Idaho Capitol Tour for Classrooms
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This Tour is appropriate for elementary school students to learn and share information about the Idaho State Capitol. Presented by the Idaho Capitol Commission
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Idaho Capitol Tour for Classrooms
- 1. The Idaho State Capitol
- 2. William Wallace, Idaho’s first territorial governor
- 3. Idaho’s 1886 Territorial Capitol and first state Capitol
- 7. John Everett Tourtelotte, architect
- 8. Charles F. Hummel, architect
- 20. The Capitol’s Compass Rose
- 29. Charles Ostner
- 54. The Capitol Reopened in January of 2010
Editor's Notes
- Here is the script. If your time is limited read only the bold script. If you have more time read all of it. Picture is fish-eye lens view looking up from the first floor to the Capitol dome.
- President Abraham Lincoln helped to create the Territory of Idaho in 1863; Lincoln appointed a friend of his, William Wallace, shown here, to be Idaho’s first Territorial Governor. Wallace traveled to Lewiston, Idaho, which was Idaho’s first capitol. This painting hangs in the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol building.
- This was the first capitol building in Boise, built in 1886. Therefore it served both as the second Territorial Capitol building and the first state capitol building. Idaho did not become a state until 1890. Notice how there are no trees or neighboring buildings.
- Within a few years, the Capitol building was joined by the Central School. Also notice how trees have grown, a fence has been built, and a fountain erected.
- Here you can see the present capitol building next to the territorial capitol building in the foreground. Here, only the middle section of the capitol is complete. The capitol building was built between 1905 and 1920 in two phases. This picture was taken in 1912, between phase one and phase two. The advance of time is also evidence by the growth of the surrounding trees.
- In 1919, wings were added to the statehouse. In order to build the east and west wings, the Central School and Territorial Capitol buildings had to be demolished. The entire building, as we view it today, was completed in 1920.
- John Everett Tourtelotte was one of the architects who designed the statehouse.
- Charles F. Hummel was the other architect who designed the statehouse.
- When architects plan a building, one thing they consider is the materials that will be used. Tourtelotte and Hummel chose sandstone, marble, and granite. The sandstone used for the statehouse came from the quarry shown here in the Boise foothills: Table Rock.
- Look at the size of the sandstone chunks being taken from the earth!
- Horse drawn wagons were used to move the sandstone. How would this affect the building of the statehouse. What type of technology would they use today? How would that affect construction?
- A tram was also built and used for moving large pieces of sandstone; some of the sandstone blocks weighed 10 tons- that’s 20,000 pounds! This photo dates to 1913 or 1914.
- Once the large sections of stone were broken away from the ground, many work groups fashioned the sandstone into smaller, detailed segments. This work group includes Robert Murrie (he’s sixth from the right in a hat and white shirt) an immigrant from Scotland. He came to Boise in 1906 to cut stone for the capitol.
- Teamwork was an important part of building the capitol. Carpenters, plumbers, electricians, painters, stonemasons, bricklayers, etc. all worked to create the capitol. This group of workers stands at the front of the capitol on the “ceremonial steps.”
- Contractors, or builders, took many progress photographs to document the construction of the capitol building. This photo shows some of the steel being shaped to form the rotunda which is the round center of the building.
- Perched above the capitol, this photographer gives us a “birds-eye-view” of the state house construction.
- The dome is being completed. The steel frame of the capitol is now being covered in concrete and terra cotta tiles. A “lantern” was put at the top of the dome and it is on this lantern that the gold eagle is perched.
- The Idaho State Capitol building is a landmark. We have traced much of the early construction; the building is now complete. Now let’s go INSIDE and explore!
- We are going to tour the capitol as if you were this very group seated in the rotunda. There is over 200,000 square feet of space inside; we have a lot to see! That is former governor Dirk Kempthorne talking to a tour group of school children.
- Here is the “compass rose” pattern on the first and second floors. The compass rose points in every direction: north, south, east, west, and in between. Our compass rose is made out of marble. The red marble comes from georgia, the green from vermont, the gray from Alaska, and the black from Italy.
- About ¼ of the entire interior of the statehouse is marble. The columns look like marble too, but they aren’t.
