September 27, 2011: The New York State Capitol and Albany/TD>
	September 25, 2011: Newport, RI, and Provincetown, MA
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Touring the Rhode Island State Capitol

Our first stop this Monday morning will be the Rhode Island State House, located in downtown Providence.

Getting to the Rhode Island State Capitol

Getting to the state capitol building from our hotel was pretty easy. All we had to do was take the airport connector road up to I-95 and then take that north to the exit at Smith Street.

Then we drove east on Smith Street, past the front of the capitol building and turned on the street along the east side of the capitol grounds to find an empty parking meter.

We didn't have quite enough quarters, so while Steve and Mario went up to the north entry of the capitol to wait for us, Fred and I walked a couple of blocks to the Rhode Island Visitor Center to get some change. We came back, fed the meter, and then walked around to the front of the capitol building.

Rhode Island State Capitol North Entry

Rhode Island State Capitol from Across Smith Street

Designed by the New York firm of McKim, Mead & White, the Rhode Island State House sits atop Smith Hill in downtown Providence. Sculpted from white Georgia marble, its facade is dominated by a beautiful dome- the fourth largest self-supporting marble covered dome in the world. The largest is that of St. Peter's in Vatican City, followed by the domes of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul and the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. The State House is considered an outstanding example of the American Renaissance architecture style. As in 16th century Renaissance architecture, this style reflects that of ancient Greece and Rome, an appropriate model for a building dedicated to representative democracy. Construction took nine years to complete, beginning in 1895 and finishing in 1904.

The General Assembly met in legislative session for the first time in this magnificent marble edifice on New Year's Day, January 1, 1901, three years before final completion. The Legislature was anxious for a permanent home, having at one time or another in its long history met in five different locations throughout the state: Newport, Bristol, East Greenwich, Kingston and Providence.

Legislators were quite taken with their new home, as can be evidenced in the 1899-1900 edition of the Legislative History and Souvenir of Rhode Island: "The feeble colony's first house was built of wood - and its next was a brick one. The wealthy little State moves into a marble palace at the beginning of the twentieth century."

The north entrance, which faces Smith Street, features a large portico and a semi-circular driveway for official state vehicles. This is the main entrance used by visitors, state employees, and people doing business in the State House. An inscription above the entrance reads:

We went in the north entry to find the typical x-ray scanners. Once through them, we had the choice of getting with a tour that was forming, or getting a self-guide brochure and doing the tour on our own and at our own speed. After listening to the tour guide for a moment, we thought that doing our own tour was sufficient, and so we got our brochures and began to walk through the building. We all went at our own speeds, and took different routes, so what I'll do here is use the route I took as the control, and organize everyone's pictures around that.

Interior of the Rhode Island State Capitol: First Floor

I have obtained some floor plans to use to illustrate the location of the many things we saw in the building, and will key the numbers on the plan to the corresponding numbers in the narrative.

The first floor plan is at left. We entered from the north entrance. The north vestibule serves as a major entry of the State House. Standing near the entrance doors, we noted the shape of the room and the narrowing width of the staircases. This funneling design serves to accentuate the contrast experienced when ascending the stairs to the voluminous space of the rotunda ahead.

The north lobby is home to two famous Civil War cannons (1), each with its own unique history. The Gettysburg Gun, shown here with some of the many battle flags carried by Rhode Island regiments from the Revolutionary War through World War I in the case behind it, was struck by three Confederate shells during Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. Two members of Battery B First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery were getting ready to load the cannon when a Confederate shell hit the muzzle, instantly killing officer William Jones. The second officer, Alfred G. Gardner, was struck in the left shoulder and died minutes later, shouting, "Glory to God! I am happy! Hallelujah!" Officers tried to load the gun, hitting the 12-pound iron ball with the side of an axe, but the muzzle was too damaged and the heat of the gun molded the ball in place. Even now, visitors can see the charge still lodged in the cannon. After the war, the Gettysburg Gun was displayed in Washington D.C. It came home to Rhode Island in 1874, and has been inside the State House since 1903. For 99 years, the gun remained loaded with its charge of gunpowder, until the potential danger was noted and the powder was removed in 1962. The lobby also houses another Civil War cannon- the Bull Run Gun- so named as it was used in the Battle of Bull Run.

