Never Miss A Chance to Visit a State Capitol

First, what is the difference between a capital and a capitol? 

Pay attention here: A capital is the city in the state where the capitol building sits.¹ 

Is this distinction helpful? No, it is not. English needs to choose one or the other.  C’mon, English! The two words, in my opinion, introduce an unnecessary and frustrating language variable that adds little, if any, comprehension value.

Okay, moving on from English language idiosyncracies, I’ve visited about 20 U.S. state capitol buildings over the years. Mrs. Anysecondnow and I just toured the one in Annapolis, Maryland.   

My advice is that If a state capital is your destination or reasonably on the way to your destination, you should definitely take the time to visit the capitol. 

Why?  Because, while most people are proud to be from a particular state², state legislators and governors are especially enthusiastic boosters of their state³ (as one would hope!) Consequently, they look for ways to show off their respective states’ awesomeness and their capitol building is a great vehicle to do this.  

As a result, state capitol buildings are chock full of dramatic art and statutes, inspiring historical moment markers, ornate rooms and chambers, fossils, walls of honor, and so much more. Some of the exhibits can be odd — for example, Minnesota has a gigantic gold leaf Roman victory chariot “Quadriga” on their roof — but those oddities make the visits even more interesting.

In addition, all those legislators work in the capitol and I presume they are highly motivated to allocate sufficient funds for upkeep (and golden statues).  As a result, state capitol buildings are typically impressive, gleaming buildings with high levels of workmanship. The Midwestern states particularly go all in — Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin are apparently well known for their detailed interiors. (I have yet to visit them).

State capitols are always free to visit and usually happy to offer state pride freebies, stickers, pens, and so forth. Tours led by enthusiastic guides are also gratis. You’ll have to pass through security screeningExcept Texas! I hope this is still the case, but when I visited the capitol in Austin in 2009, there was no security screening. Just a lone Texas ranger (big, tall and armed) standing near the entrance doors. , but that’s easy enough.

And you better believe that every capitol building has a collection of superlatives. Oldest (MD), tallest (LA), biggest (TX, naturally), etc. And, oh, they love their domes. Biggest dome. (WI). Tallest dome. (IL). Biggest wooden dome! (MD again).

I also admire the capitols that eschew the traditional dome template and attempt something different. Sometimes it works and sometimes maybe it doesn’t, but thanks for trying to be original — we see you, Honolulu and Santa Fe.

Am I going to try to visit every U.S. state capitol building? Eh, I’m not sure about that. But whenever I’m near one, yeah, you bet I’ll stop by.

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1. Yes, the word capital has other definitions — money, an upper case letter, etc. — but for purposes of this article, I am only concerned with the seat of government definition.
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2. Most Americans, it’s fair to say, are proud to be an American to some degree.  But, many Americans are just as proud to be from a particular state, especially when talking to other Americans. For example, as a born Virginian I’ve always felt a bit of a rivalry with our neighbor across the river, Maryland, and will sometimes offer up some light trash talk to Marylanders.
    
   On that point, I concede that Maryland’s state flag is awesome — far better than Virginia’s dull “state seal surrounded by dark blue background” version. And Maryland does have a lot of fun places to visit. And crabs.  I could live in MD and be quite content.
   
   (Bias alert!) But Virginia claims eight presidents and an astounding amount of American history, particularly concentrated in the 1600-1800s from colonial times through the Civil War.  George Washington lived here, as well as Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Mason, Patrick Henry – give me liberty or death! – and more.  The Revolutionary War ended here in Yorktown and so did the Civil War at Appomattox (after dozens of major and minor battles throughout the state). And Arlington National Cemetery. Virginia offers up mountains, beaches and rolling hills, plus Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Not to mention a bunch of top universities led by UVA, William & Mary, and VA Tech. Virginia is for Lovers!
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3. You will not regret perusing this list of state tourism slogans. So many thoughts.
   
   Do midwestern near-neighbors Illinois and Ohio know they both have similar, weak slogans? “Middle of Everything” and “In the Heart of It All”?
   
   I sort of admire Nebraska leaning into their overlooked plight — “Nebraska, it’s not for everyone” but are you sure you want that to be your official state slogan?
   
   Or how about Oregon’s tentative “We Like It Here, You Might Too”? So humble.
   
   And what lack of creativity resulted in “Washington: The State” and “That’s Wyoming”? I have an image of some young legislative summer interns jokingly submitting “That’s Wyoming” and the legislature or marketing committee or whoever just saying, “Huh. Yeah, whatever, that sounds fine — approved!”
   
   OTOH, maybe it’s because I have skied there, but Utah’s “Greatest Snow on Earth” is pretty fun. I rather like West Virginia’s easy to say and remember “Wild and Wonderful” and the clever “Vermont, Naturally.” And give credit to “Sweet Home Alabama” for taking the easy win.
   
   Finally, I notice that Florida doesn’t have a tourism slogan listed (I suppose it might be “Welcome to the Free State of Florida”. Gag. ), but they really don’t need one. Tourists are going to vacation in Florida either way and a slogan makes no difference. In that spirit, I suggest that California — another state that gets gobs of tourists whether they want them or not — emulate Florida’s easy confidence and drop the forgettable “Dream Big.” ↩︎