Connecticut State Capitol
Part 3: Capitol Grounds and the Legislative Office Building
The Capitol Grounds wraps around the Capitol and merges with Bushnell Park to the east across Trinity Street. The Sculptural monuments in the area continue the story of Connecticut.
Israel Putnam, 1718 to 1790, was a General in the American Revolutionary War from the Connecticut Colony. His monument was sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward in 1874.
Thomas Knowlton, 1740–1776, was a Colonel in the Revolutionary War and noted as one of our first intelligence officers from Ashford Connecticut. His monument was sculpted by Enoch Woods in 1895.
Enoch Smith Woods, 1846 to 1919, was born in Wallace Nova Scotia. He emigrated to the United States in the 1860s and moved to Hartford Connecticut. He was a self taught sculptor and successful in completing several major works in the Hartford area.
Richard D Hubbard, 1818 to 1884, was a lawyer, orator, statesman, US Representative, and Governor of Connecticut. His monument was sculpted by Karl Gerhardt in 1890.
Andersonville Boy, was created in memory of the Connecticut Union soldiers who suffered in southern military prisons during the Civil War. This statue was sculpted by Bela Pratt in 1907.
Clarence Ransom Edwards, 1859 to 1931, was a General from Connecticut that served in France during World War I. His statue was sculpted by George Snowden in 1942.
Bella Lyon Pratt, 1867 to 1917, was born in Norwich Connecticut, and studied at the Yale University School of Fine Arts, the Art Students League of New York, and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
George Holburn Snowden, 1901 to 1990, was born in Yonkers New York and apprenticed under Robert George Eberhard at the Yale School of Sculpture.
Bushnell Park
Bushnell Park is among the first public parks established in the United States. It is adjacent to, and ties into the capitol grounds in downtown Hartford and features the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch at the entrance to Trinity Street. The park was conceived in the 1850s by Horace Bushnell, a local minister and theologian.
The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch is dedicated to the 4,000 that served and the 400 that died in the Civil War. It was constructed in 1886 of brownstone and terracotta in an Eclectic architectural style by George Keller. The design includes a Greek frieze by Samuel Kitson and Casper Buberl, a Roman arch, and several sculpted Civil War figures near the base by Albert Entress added in 1894.
George Keller, 1842 to 1935, was born in Cork Ireland and immigrated with his family to New York in 1852. He apprenticed with architect J G Patterson in Hartford Connecticut and later with James Renwick and Peter Wight, where he developed an eclectic medieval Gothic building style that can be seen in the arch design.
Samuel James Kitson, 1848 to 1906, was born in Huddersfield West Yorkshire England, and studied at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. He opened a studio in Rome, but in 1878 while touring New York and Boston, he received several commissions leading to his move to New York in 1881.
Casper Buberl, 1834 to 1899, was born in Königsberg Bohemia, and studied art in Prague and Vienna. In 1854 he immigrated to the United States to study under sculptor Robert Eberhard Launitz. He became noted for numerous Civil War sculptures, architectural sculptures and friezes like the one on the arch.
Albert Entress, 1844 to 1925, was born in Rottenberg am Neckar Germany. He emigrated to New York and then moved to Hartford in 1873 where he opened a monument sculpture and architectural sculpture business.
Spirit of Victory Monument, is a Spanish American War Memorial dedicated to the men who served in the War with Spain. It was sculpted by Evelyn Longman in 1927.
Evelyn Beatrice Longman, 1874 to 1954, was born in Winchester Ohio, and studied at Olivet College, and at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1901 she studied with Atkins MacNeil and Daniel Chester French in New York, and became noted for her many allegorical sculptural works.
Legislative Office Building
The Legislative Office Building was completed in 1988, in a Modern architectural style by the architect Russell von Dohlen. The building is clad in a rough and polished granite from Texas. The interior also features granite, as well as marble from Italy, Mexico, and Spain. Additional finishes include Cherry wood from Indiana and Wisconsin.
Russell Gibson von Dohlen, 1928 to 2023, was born in Brooklyn New York. He served in the US Air Force during the Korean War, and studied both architecture and regional planning at Cornell University. In 1972 he opened an architectural firm in Farmington Connecticut where he completed many works in the surrounding region.
