of Virginia.
• The building was completed in 1788.
• The building has an interior suspended dome.
• Jamestown was the states first capitol, followed by Williamsburg, Richmond, and Danville.
• Thomas Jefferson was the archiect of the State Capitol we toured.
• The building was the Capitol of the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
• In 1870 there was an accident at the capitol building. In the capitol was a courtroom in which several hundred people were listening to a hearing of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. The balcony fell to the courtroom floor and the courtroom floor gave way as well. 62 men were killed and 251 were injured.
• In the interior of the capitol is a circular room that houses the bust of eight presidents of the United States. They were all born in Virginia. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson were all born somewhere in the great state of Virginia. They are all featured in this room.
• At the two ends of the building are the houses for both the House of Delegates which consists of 100 members and the Senate which consists of 40 members.

Below is a picture of Kennedy and me in the old Courtroom.

Here is a picture of the Statue to George Washington that appears outside the capitol buiding.


Here is a picture of the civil rights monument that is located on the capitol building lawn. Notice that there are two additions to the monument.

Here is a picture of the Senate chamber. Ms. Edwards had to snap a picture through the door. It was locked :(

Here is a picture of the Delegates chambers. Once again we couldn't go in :(

I must say that I enjoyed walking around the capitol when no one was working. We had the chance to take a lot of pictures and enjoy the different plaques and displays.