Road Trip: 13 Capitols, 12 States, 10 Days Quiz

Answer: No

Arguably one of the world's most recognised building, the United States Capitol, is the seat of the United States Congress and the legislative branch of the American federal government.

With the Compromise of 1790, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson agreed that the federal government would pay each state's outstanding Revolutionary War debts in exchange for establishing a national capital in the Southern of the United States.

IN 1790 Congress passed the Residence Act, approving the creation of a capital on the Potomac River. President George Washington picked the exact spot. The city was mapped out at 100 square miles with Maryland and Virginia ceding land to make the new boundaries of a federal district. (The land south of the Potomac was ceded back to Virginia in 1846).

After several attempts, the "Capitol" was completed in 1800 with a modest dome featuring in its plans. However, in 1822, modifications included the building of a double-dome structure made of stone, brick, but also with a wooden interior dome that would rise 96 feet (29 m) above the floor of the rotunda below.

By 1850, it was clear that the Capitol would need to be expanded due to the increased number of states being admitted to the Union, and that the dome would also need to be increased proportionately in size. The second dome commenced construction in 1855 (if you examine photographs of Mr Lincoln's inauguration you can see the dome under construction in the background). The dome is not stone, but is made from cast iron and painted to appear to be made of the same stone as the main capitol building. There are actually two domes, one inside the other. The outer dome is 288 feet (88 m) in height and 96 feet (29 m) in diameter. The dome is topped by the Statue of Freedom which, when placed in 1863 marked the completion of the dome as we know it today.
Arguably it is the dome that makes the Capitol so distinctive. It is probably no coincidence that 39 states have State Capitols with domes

Washington DC was visited on Day 8.

Answer: Beacon Hill overlooking Boston Common

The building is home to the Massachusetts state legislature - the General Court and also houses the offices of the Governor of Massachusetts. The building, was designed by architect Charles Bulfinch who also went onto design the Maine State House after Maine separated as a state from Massachusetts in 1820. It was completed in January 1798 at a cost more than five times the original budget. It been enlarged several times since. The dome was painted grey before being gilded in gold leaf in 1874. During World War II, the dome was painted gray once again, to prevent reflection during blackouts In 1997, at a cost of more than $300,000, the dome was re-gilded, in 23k gold.
It is designated a National Historic Landmark based on its architectural significance.

Boston was the first port of call on this trip and the State House was visited on Day One.

Answer: False

Maine became a State in 1820 and its legislature met in initially in Portland, its largest city located in the far south of the state. Several towns sought to be the official capital including Portland, Brunswick, Hallowell, Waterville, Belfast, Wiscasset, and Augusta. It moved to Augusta because of its more central location. The State capitol construction commenced in 1829 and was completed in 1832. While its resemblance to the national capitol is obvious, it is actually modelled on the Massachusetts State House. The 34 acre site was chosen from Old Hallowell Road to the Kennebec River and the building was designed by Boston architect Charles Bulfinch. In 1852, remodelling was necessary and a dome rising to a height of 185 feet (56 m) replaced the original cupola. A gilt copper statue of Minerva, crowned the dome. The copper dome itself was replaced in 2014, its colour more brown otherwise identical. It will take approximately 35 years for the copper to oxidise to appear the same green as the previous hail-damaged dome.

The Maine State House was visited on Day Two.

Answer: Montpelier

Vermont is the 49th US state in population. It biggest city, Burlington had only 45000 people in 2018. Montpelier when visited in 2019 had a population of less than 9000. Vermont was the 14th state admitted to the union and Montpelier was chosen for its central location and a modest state house was built. A pretty town on the Winooski River, the "second State house" was built between 1833 and 1838 and based upon the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens. this building was almost totally destroyed by a fire in 1857. Silloway, the original architect was able to salvage the portico, some of the granite walls. On the rebuild the dome and roof were originally painted a terracotta red to imitate Tuscan tile. The dome was gilded in gold leaf in 1907 as a part of the Colonial Revival style. The dome is topped by a statue named Agriculture, an image of Ceres, the ancient Roman goddess of agriculture.

The Montpelier State House, arguably the most picturesque of the state capitols visited on this trip, was visited on day three.

Answer: Massachusetts

Boston was first settled in 1630 and this building in Downtown State Street was built in 1713 making it one of the oldest public buildings in the US. the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed from the east balcony to excited crowds by Colonel Thomas as most Bostonians were pro-revolution. The building (originally a merchant's hall), served as the seat of the Massachusetts state government before its move to the present Massachusetts State House just a little west in 1798. It is now known as the Old State House.

The Old State House was visited on Day 1.

Answer: True

The New Hampshire State House was built between 1816 and 1819 by architect Stuart Park in the Greek Revival style made with locally-quarried granite. The house is unusual in that the windows on the three stories are different for each story: On the first floor are they are rectangular, on the second floor they are arched, and windows on the third floor are square panels. The central dome feature consists of an octagonal drum supporting a golden dome with an element-proof peace eagle statue looking to the right on top. This was the second eagle to perch atop the dome. This one was placed in 1957.