On each side of the lobby, in display cases behind the guns, there are Rhode Island regimental flags used during the Civil War and the Spanish-American War.

Following the self-guide tour booklet, I crossed immediately to the south lobby (3). Here, there were also more battle flags on display (you can click on the thumbnail images at right to have a look at them) as well as a bell once a fixture on the USS Rhode Island, a Virginia-class battleship, sailed on the first leg of the Great White Fleet's voyage, and provided anti-submarine services during World War I. You can see that bell here. There was also a stunning replica of the Liberty Bell on display there. Following World War II, each state was presented with a liberty bell as a token of appreciation for each state's contribution to the war effort. The original bell is located on a special pavilion behind Philadelphia's Independence Hall. It was rung to announce the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, and has rang in celebration every year since. It developed a crack in 1835 when it was rung in mourning for Chief Justice John Marshall.

From the south lobby, I followed the guidebook and went back to the rotunda (4). Located in the middle of the building, between the north and south lobbies and the House and Senate wings, it has stairs up from both entrances that lead to a marble landing, which contains a solid brass state seal embedded into the floor. The seal, which contains an anchor and the word "Hope" (the shortest of all the state mottos), is roped off by a circle of blue velvet rope. Around the seal is the legend "1636 Seal of the State of Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations". Additional staircases, flanked by ornate marble pillars and brass lighting fixtures, lead to both legislative chambers on the second floor.

Watch my movie of the rotunda with the player at left.

The Inside of the RI State House Dome

The inside of the dome was quite amazing and quite beautiful. With the paintings on the pediments, the colorful paintings on the inside of the dome, and the huge brass chandelier (all of which you can see at left), it was quite a sight. In the closer view of the underside of the dome itself (which you can see here), you can pick out the beautiful mural of Roger Williams colonizing Providence Plantations, surrounded by fellow colonists and natives, including Narragansett Sachem Canonicus. Fred used his incredible zoom to take a picture of a section of this mural, and you can have a look at it here.

Above each of the main four pediments that support the dome are brightly colored paintings, each in the form of a seal and each representing a pillar of the society of Rhode Island. The seals are: "Justicia" (justice and equality), "Litera" (literature and books), "Educatio" (education) and "Commercium" (commerce).

Encircling the interior base of the dome, in raised gold letters on a blue background, is a Latin inscription from the writings of first century Roman Historian Tacitus. The quotation embodis the spirit expressed by Rhode Island's founders, and is translated as:

This completed our walk around the first floor, so we ascended one of the staircases to the second.

Interior of the Rhode Island State Capitol: Second Floor

The second floor contained the House and Senate chambers, the State Reception Room, the State House Library and a great deal of artwork.

There was a lot to see on the second floor; our first stop will be the Senate Chamber. (8)

Important Documents

But first, just outside the Senate Chamber, we found some of Rhode Islands most valued documents (9).

Mounted on the back wall on one side of the Senate Chamber vestibule is a fireproof, temperature-controlled case containing the Royal Charter of Rhode Island. Issued in 1663 by King Charles II, it assured Rhode Islanders freedom of religious worship and the freedom to govern themselves. Taking flash pictures of the document was prohibited, and without a flash I couldn't get a good view. So I took a short movie of the document, and you can watch it with the player at left.

On the other side of the Senate vestibule there was a large steel vault that used to hold two other important documents: the Declaration of Independence and the Gaspee Commission. The Declaration of Independence is one of the 13 original copies given to each of the colonies, and was signed by all 56 members of the Continental Congress on Aug. 2, 1776. The Gaspee Commission is a handwritten document from King George III calling for action against the Rhode Island patriots who set the British revenue schooner Gaspee aflame. The incident, which occurred in Narragansett Bay on June 9, 1772, was the first armed conflict of the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence and the Gaspee Commission were removed from the safe in 1993 and are now housed in the State Archives building in Providence.

