Part 2, Capital/Capitols

On Friday we were heading for Montgomery AL when we realized that we were really heading for Birmingham! After a quick course correction we were on local roads again and going south. I can’t tell you how much better it is to find a State Highway that the trucks have not found, even if the road is rough and the speed limit keeps changing.

We got to Montgomery about noon and easily found the State Capitol. It was built in 1850 on the top of Goat Hill, right where the city fathers had envisioned it. This Capitol is all white and also built in the Greek Revival style with a cupola containing a large clock. There are four floors below the rotunda. We started at the top floor to view the dome and admire all the murals. They were painted by Roderick Mackenzie on canvas and then attached to the walls. I thought that was pretty amazing. On either side at the back there are spectacular spiral stairways that go all the way down to the first floor. We took those down to the next floor.

On the next floor down you can see the Senate and House chambers. They have been restored to what they were in the late 1800s. So, this building is part museum and part working capital. The Legislature actually meets across the street in the Alabama Statehouse. I was surprised to see that the House members did not have desks – just beautiful wood chairs. The Senate did have desks. I loved the carpets; they were a red floral pattern. We learned that the Confederate States of America were organized in the Senate chamber and this was the Confederate Capital for three months before being moved to Richmond VI.

Going down the other set of spiral stairways to the main floor we saw more rooms that were now museums. One was the Supreme Court Chamber and library. There were also grand staircases from this level to the second level. On the street level we visited the gift shop and got the Capitol stamp. The main steps in front of the Capitol are the location of the end of the march from Selma to Montgomery that was instrumental in ending segregation in the South.

We left Montgomery and took I-20 to Meridian MS where we settled in for the night.