Topeka Tourist, Take Two

I may be asked to revoke my Kansas citizenship. Not really, but before a recent visit, I had toured the Iowa State Capitol more recently than the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka. However, we remedied that during a trip last month to Topeka. While the girls were in school and Jill and Eric were working, we did our own version of a staycation. We worked our tourist events around a week full of tennis, track, softball and music. 

Randy had toured the Capitol a few years ago on a Kansas Master Farm Families Discover Kansas trip. However, I was sick and missed out. At the Iowa Capitol, I did take the 97-step climb to the top of the dome. (Click HERE for a "tour" of that capitol building). But we opted not to take the 296 steps to the top on this trip to the Kansas Capitol.

While I wasn't attempting to take a photo of Randy's socks, I had to smile when I looked at the pictures again. Randy forgot his short socks at home. No worries: Kinley instructed him in the fine art of arranging your tube socks just so - like a junior high girl!

 

The Kansas State Capitol recently completed a 13-year, top-to bottom-renovation of the building that restored the original architect's vision by uncovering murals, preserving original features, renovating aging limestone and expanding work space.  

Randy is standing on a map of Kansas that's located on the floor near the Visitor Center entrance. He's standing on the County Line - just like home!

Construction of the central building began in 1886. The building was declared officially complete in 1903, after 37 years of construction. 

The Capitol's distinctive copper dome with Ad Astra statue is a prominent feature of the Topeka skyline, but the view inside the dome is just as spectacular.

The Ad Astra statue sits atop the Kansas State Capitol dome. It is a 22-foot tall statue of a Kaw warrior with a bow and arrow drawn. The statue's name, Ad Astra, is derived from the state motto, "Ad astra per aspera," which translates to "To the stars through difficulties." The statue was crafted by the late Richard Bergen from Salina and was installed in 2002.

Topeka Capitol Journal photo (from the web)

Ad Astra wasn't the first idea to crown the Capitol. In 1889, during the Capitol's construction, J.H. Mahoney won a design competition to select what would top the dome. He proposed a 16-foot bronze statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. However, some people balked at the price and others argued about her mythological morals. The idea was abandoned, and the dome remained unadorned for more than 100 years. In the Capitol's Visitor Center, this 3-foot plaster model shows the original artist's vision.

But murals have long been a part of the beauty of the Capitol.

In the 1930s, John Steuart Curry painted murals on the second floor including the building's most famous painting, Tragic Prelude, which depicts an oversize and raging John Brown wedged between the warring sides of the American Civil War flanked by flames and a tornado. Curry's depiction of Brown is believed to be the only instance of a person convicted of treason being featured in a state capitol (Wikipedia).

David Hicks Overmyer painted a series of murals in the first floor rotunda between 1951 and 1953.

 

These agriculture-themed murals were some of my favorites, but there are many others, too.

This ode to Kansas and its state flower was another favorite. It says:

Rich with fields of corn and wheat

Gleaned from Nature's richest dower

Peerless Kansas on the Plains

Even the sun has kissed our flower. 

 

The Kansas State Library is also located in the Capitol building. I will always spend time in a library, and this one was beautiful.

 

I loved the brass sunflowers adorning some of the railings. In the background was a shelf of books that had been named Kansas Notable Books. On those shelves, I saw The Amelia Six by Kristin Gray, a book for Grades 4-6 and I thought my mystery-loving granddaughter Brooke might like it. I picked it up for her at the Topeka and Shawnee County Library the next day; however, I could have checked it out from the state library. (In it, 11-year-old Amelia Ashford gets the opportunity to spend the night in Amelia Earhart’s childhood home in Atchison with five other girls and mystery ensues.) The Amelia Six was a Kansas Notable Book in 2021.

Of course, the true purpose of the Kansas State Capitol is the business of running the state. Those are beautiful spaces as well.

The House of Representatives:

And the Kansas Senate:

 

Newer additions to the art of the Capitol are stained glass panels added during the state's centennial:

I'm sure we didn't see everything. It's another great stop to add to a Kansas staycation idea this summer.

TED ENSLEY GARDENS

We took a brief detour to the Ted Ensley Gardens in Topeka one morning. We've been there when there was much more in bloom (click HERE). But this time, it was just after the large tulip festival and the summer plantings hadn't yet been done.

 

 

There had been moisture the night before, so the peonies and poppies were bejeweled with raindrops.  

 

The garden's purple martin houses were a lot more heavily populated than the house Randy installed by the corrals here at home a couple of years ago. (It's hard to see, but the flying bird is carrying twigs in its mouth.)

 

 

The flowers weren't the only things that were wet. Randy sat on a damp bench for me. He volunteered ... really. I'm sure we will return again when there are more summer blooms to enjoy.

LAKE SHAWNEE GOLF COURSE

 

Our real destination that morning was the nearby Lake Shawnee Golf Course.

 

This commemorates an eagle's nest that is at the course.

It's a beautiful course right along Lake Shawnee. Topeka had gotten rain, so Randy had to stick to the cart paths. He golfed with a father-son duo. When visiting with Bob Sands, the 88-year-old dad, I learned that he was retired journalist who co-wrote the book, From First to Worst: A History of Kansas City Major League Baseball 1955 - 1985. The authors wrote it following the Royals' World Series win. We commiserated about the demise of the daily newspaper as it was "back in the day" when I was a reporter/editor at The Hutchinson News and he worked at a number of papers, including The Topeka Capitol Journal.

 

Another day, Randy golfed at the Berkshire course in Topeka. As usual, I read my book.

OTHER TOPEKA TOURING

This winter, we'd also visited the Brown vs. Board of Education site in Topeka. It tells the story of Brown v. Board of Education, which ended legal segregation in public schools. The exhibits offer an understanding of the role this 1954 Supreme Court decision played in the Civil Rights Movement. It includes a free tour of the historic Monroe School building tour. This historic site is operated by the National Park Service and is open Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free. 

When the girls were younger, we made several trips to the Kansas Children's Discovery Center. We also love the Topeka Zoo. We are looking forward to the renovations being complete at the Kansas State Historical Society museum.  For more of Topeka's attractions, you can visit www.visittopeka.com.