The Senate Chamber

A study in green and mahogany, the Senate chamber is located in the east wing of the State House.

The best way to see it is to watch my movie with the player at right.

The 38 solid mahogany desks are equipped with electronic voting modules, which allow senators to vote, call for a page, or be recognized. The desks are also wired for computer and Internet access, allowing legislators to use their laptop computers during the session. Above the rostrum are the seals of the nation's original 13 colonies, with Rhode Island's seal in the center. Because of the relatively small size of the chamber, only one viewing gallery is included in the Senate chamber. Just above the rostrum is the ornate official clock, and behind that, under a vaulted, inlaid ceiling, is the Senate gallery. Since it is located directly above the rostrum, mirrors have been installed on opposite sides of the room to allow observers to see what is taking place below.

Behind the Senate Chamber is the Senate Lounge, but we couldn't get in there. Used for meetings, speeches, caucuses, and conferences, this room also retains its original mahogany furniture. The bust of former Gov. Theodore Francis Green rests above a brown marble fireplace. Green served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives during the 1907 session, and was govenor from 1933-1936. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1937, and retired in 1961 at the age of 93. Prior to U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, he was the oldest legislator to serve in the Senate. The state airport in Warwick is named after him.

The State Reception Room

On the south side of the second floor is the State Reception Room (10).

The State Reception Room

This ornate room serves as the entrance to the executive chamber of the governor's office. This is where the governor holds press conferences, presumably standing behind the podium where I, myself, am standing in for the Governor, asking for quiet so I may introduce him. (Actually, there wasn't anyone else but Fred in the room.) The room is also used for official receptions and bill signings. To see the entire room, watch my movie of it using the player at left.

Artwork on the high ceiling depicts wind-swept clouds against the backdrop of a blue sky. A massive crystal chandelier is suspended from its center, and gold leaf outlines its perimeters.

The State Reception Room houses paintings by world-renowned artists, including Gilbert Stuart, one of Rhode Island's most celebrated painters. The full-length portrait of George Washington is the room's focal point, hanging prominently over the ornate fireplace.

A painting of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (1785-1819) hangs at one side of the room. A Revolutionary War hero, Perry was born in South Kingstown, RI, in 1785. He served in the U.S. Navy, where in 1812 he sent a famous message after winning the Battle of Lake Erie: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." At the opposite end of the room from the fireplace hangs a painting of Commodore John Barry (1745-1803). Barry, born in Ireland in 1745, is known as the "Father of the American Navy," and he won several naval battles for the republic during the American Revolution.

Artwork

While we are on the subject of artwork, we found that the second floor was full of paintings and statuary. There was a series of statues around the rotunda on the second floor, depicting Rhode Island's contributions to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, with members of those services done in marble. Have a look at them by clicking on the thumbnails below:

There were also more portraits hanging up and down the halls on the second floor. The were hanging in groups and individually. The subjects, all prominent Rhode Islanders, were seated, standing and even on horseback. Fred snapped quite a few pictures of some of these prominent folks, and you can see some of his pictures if you click on the thumbnail images below:

The House Chamber

Continuing around the second floor, we came to the House Chamber. (12)

The House Chamber

First, you should have a look at my movie of the chamber with the player at left.

The state's 75 elected representatives conduct their business here. The chamber was redecorated during the summer of 1987. Each oak desk now has an electronic voting module with buttons that allow representatives to vote, call for a page, or call to be recognized. The desks are also wired for computer and Internet access, allowing legislators to use their laptop computers during session (nothing like surfing the 'Net during those boring sessions). Hand-woven pastoral tapestries also hang between wall pilasters on the north and south walls of the chamber. Installed for the building's dedication in 1904, these tapestries were woven by artisans in New York City who used imported thread from France.