The reason why this State House is the oldest capitol in the nation in which the state's legislative branches meet in their original chambers can be attributed to fact that Concord has been the state capital for so long - it precedes New Hampshire as a state. The area was first settled in 1659 and in 1734 the town of Rumford was established. After a bitter dispute with the neighbouring town of Bow, Rumford was renamed Concord to reflect the new found harmony in the area. Concord's central geographical location made it an ideal choice for the state capital, especially as in 1807 a canal and lock system connecting Concord with Boston was opened. In 1808, Concord was named the capital and the planning current State House commenced soon after.

The New Hampshire State House was visited on Day 3.

Answer: The capitol has no dome

Albany was made the New York state capital permanently of New York in 1797 after it had been located at four other centres including New York City. Many people have wondered by New York City was not made the capital but Albany on the Hudson River and eastern terminus of the Erie Canal had better transportation links, was more centrally located in the state and, in at the time, there was little difference in population between Albany and New York State.

The New York State Capitol, its second, was built between 1869 and 1899. When completed it had cost US$25 million which made it the most expensive government building at the time. Notable in its absence of a dome - only one of eleven state capitols without one. It was meant to have one, a massive one, but stress fractures in the building meant the building was moving down the steep-ish State Street. To eliminate this movement, a 166-foot / 51 m long exterior Eastern Staircase (see photo) was added to reinforce the front facade.

This capitol was visited on Day Four.

Answer: Hartford

Hartford is the fourth largest city in Connecticut behind Bridgeport, New Haven, and Stamford, all of which except Hartford are located on the coast. Hartford is one of the oldest cities in the US, being founded in 1635 by the Dutch who had a fort on the Connecticut River. The English arrived a year later and settled upstream where the city centre is today.

The present state capitol is the third with previous versions being in New Haven and Hartford prior to the US Civil War. Built from local marble and granite from Rhode Island, commencing in 1871, building began in 1871. The building was completed in 1878, it was opened for the General Assembly of Connecticut in January 1879. The distinctive central domed tower is 32 ft (9.8 m) tall with a cupola 55 ft (16.8 m) The overall height of the tower is 257 ft (78.3 m). The dome originally had a large statue called The Genius of Connecticut on top of the dome but was damaged during a 1938 hurricane. bronze statue was 18 ft (5.5 m) tall, and weighed nearly 7,000 lb (3,170 kg). After it was damaged, it was donated to the federal government war effort to make ammunition and machine parts.

Answer: No

Providence Rhode Island was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian. He was a religious exile who left the Massachusetts Bay Colony to move south. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" as he believed it was the best site to practise his religion and grow crops. It grew quickly into a textile manufacturing centre and was the ninth biggest US city when the Civil War started in 1861. In 21st century providence, Service industries in health and education predominate with Brown University being the largest employer.
Prior to 1762, the Rhode Island legislature used to meet in the five county courthouses on rotation. In 1762 a dedicated Georgian-style building on College Hill was used as the meeting place for the colonial and then state legislatures for nearly 150 years. Between 1895 and 1904 the permanent State House was built overlooking downtown. The imposing building built from Georgian marble, has doubled as the United States Capitol in several notable movies. Its dome is considered to be the "fourth largest self-supported marble dome in the world". There is a gold-covered bronze statue of the Independent Man, originally named "Hope" on top of the dome. Hope is 11 feet tall and 285 feet above ground level.

Providence was visited on Day 4

Answer: Philadelphia and Lancaster

The Harrisburg area on the Susquehanna River in Central Pennsylvania has been home to Native Americans for approximately 3000 years. In 1719, John Harris settled at the site of the current city and secured grants totalling 800 acres. A town was established and his son offered to donate land in the township as long as the state capital was located there. In 1799 when Philadelphia was serving as a national capital, the state capital was moved to Lancaster because of its greater population. After 13 years the state capital moved to Harrisburg on the site offered by John Harris Jnr.

The State Capitol is the third building and termed the Huston Building. The first, the Hills Building was destroyed by fire in 1897. The second the Cobb Building was built too hastily with the contractor being paid-as-you-go. Legislature moved into an unfinished building (There was no dome!) and it was deemed unsuitable. The current building commenced in 1902 and the legislature moved into a completed building in 1906. The granite capitol is an impressive 520 feet (160 m) long and 272 feet (83 m) tall. The 94-foot diameter (29 m) dome is topped by a 14 foot / 4 m gilded brass statue of a personification of Commonwealth. The dome itself weighs 26,000 tons unusually for a US state capitol was architecturally inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Harrisburg was visited on Day 6.

