Georgia State Capitol
Part 2: The Interior Architecture and Sculpture
The Georgia State Capitol faces northwest, which is known as the west entrance, with an entrance hall leading to the Rotunda in the center and the dome above, and open galleries to each side. Entrances are located on each face leading up to the second floor above the first floor ground level.
The Visitor Entrance is located on the southwest face known as the south entrance off Capitol Square Southwest. All of the public areas, inside and out, have been beautifully restored and preserved.
Rotunda
The Rotunda and Galleries open up to the upper three floor levels over the first floor and feature clearstory windows above providing ample lighting to the interior. The ceiling of the Rotunda is the underside of the dome, which is a double dome structure. Above the inner dome is a service area that provides maintenance access to the outer dome, cupola, and the statue Miss Freedom crowning the dome.
The interior of the dome is constructed of self supporting terracotta tiles that provide the surface that can be seen inside. The original plans included the installation of murals on the tile surface, which were never completed due to cost.
The floors throughout the rotunda and galleries are Georgia marble, and the paint scheme has been restored to the Capitol’s original colors as best possible.
Inside the rotunda there are the upper three floor levels that lead to the galleries at each end and eight large paintings of prominent politicians from Georgia history.
Galleries
On each side of the Rotunda are Galleries that open up to the full height of the building and lead to the House and Senate Chambers. The Galleries, like the Rotunda, are used as museum space and are filled with art, sculpture, artifacts, and displays on Georgia history. At each end of both Galleries is a Grand Staircase leading from the second floor to the third floor where the main entrances to the House and Senate Chambers are located.
The public galleries inside the Chambers are accessible from the fourth floor level. In addition to the museum spaces, the Galleries are often used for public events where the people can exercise their freedom of speech with religious events, political protests, and celebrations.
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly consists of the Senate and House of Representative with each having their own meeting Chambers in the Capitol.
The Senate Chamber provides desks for its 56 members, and the House Chamber provides desks for its 180 members, with all having been reconstructed based on the original desks, and the interiors restored with original color schemes and finishes throughout.
Museum Sculptures
The sculptures throughout the Galleries on all three floors depict significant figures from Georgia history. Here are the figures that are on display and the sculptors that created them.
Mississippian Chief depicts a Native American tribal leader’s appearance based on artifacts found in the region. Archeological evidence indicates that humans have lived in the region for about 12,000 years. By 1050 to 1500 AD more organized groups lived in the area known as the Mississippian Culture. They were mound builders using the mounds as burial sites for some and as platforms for temples and living quarters for their leaders.
James Oglethorpe, 1696 to 1785, was founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. The sculpture is signed as Felix Weihs, 1940, and is believed to be the sculptor Felix Weihs de Weldon.
Felix Weihs de Weldon, 1907 to 2003, was born in Vienna Austria, and studied at Marchetti College, the University of Vienna’s Academy of Creative Arts and School of Architecture. Weldon immigrated to the United States in 1937, and served in the Navy during World War II. He produced numerous sculptures in the US and Europe, and served on the US Commission of Fine Arts under presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy.
There are numerous busts of prominent Georgia politicians on display in the Capitol Galleries. The next 14 busts were sculpted by Bryant Baker from 1952 to 1959.
Lyman Hall, 1724 to 1790, was a medical doctor, signer of the Declaration of Independence, legislator, and governor.
John Adam Treutlen, 1726 to 1782, was governor, and a member of the first State Constitutional Convention.
Archibald Bulloch, 1730 to 1777, was a congressman, and first President and Commander in Chief of Georgia.
Button Gwinnett, 1732 to 1777, was a merchant, trader, planter, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and first acting president of Georgia.
William Few, 1748 to 1828, was a Revolutionary War soldier, a signer of the US Constitution from Georgia, a US Senator, and a trustee of the University of Georgia.
George Walton, 1749 to 1804, was an attorney, Revolutionary War soldier, signer of the Declaration of Independence, governor, legislator, Chief Justice of Georgia, and a US Senator.
Abraham Baldwin, 1754 to 1807, was a Chaplin in the Revolutionary War, a signer of the US Constitution from Georgia, President Pro Tem of the US Senate, and Father of the University of Georgia.