Visitor's galleries overlook the floor from the east and west. The coffered ceiling borders a magnificent translucent skylight at its center. The House lounge is located behind the House chamber, although it was not open for us to look at. I read in the brochure that from the balcony of the House Lounge you can see a garden on the House lawn that was created for the movie "Amistad." Steven Spielberg and his film crew filmed parts of the movie in Rhode Island in 1997, using the State House and Newport as his backdrops.

The Rhode Island State Library

The Rhode Island State Library is located on the second floor of the State House, above the north entrance.

The State Library

I thought the Library was an amazing room, particularly insofar as the woodwork, the decoration and the spiral staircases that allowed access to the upper stacks. Have a look at this beautiful room with the movie player at right.

The library's collection includes books on state and federal law, and is the official depository for state publications. The public is free to use the library, which also contains copies of bills, computers, and daily and weekly newspapers published in Rhode Island. Postings of all meetings of General Assembly committees and all legislative public meetings held at the State House are posted on two large movable bulletin boards, one on each side of the library's entrance.

The Ceiling of the State Library

One of the most impressive features of this three-tiered room is its sculptured ceiling, on which 16 printer's seals can be found. The seals, made of gold leaf and stucco, are replicas of marks used in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries to identify the work of specific printers.

I know they are difficult to see in the movie, so here are some examples. In the image below, the first (leftmost) mark is that of printer Guillaume Rouille of Lyons, France, and dates from the late 16th century. The mark features an eagle standing on a globe with the motto "In Virtue et Fortuna." The second mark (right), is that of Antonius Bertramus of Stausburg, France, who lived in the late 16th century. The mark features hands clasped around a bunch of flowers with the motto "Spes Mea Christo."

At left are two more of the marks. The one on the left dates from the late 16th century and represents printer Hicronymous Polus of Venice. The mark features a celestial frame with the Earth and the signs of the zodiac. The motto reads "Polus Articus-Polus Antarct." The mark on the right dates from the 17th century and represents David Martini, a printer from Antwerp, Belgium. It features a Bible bound in a circle of light with the motto "Vetat Mori."

The State House Library was just amazing, and it completed our tour of the second floor.

Interior of the Rhode Island State Capitol: Third Floor

The only thing we did on the third floor was to go into the House Gallery to have a look down onto the House floor. The Senate Gallery was closed, so we couldn't get into it.

Just before we left the third floor, though, I walked over to the rotunda to have a look down to the Great Seal two floors below; you can see what I saw here.

Our tour of the inside of the Rhode Island State Capitol was complete, so we went back out the north entrance to look at some of the exterior features of the building.

Outside the Rhode Island State Capitol

We went back out the north entry, which features a porte d'cochere, originally used for carriages but which quickly became more accustomed to automobiles, and then walked around the west side of the capitol building. We continued around to the south side of the building and found ourselves at the top of a major set of stairs with downtown Providence in the distance. You can see the view here.

The South Entry

The south entrance of the State House faces downtown Providence and Narragansett Bay. A spacious marble staircase leads to a set of doors. Statues of Revolutionary War heroes (and native Rhode Islanders) Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and Nathanael Greene stand to each side. An inscription carved in marble above the main doors reads: "To hold forth a lively experiment that a most civil state may stand and best be maintained with full liberty in religious concernment." These words, quoted from the Royal Charter of 1663, refer to the principle of religious liberty and tolerance upon which Roger Williams founded the state. At the bottom of the marble stairs, a tree-lined walk leads to Francis Street and the Providence Place mall. Every four years, this entrance is the site of the swearing in of the state's Governor and other general officers. Outdoor celebrations, protests, and assorted public gatherings also take place on the south entrance. Click on the thumbnails below for two more good views:

I also made a movie of the south entry of the Rhode Island State Capitol, and panned around the lawn to downtown Providence as well. You can watch that movie with the player at right.