Answer: True

A colonial settlement at the mouth of the Severn River on Chesapeake Bay can be traced back to 1654. The settlement moved to the south shore where it eventually became known as Anne Arundel's Towne. In the capital of the royal colony, the Province of Maryland, to Anne Arundel's Towne and was renamed to Annapolis after Princess Anne of Denmark and Norway, who was to become the Queen Anne of Great Britain. After the American Revolutionary War, what was a village grew into a political and administrative capital, a US entry port, and had a major role the Atlantic slave trade.
The State House is the oldest U.S. state capitol in continuous legislative use. It dates back to 1772. In 1783 and 1784 it served as the capitol building of the United States Congress of the Confederation. It is also where the formal end of the American Revolutionary War, occurred. The capitol dome is unique as it is made out of wood and without nails. The current building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

This State House was visited on Day 6.

Answer: Richmond Virginia

Richmond, with an estimated 2019 population of 230 000 is the fourth largest city and capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located on the James River, and 44 miles (71 km) west of Williamsburg, and 92 miles (148 km) south of Washington DC, the city is the third capital after Jamestown and Williamsburg. The city has a rich history around the Revolutionary War and during the American Civil War, Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy.

The Virginia State Capitol houses oldest elected legislative body in North America. The Virginia General Assembly was established as the House of Burgesses in 1619. The building was conceived by Thomas Jefferson and Charles-Louis Clerisseau, a French architect and based on the Maison Carree, an ancient Roman Temple in the French city of Nimes. Construction took three years and was completed in 1788. The current Capitol is the eighth built, as most previous capitols were lost to fires in the colonial period. In the early 1904, two wings were added, giving the complex its present appearance.

Richmond was visited on Day 7.

Answer: Museum of Art, Philadelphia

The Museum of Art, Philadelphia was made famous due to the 1976 movie "Rocky" where the eponymous protagonist bounds up the stairs in triumph as his training fitness peaks. The author was under some sort of misapprehension that this was some sort of state or former national capital (Philadelphia at some point has been both a state and national capital). It wasn't until 2010 when preparing for a trip to the city that the author discovered the true identity of the building and thought it would be a neat idea to run up the step like Rocky did. However, my plan was not novel as it appeared that every visitor was doing the same thing. Nevertheless that task was completed replete with before and after photos. That might have been the end of the matter until one of the author's FT teammates posted him cruising up the steps of the same building eight years later. "I did that as well" I replied posting the pre and post- photos. However my sceptical team mates said that was not proof that I ran up the stairs only that i did traverse them. So in 2019, I had to make a small detour to repeat my task but this time armed with a smart phone was able to document in movie form , my second speedy ascent of said stairs (though perhaps not as fast as I did it in 2010 and certainly not as fast as my FT team mate). However time was taken on the second trip to appreciate the architecture of this purpose-built building built in classic Greek temple design from Minnesota dolomite between 1919 and 1928.

The visit took place on Day 9.

Answer: Trenton

Trenton is New Jersey's 10th largest city with a stable population of just under 100 000 people. It can trace its origins back to 1719 when a constable was appointed to the area and a jail and courthouse was built a year later. the ensuing township was initially called "Trent-towne" after a local landowner. During the American Revolutionary War, it was the site of the Battle of Trenton which the first of George Washington's victories when on December 25-26, 1776, Washington's army and his army, crossed the Delaware River into Trenton and defeated the enemy troops which had garrisoned there.
In 1790 Trenton was appointed the capital which previously had alternated between Elizabethtown (now Elizabeth) and Perth Amboy. Interestingly, unlike some state capitals that were chosen for their central location, Trenton was chosen because it was halfway between Philadelphia and New York. As such, if you leave the state house, cross the Delaware you are in Pennsylvania. Trenton is the closest state capitol to a state line. New Jersey's first and only purpose built state house commenced construction in 1792 and as such it is the third-oldest state house in continuous legislative use in the United States. This capitol is unusual in two aspects: The original version of the building consists of two parallel structures (one for ease government house, connected in a H-Shape by the domed rotunda. The second distinguishing feature is that set not on a park-like setting but integrated into the surrounding urban setting which includes several undistinguished legislative office buildings. As such it is hard to get a photo that reflects the stateliness of the architecture.

This capitol was visited on Day 9.

Answer: False

Dover was founded in 1683 by William Penn as a township for the new county of Kent in Delaware. The capital was moved from New Castle to Dover in 1777 because of its central location and proximal distance from potential British raiders on the Delaware River. An act passed in October 1779, saw that the assembly could at any place in the state they saw fit. They met in Wilmington, Lewes, Dover, and New Castle until it settled permanently in Dover in October 1781. The city's central square, The Green was the site of the first capitol built between 1787-91 and was termed the Old State House when the new state house was built between 1931-34. The building is quite different to other state capitols in the region, built in the Colonial Revival style, from red brick with white wooden trim. Wings were added in 1965-70 and again in 1994. There is no domed but the central tiered tower is based on the Old State House in Boston (see Question 5).

This was the last state capitol visited on this trip. It was visited on Day 10, a few hours before the first leg of the trip back to Australia.