Impressive! Impressive is definitely the Kansas State Capital. The grounds of the capital filled an entire block and were well appointed and groomed. It appeared that much of the area directly adjacent to the capital had recently been updated. We had parked on the very front of the capital but the visitor entrance was on the opposite side so we got a fairly thorough view of the exterior. It was a grand capital in size and design on the exterior. To enter the building we had to descend to the basement level that has been completely refurbished to house the gift shop as well as the cafeteria and portraiture. It honestly resembled a prison with its extensive catacomb hallways and in some cases doors made of bars. We didn't waste much time moving up to the top floor to begin our self-guided tour.

This capital was on par with the quality that we have seen in the last few capitals with added bonuses such as cooper stair rails and banisters, underside of the stairs in copper and really great murals. The chambers were equally impressive and grand with the Senate Chamber of course being the more elegant. The Senate Chamber had real copper covered columns with molded metal wraps with beautifully carved granite all around. The desks were original and had been recently refinished. The House Chamber was just a step down from the Senate where instead of copper, the columns were solid marble. The paintings within the chambers was very nice but not overdone.

As we walked around the rotunda from the third floor Katherine noticed on the first floor a white, square tile with a singular S in the middle. We all took a gander and were all equally perplexed. It's not unusual for there to be a state seal or a picture or a mosaic, but this was odd to what we knew. We didn't have anyone immediately to ask about it so we kept it in the back of our minds until later. We made a point to take notice of the murals and there was one in particular that Rebecca even recognized from a history text. John Curry, a prominent artist around 1937, was asked to come to his home state to paint murals in the statehouse. There is a drawn out story about dislike of him, his paintings, and the negativity he focused on rather than the positive of his state. The "Tragic Prelude" was Curry's most famous painting due to his portrayal of John Brown and his bloody Kansas. His three murals were not hung for many years due to all of the controversy but eventually made their way to where they are now. I found his murals very interesting and the symbolism was accurate. Sometimes just because we don't like what we see doesn't mean it's not reality.

We made our way around to the Lt. Governor's reception room and the Supreme Court that is now used for committee meetings. From these room we made our way to the second level rotunda area to get a good shot of the statues and art surrounding that area and it was at this point we made the discovery to finally answer Katherine's question about the S. As we walked around the center we then saw the W, E, and N that were also on the floor! We obviously felt a little idiotic as we have seen compasses and other designs with the cardinal directions however seeing an S we jumped to the conclusion that it had to do with KS! That's what we get for assuming! On the idea of assuming we made the silliest one of all when we saw the "Life Slider" on the walls across from each staircase; all of us thought a person needing to get out quick would jump on like a snow sled and would sled down the stairs, however we weren't sure how that would work as there was a 90 degree turn before the next floor. Fortunately for us we did figure it all out and how it is a two person process to gently glide a hurt person down the stairs, but we at least had a good chuckle at ourselves anyway.

As we headed out we stopped into the gift shop. The man behind the counter was full of good information to share with us that was not in our self-guided tour. He had funny stories to tell about cherub/naked people paintings being covered up with less risqué panels because the legislature didn't agree with the image they would give the capital. It was a nice added bonus for us. - Carrie