The Independent Man

Standing more than 278 feet above Smith Hill, the Independent Man has been a fixture of the Providence landscape since 1899. The statue, originally named "Hope," is a bronze figure created by artist George Brewster. He stands more than 11 feet tall and weighs more than 500 pounds. Standing atop the State Capitol for more than 100 years, the Independent Man has braved Rhode Island blizzards and hurricanes alike, and has been struck by lightning 27 times. He was removed in 1975 for repairs, and after a brief stint inside a Warwick shopping mall returned to his perch in 1976. A symbol of freedom and independence, the Independent Man holds a spear in his right hand and the state symbol, an anchor, lies at his feet.

The origin of the name, "Independent Man," is not clear. Originally, the figure was to have beeen a statue of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. But no one could agree on what Roger Williams looked like, so the idea was vetoed. (Best you always leave a photo of yourself lying about, in case someone wants to posthumously immortalize you.) However, it was from these discussions that the idea for the Independent Man seems to have originated. As near as I can research, the phrase is supposed to express the idea that Man is an independent being, responsible to himself for his actions and what he makes of his existence. (John Galt comes immediately to mind.)

Our tour of the Rhode Island State Capitol was really interesting, and it turned out to be just the first of six interesting tours of state capitols that we would take during the week. But now, it was time to head on to Hartford, Connecticut, and our second state capitol of the day.

Driving from Providence (RI) to Hartford (CN)

Getting from Providence to downtown Hartford wasn't difficult, but it was a little frustrating at times.

We had the GPS, but it is sometimes a little slow to program or to generate the route. And if you are moving while it is trying to do that, you have a problem. Steve drove from Providence, and while I was programming the GPS, he started out following a route I think he'd researched the night before. By the time the GPS had the best route mapped out, we were heading off in a bit of a different direction, and as we tried to follow the recalculations, the GPS seemed to be a step behind us. Add that to the fact that Rhode Island drivers seemed not to want to make allowances for a vehicle that was very obviously from someplace else, and that made it frustrating to get out of downtown Providence and onto US Highway 6 heading west. But we finally did, and from there on it was smooth sailing.

We followed US Highway 6 west to I-395, an Interstate I've driven before, and headed south. At the exit for Connecticut Highway 2, we got off and headed west to Hartford. We could have taken expressway all the way, but it would have been much further and not saved much time.

We came through East Hartford on Route 2, and followed the GPS to get up and around and across Founders Bridge into downtown Hartford. We passed the Old State House and turned south on Main Street then west on Capitol Avenue. We could see the capitol building from downtown. There were some parking places on the street, but we ended up in a lot just one block east of the capitol.

We had arrived.

Downtown Hartford (CN) and Lunch

Of course the primary thing we were in downtown Hartford for was to tour the State Capitol. But, before we did that, we had some lunch nearby and then walked back to the capitol building to begin our tour. After we finished with the capitol building, we walked across Bushnell Park to see a fountain and a Gothic gate before returning to our vehicle. In this section, I am going to include the pictures from those walks. The actual tour of the capitol building is in the next section.

In the scrollable window at left, I have put a detailed aerial view of the area we covered here in downtown Hartford, including our walk to and back from lunch, the State Capitol, and our walk through Bushnell Park.

You can use this aerial view to follow along on our walk by scrolling left and right, up and down to follow the yellow line that marks our route. To begin, scroll to the bottom and then left or right until you can find the parking lot where the yellow line starts and ends. (When you see the legend "To Lunch", you'll know you're in the right place.

For the first part of our walk, we left the parking lot and turned right on Elm Street. We walked down the street and then around around Pulaski Circle on the south side, continuing to follow Elm until we got to Main Street, which we had driven up earlier. We recalled that there were a number of restaurants over that way, and we walked down Main Street to the north, until we found a good place to eat- the Cornerstone Cafe. When we were done with lunch, we walked across the viaduct to Wells Street, and turned back west and down once again to Pulaski Circle. There, I got a picture of the guys in the center of the circle at, appropriately, a "Welcome to Hartford" marker.

