Capitol Glass

Rotunda dome in the House of Representatives

I've always loved stained glass whether it is in a church or a public building.  Just like with quilts it is the colors and shapes that pull my eyes to it.  I don't know which came first - my love of quilts or my love of stained glass.  I see quilts in stained glass and I see stained glass in quilts!

Panels on the lower circumference of the rotunda dome in the Senate Chamber

On my recent trip I visited the (New) Mississippi State Capitol twice.  The first time I did the self-guided tour and afterwards realized that I needed the guided tour to see everything, so I returned again at a time when I could catch the tour.  I'm so glad I did because this building and its stained glass is something to behold!

This is the ceiling of one of the hallways.  I knew I would fall on my face if I tried to walk while looking up, so I just stopped!

 

These three panels at the top of the Capitol's main staircase recently were removed and underwent an extensive renovation.  I vaguely remember seeing them on a previous visit to the Capitol in December 2002 and they were rather dull.  They still caught my eye and I commented on them to my Dad and he agreed that they were quite impressive.  There were a lot of people in the Capitol that day so I couldn't get too close.

These three panels were designed by Louise Millet of Chicago and are located on the first landing of the grand staircase. They represent three iconic figures of the state: the American Indian, Mississippi, and the pioneer.  They were hard to photograph because of their location, but I did get this detail of the pioneer - isn't he still handsome after all these  years?

Southern Traction Company

 The Southern Traction Company provided interurban transportation between Corsicana and Dallas from 1912 to 1941. Its sister company, the Texas Traction Company, provided service between Dallas, Denton, and Waco; in 1917 they would merge to form the Texas Electric Railway. The interurban trains would stop to pick up passengers when flagged down and offered affordable and more frequent service than the steam rail lines.

Car number 305 was one of 22 passenger cars that ran on this line. Travelers were offered a choice of a smoking or non-smoking section, one toilet, and a water fountain.  After 1932 there was no conductor and cars were configured for pay-as-you-go commuters. Just to note that there were 2 seats on either side of the narrow aisle where travelers were squeezed together much like passengers on an airplane today!

The Visitor Center didn't open until later in the morning on the day I was visiting, but I looked through the windows and they had a nice display of memorabilia and informational resources.  I'll stop in on my next visit.