Benjamin Hawkins, 1754 to 1816, was an Indian Agent to the Creeks, a US Senator, and a general superintendent of all Indian tribes south of the Ohio River.
William Harris Crawford, 1772 to 1834, was President Pro Tem of the US Senate, a US Minister to France, a US Secretary of War, and a US Secretary of Treasury.
Peter Early, 1773 to 1817, was Governor of Georgia during the War of 1812, a US Representative, Georgia Senator, and a Judge.
George McIntosh Troup, 1780 to 1856, was Governor, a US Representative, and a US Senator.
Alexander Hamilton Stephens, 1812 to 1883, was Vice President of the Confederacy, a Legislator, Congressman, and a Governor.
Crawford Williamson Long, 1815 to 1878, was a medical doctor, and discovered methods for surgical anesthesia.
Moina Belle Michael, 1869 to 1944, was a historian at the University of Georgia that conceived the idea of using poppies to commemorate those that served in World War I, which was recognized in several popular literary works and humanitarian efforts during and after the war.
Percy Bryant Baker, 1881 to 1970, was born in London England and apprenticed under his father and grandfather who worked on wood and stone carvings at Westminster Abbey. He studied at the City and Guild Technical Institute, and the Royal Academy of Arts. Baker emigrated to the United States in 1916 and served in the US Army during World War I. Baker completed numerous busts for Georgia from 1952 to 1959.
Benjamin Harvey Hill, 1823 to 1882, was an attorney, legislator, Confederate senator during the Civil War, a US Representative and a US Senator. His statue was sculpted by Alex Doyle, in 1885.
Alex Doyle, 1857 to 1922, was born in Steubenville Ohio, and grew up in Louisville Kentucky and Saint Louis Missouri. He studied in Italy at the National Academies at Carrara, Rome and Florence. He became noted for his monumental sculptures of historic figures including several Confederate Generals, some of which were removed in New Orleans due to protests in 2017.
Mary Lattimer McLendon, 1840 to 1921, is considered the Mother of the Suffrage in Georgia. The relief is by an unidentified sculptor.
Charles Holmes Herty, 1867 to 1938, was a Georgia scientist and educator. His sculptural relief is by Steffen Thomas.
John Marshall Slaton, 1866 to 1955, was the 60th Governor of Georgia. His bust was also sculpted by Steffen Thomas, in 1958.
Juliette Gordon Low, 1860 to 1927, is the founder of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. Her bust was sculpted by Eleanor Platt, in 1974.
Margaret Mitchell, 1900 to 1949, is the author of “Gone with the Wind”. Her bust was also sculpted by Eleanor Platt.
Eleanor Platt, 1910 to 1974, was born in Woodbridge New Jersey, and studied at the Arts Students League of New York, and the Continuation School in New York City.
Travel Notes
On my second trip I traveled my usual route south and east to Atlanta, but returned north through Chattanooga and then west to Huntsville. There is a Tesla bodyshop in Marietta where I had some window trim inspected due to unusual discoloration of the chrome finish. Unfortunately the warranty has already expired and it was going to be an expensive fix so, I let it go. I think it is one of those things that only I notice anyway.
For potential Tesla buyers please know that there are no Tesla shops in Alabama. Since all Tesla sales are fixed price online sales with no salesmen, Tesla is prohibited by state law to set up shops in Alabama. Weird, right? So, I bought mine through a distributer in Nashville where I normally get routine service and warranty service done.
I got my vaccine before the second trip, so I got cleaned up a little at the barbershop. You can see a completed section of the fencing around the capitol now, put in place because of the protests, I think.
Notes and References
Some of the sculptures feature politicians with known white supremacist and racist views. In recent years there have been calls for the removal of the statues of John Gordon, Joseph Brown, and Eugene Talmadge specifically because of their views. Fortunately, my reading of the inscriptions on these monuments did not find any racist or derogatory language as can be found on many Confederate monuments in Alabama.
Story and photographs by David Smitherman, with data collected from onsite inscriptions and brochures, Wikipedia, and Google Maps. Site visits were made in March and August 2021.