We left Pulaski Circle heading northwest, and passed the Pumphouse Gallery (shown here with some of downtown Hartford in the background) as we continued up Elm Street towards the capitol. It was lunchtime, and there were a number of unusual food trucks along the street by Bushnell Park. As we walked along the shady walk, the park was on our left, and I stopped at one point so I could take a picture of Fred at the Spanish‑American War Monument Finally, we crossed Trinity Street and headed up to the capitol for our tour.

The second part of our walk came after we'd finished touring the state capitol. When we came back out of the capitol through the south entrance (the only entrance open) we walked around the west side of the building. We'd learned on the tour that the Connecticut capitol had been designed by an architect who designed churches, and looking at the exterior doors, I could believe it.

We came around the north side of the capitol and started down the lawn to the north, looking back at views of the gothic capitol like the one at right. Out goal was the fountain that we could see at the bottom of the lawn north of the capitol.

Erected in 1899 and presented by John Corning (Corning Glass Works of New York) as a tribute to his father, a Hartford businessman who operated a grist mill on the site, the Corning Fountain was designed by James Massey Rhind of New York. The sculpture uses a Native American theme, rather than a classical one, which would have been more typical of the period. The monument is made of marble and stone, 30 feet tall, with the figure of a stag (or "Hart" for Hartford) surrounded by Saukiog Indians, the city's first inhabitants.

While Fred was taking some pictures of the fountain, I made a movie of it, and also panned back up the lawn to the state capitol building. You can watch that movie with the player at left. Fred took some very good pictures of the fountain, with some closeups of the Native American sculptures that adorn it, and you can have a look at the best of these if you click on the thumbnail images below:

From the Corning Fountain, we headed over to what looked like the entrance to a medieval castle- we could see one of the towers in the distance.

The Arch

We found out when we got to what turned out to be an arch built over Trinity Street, that it was designed by Hartford architect George Keller, whose ashes were buried in the east tower when he died in 1935, along with those of his wife, Mary, who died in 1946. The arch was dedicated on September 17, 1886, the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, to honor the 4,000 Hartford citizens who served in the Civil War, and the 400 who died for the Union.

This Gothic monument is made of brownstone from Portland, Connecticut, and cost about $60,000 (from the city treasury) to build. There is a terra cotta frieze depicting scenes from the Civil War, and midway below it, eight-foot-tall statues representing the various kinds of residents who left their homes, families and businesses to fight in the War: student, farmer, freed slave, stone mason, carpenter and blacksmith. The original terra cotta angels- Gabriel and Raphael- which crown each tower, were replicated in bronze and replaced in 1987 as part of a $1.5 million restoration.

There is also a bronze plaque under the freed slave which honors the 128 African American residents of Hartford who fought for the Union. This plaque was the result of research by Airron Bethea, a seventh grade student in Hartford, who was writing an essay in 1987 for the rededication of the restored Arch.

Leaving The Arch, we headed back toward the vehicle, cutting across Bushnell Park to do so. When we got back to Elm Street, we walked southeast, and passed an interesting sculpture in front of a state office building. When we reached the vehicle, we were ready to head to our next stop here in Hartford- the Mark Twain home. But we'll postpone that stop for a while so I can take you on our tour of the capitol building.

Touring the Connecticut State Capitol

In the middle of our walk around Hartford came our tour of the Connecticut State Capitol.

Exterior and Grounds

When we walked up Elm Street to the intersection of Elm and Trinity, we were at the northeast corner of the capitol grounds, and so we went ahead up to the building for a look inside.

At first I thought the entry was around to my right, so I walked over to the north side of the capitol. I found that the entry on that side was only for employees and legislators, so I walked back around the east side of the building to rejoin the other guys.