The building includes historic displays in the public areas, and supports the legislative offices and staff for both the House and Senate.
The lobby enters into a Gallery open to the full five floor building height and a skylight above. It features a Modern Abstract sculpture titled Eagle, by sculptor David von Schlegell. It is located on a tall granite pedestal overlooking the Gallery, and depicts civic pride, strength, and virtue.
David von Schlegell, 1920 to 1992, was born in Saint Louis Missouri, and served in the Army Air Force during World War II. He studied at the University of Michigan, the Art Students League of New York, and the artist’s community of Ogunquit Maine. In 1971 he became head of the Yale School of Art where he taught and completed numerous works as an abstract artist.
The Cherry wood doors to the meeting rooms on the first floor are also a work of art, which include marquetry inlaid wood panels of Ebony, Holly, Rosewood, Australian Walnut, Anigre, and Lacewood to form scenes depicting symbols of Connecticut. The doors and inlaid panels were created by craftsman Rick Wrigley.
Rick Wrigley, born in 1955, is a master craftsman based in Holyoke Massachusetts.
Veterans’ Hall of Honor displays memorials to those that have served Connecticut during wartime.
Fire Fight is a Korean War Memorial sculpture depicting a serviceman protecting a wounded soldier being moved to safety. It was sculpted by Clayton Fuller.
Iwo Jima Flag Raising is a scaled replica of the World War II memorial on display at Arlington Ridge Park in Virginia. The original was sculpted by Felix de Weldon in 1954.
Clayton Fuller, 1916 to 2014, was born in Saint Augustine Florida, and grew up in Florida and New York. He was an avid promoter of the arts in the New England area where he created many works including this Korean War Memorial.
Felix de Weldon, 1907 to 2003, was born in Vienna Austria Hungary, and studied at Marchetti College, and the University of Vienna’s Academy of Creative Arts and School of Architecture. De Weldon worked with artists in France, Italy and Spain, and then took on a number of commissions in London. In 1937, after working on a commission in Canada, he settled in the United States and enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He was appointed to the US Commission of Fine Arts by presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy.
Three Soldiers is a scaled down replica of the original at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington DC. It was sculpted by Frederick E. Hart in 1984.
Vietnam Women’s Memorial, is a maquette of the full size memorial in Washington DC. It is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall, and was sculpted by Glenna Goodacre in 1992.
Frederick Elliott Hart, 1943 to 1999, was born in Atlanta Georgia and grew up in Horry County South Carolina. He studied at the University of South Carolina, the Corcoran School of Art at George Washington University, and apprenticed at the Giorgio Gianetti Studio of Architectural Sculpture, and under Roger Morigi at the Washington National Cathedral.
Glenna Maxey Goodacre, 1939 to 2020, was born in Lubbock Texas, and studied at the Colorado College, and the Art Students League in New York City. She is noted for her many life size bronze sculptures in museums and public buildings across the US.
Travel Notes
On my third trip to the Connecticut State Capitol, I signed up online for a guided tour. The guided tours begin at the Tour Desk located at the west entrance to the Legislative Office Building, where free parking is available in their attached garage to the north. The tour route entered the Capitol through the tunnel that comes up into the South Entrance Hall of the Capitol. This proved to be a better way to enter as there are more exhibits along the way. It also includes a nice Cafeteria where I picked up a quick lunch.
This journey was a day trip out of Boston, where I was visiting family. I was running a Tesla Cybertruck with version 12 of their full self driving package installed. I notice that there were several more supercharging stations along the way so I didn’t have to charge downtown like I did on my tour of the Old State House. The upgrades made for a much easier and comfortable ride; oh, and the donuts were good too!
Notes and References
Little is said about the Native Americans that resided in the area prior to colonizers from Europe. Today there are Mohegans, Pequots, Schaghticoke, and Paugussetts, that still reside in the area.
Story and photographs by David Smitherman, with data collected from onsite inscriptions and brochures, Wikipedia, Google Maps, and Google Lens. Site visits were made in July 2020, August 2023, and November 2024.
Capitol Sculptors: https://www.publicartct.org/.
Clayton Fuller: https://www.chapmanfuneral.com/obituaries/Clayton-E-Fuller?obId=20629661.