- This image shows the columns in 1911, before the completion of the Capitol building. The columns are actually made out of brick because they are “load-bearing,” meaning they support building and its’ dome. They are coated with plaster and made to look like marble. The faux-marble is called scagliola.
- There are many things inside the capitol on the first floor. This statue, called “The Patriot,” can be found on the first floor.
- A larger “Patriot” can be found off Highway 12 near Kellogg, Idaho. This statue is a tribute to miners who have lost their lives in mining accidents.
- Let’s make sure we look up at the center of the dome before we leave this floor; this is our best view. There is a lot of white and a lot of light in the capitol. This was the architects’ most important part of their design. They wanted the statehouse to be full of light.
- This statue is on the second floor and it is called “Winged Victory of Samothrace,” a copy of the original.
- The “Winged Victory” was given as a gift from France in 1949. Here you can see people in France loading gifts onto a boxcar of a train.
- Charles Ostner, pictured standing here, immigrated to America from Germany. Mr. Ostner finally settled in Idaho in 1869 and presented this statue of George Washington.
- Mr. Ostner even drew this picture of the day he presented the statue. His drawing was shown along with a picture of the statue in the newspaper.
- Now the statue rests (inside the building) on the fourth floor. The statue was carved out of pine wood and was damaged by the years of sun, rain, snow, and wind. It was brought inside in the 1930’s, restored, and covered in gold.
- It is real gold on the outside but still wood underneath. Think of it as a Reese’s peanut butter cup. The gold leaf looks sharp and brings out a lot of the detail in the woodwork underneath.
- The Governor works on the second floor. Here is the entrance to his office. Let’s take a peek inside. ..
- Here is the actual private working space that the Governor uses. The office is large enough for meetings and press conferences. Now on to the third floor, we still have a lot to see!
- While the second floor is used by the Executive Branch, the third floor is used by the Legislative Branch. This is the outer entrance to the House of Representatives.
- Who recognizes this famous symbol in the rug outside the chamber? The Great Seal of Idaho is found all over this building; it’s on chairs, doorknobs, and even the dishes used by the Governor.
- From the third floor we can look down into the House of Representatives’ chamber. From up in this seating area called the Gallery, you or anyone can watch Idaho lawmakers at work.
- This is how the House of Representatives used to look. Even though we can only see where the Speaker (or leader) of the House sits, you can still see how plain it was compared to today.
- The other half of the Legislative Branch is the Senate. American government is called BICAMERAL because it has two houses: The House of Representatives and the Senate. This is the entrance to the Senate chamber.
- This is how the senate used to look.
- The third floor of the statehouse also has room that used to be for the third branch of government: the Judicial branch. This is how the Supreme Court Chamber looked in the early 20 th century. Back then, we only had 3 justices, and now we have 5. Today the room is used for legislative committees.
- This clock is a special feature in the old Supreme Court because it is built right into the wall.
- In addition to the Gallery seating on the fourth floor, there are also some large beautiful murals. This mural, although labeled Shoshone Falls, was titled “Niagra of the West, by its’ artist J.C. Cowles.
- The ceremonial steps are a gathering place for many outside the statehouse.
- On the grounds outside of the capitol building is an Oregon Trail marker called the “Pioneer Monument.” This was dedicated in 1906 by 2,777 school children.
- Also on the front lawn is a seacoast cannon gun used during the Civil war, supposedly at Vicksburg.
- This is a monument to those who struggled during the Civil War. It calls the U.S. Army the “Grand Army of the Republic.”
- This photo taken from the roof gives us a neat view of three presidential trees.
- Idaho’s first governor, Frank Steunenberg, can be seen in statue form near the Capitol. Governor Steunenberg was assassinated in 1905; this statue was erected in his memory.
- In fact, the area around the Capitol Building is sometimes called Steunenberg park. The Capitol is a landmark, rooted in Idaho heritage- a window to the past and to our future.
- After 100 years—the Capitol needs repair. This happens to almost all houses over 100 years old.
- Experts in repairing old buildings like the Capitol are fixing so it can last at least another 100 years
- Our state leaders also decided that we should expand the Capitol—see the brand new steel and concrete on the right?
- Remember, the Idaho State Capitol belongs to the people; it is your building. I hope you have enjoyed your tour of the statehouse! The Capitol will reopen in 2010 and YOU are invited to visit and enjoy.