When I came up on Fred, he was getting ready to photograph a statue of Colonel Thomas Knowlton (1740-1776). The Knowlton statue was conceived as a companion piece to the statue of Nathan Hale which is located in the East Atrium of the Capitol, and was commissioned by the General Assembly of 1893. Knowlton served as a scout under the command of Israel Putnam and later obtained the rank of Colonel with his own "Knowlton's Rangers;" Nathan Hale was a member. Knowlton commanded nearly 200 Connecticut troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill but was fatally wounded at the Battle of Harlem Heights, September 16, 1776. When I got out my own camera to take a picture of Fred and the statue, a lady standing nearby offered to take a picture of both of us, and you can see that picture here.

South View of the Connecticut State Capitol

From the Knowlton statue, I walked a bit south on the lawn to get a picture of the capitol building; it was very impressive. The building was designed by noted cathedral architect Richard M. Upjohn. His design is in the Eastlake Style, with French and Gothic revival elements, and one of the largest in that style. (It was the only state capitol building we saw this week that used stained glass in some of its windows.) Construction of the building began in 1871 and was completed in 1878. The New York Times noted when it was completed that the new building was "a vast mass of white marble, an imposing structure, and in the dazzling sunshine of a New England summer sparkles like a fairy palace of frost work."

The building is roughly rectangular, the interior spaces organized around two open interior courts that run vertically to large skylights. In the center is a third circular open rotunda beneath the dome. The south side building extension that you can see here was created for an expansion of the House chamber in the early 1900s.

The building's ornately decorated facades display statuary and include several statues, medallions and carved tympana over the doors (except the west, which only has statues). The statues, each of which is in a niche like this one, are of politicians and other people important to the state's history, such as the initiator of Connecticut, the Reverend Thomas Hooker, Governor John Winthrop, Jr., Roger Sherman, Revolutionary War Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Noah Webster, General Joseph Hawley, Civil War Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, and United States Senator Orville Hitchcock Platt. There are 24 niches for sculpture, (eight of which are still empty). The last one added was that of Ella T. Grasso, the first female governor of the state, who died in 1981 of cancer shortly after resigning her office.

There are high relief scenes from the state's history in the 16 tympana above the doors, (except for the carving above the main north door, which is of the state seal). A typical typanum is one entitled "Davenport Preaching at New Haven". The typanum of the main east door, "The Charter Oak" by Charles Salewski, was the first piece of sculpture created for the Capitol. The interior floors used white marble and red slate from Connecticut, and some of the colored marble is from Italy. The statues and the medallions and tympana are grouped by period. The north facade has six statues, five tympana, and two medallions, and the carvings are of pre-Revolutionary War figures. The east and west facades contain people from the Revolutionary War or government service, and the south facade's figures are from the Civil War and onwards.

The Central Domed Tower

The central domed tower is distinctive. The dome itself is 32 feet tall; on top of that is a cupola 55 feet in height, and the drum below is 75 feet. The dome originally had a large statue on top of it, named "The Genius of Connecticut", which was taken down in 1938 after being damaged in the severe hurricane of that year. The statue was cast in bronze from a plaster original, and was 17 feet, 10 inches tall, and weighed 3.5 tons. It executed in Rome, Italy, and was cast in Munich, Germany. During World War II, the piece was donated to the federal government and melted down as part of the war effort to make ammunition and machine parts. A project is currently underway to recast the statue from the original plaster mold, and replace it atop the dome. At the exterior base of the dome are 12 statues in six pairs representing Agriculture, Commerce, Education/Law, Force/War, Science/Justice, and Music.

Here are some other views of the exterior of the Connecticut State Capitol; just click on the thumbnails below to view:

Before we went in to tour the state capitol building, I made a movie panning around the south entry and looking at the building itself. You can watch this movie with the player at right.

Our Interior Tour: First Floor

The Connecticut State Capitol, completed in 1878, stands in the picturesque setting of Bushnell Park. Designed by Richard M. Upjohn, a cathedral architect, this High Victorian Gothic-style state house was designated a Registered National Historic Landmark in 1971 and underwent a complete restoration between 1979 and 1989.

Connecticut Capitol First Floor Plan

The interior has two matching ornate open stairwells and all of the building interior is painted in a multi-colored scheme continuing the 1870s Eastlake design aesthetic throughout. The interior floors of the Capitol are inlaid with white marble and red slate from Connecticut and colored marble from Italy. This beautiful and unique building houses the executive offices and legislative chambers of the state, as well as historical memorabilia.

We started our tour at the information office at the southeast corner of the building (1), and proceeded into the East Atrium (2). The stained glass ceiling panels (There was some renovation going on and you couldn't actually see the stained glass from the first floor. The previous picture was taken from the third floor. You can see some black marks on some of the panels; these are actually stencils that have falled from the repairs going on above, as the stained glass is not the actual roof of the chamber. There was a net suspended just below the stained glass to catch material that might fall to the floor below.) and the stenciling of the balconies and columns were designed and colored by William McPherson's decorating firm.

The Statue of Nathan Hale honors Connecticut's State hero. Born in Coventry, Hale became a spy for General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Captured and hanged by British soldiers in Manhattan, the brave and eloquent twenty-one year old's last words are inscribed on the statue's granite base. The statue is at the interior end of the East Atrium (although my picture is a bit dark, the room being too big for the flash).

The East Atrium

If you look at the last picture again, you will see something mounted on the wall of the staircase to the second floor. Walking over to it, I found that it was a marble and brass fountain underneath the staircase. In the late 1880's, it was used to fill buckets with water for legislators' horses tied to the back porch (portico) on the north side of the building.

Before we leave the East Atrium, you may want to watch the movie that I made, panning around the beautiful room. You can do so with the player at right.

Next, we continued around the first floor, going to our right from the East Atrium and into the North Lobby (3). Decorating the walls throughout the first floor are plaques honoring famous Connecticut citizens. The USS Connecticut figurehead is from one of the ships of President Theodore Roosevelt's "Great White Fleet" that sailed the world on a goodwill mission from 1907 to 1923. The placement of the arrows pointing up and the eagle's head facing the olive branches symbolizes that the fleet was on a peace mission. The Cannonball Tree Trunk from the Civil War Battlefield of Chicamauga serves as a reminder of the horrors of war.

Also displayed in the north lobby is a model of the Flagship "Hartford", carved by a sailor who lost his arm serving on the ship in the Battle of Mobile Bay during the Civil War. It was during this battle that the ship's commander, Admiral David Farragut, gave the famous order "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead." In one corner of the North Lobby is a small, plaster model of the "Genius of Connecticut," standing majestically on her small gold dome. We will see the larger version in the center of this floor before we head upstairs. On the wall diagonally across from the "Genius" is the prow of the "Hartford".

The Hall of Flags

We went past the Genius through the West Atrium to the Hall of Flags. Battle flags of Connecticut regiments from the Civil War through the War on Terrorism hang in the beautiful oak cases built specifically for the building in 1878. A picture titled "Connecticut the Constitution State" in a frame made from the Charter Oak Tree adorns one wall. In the corner stands a Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon. This American-made gun was sold to the Spanish government and used against United States forces during the Spanish-American War. In the center of the hall sits the statue of William Buckingham, the state's governor during the Civil War. also of interest are artifacts from two heroes of the American Revolution: the Marquis de Lafayette's Camp Bed and Israel Putnam's Gravestone.

The Gun Wheel in the Hall of Flags is from a gun carriage used by the First Connecticut Volunteer Light Battery during the Civil War. The writing around the edge of the wheel indicates the locations and dates of all the Connecticut Light Battery's engagements.

You can watch my movie of the Hall of Flags with the player at left.

The Genius of Connecticut

As the plans for the new Connecticut State Capitol progressed in the 1870s, sculptor Randolph Rogers was commissioned to create a sculpture of the "Genius of Connecticut," the symbolic protector of the state. Rogers was to create a full-size plaster model of the statue standing 17 feet, 10 inches tall. The commission was made on September 7, 1876 and Rogers completed the model in Rome in 1877. From this plaster model, a German firm in Munich was engaged to create an actual bronze statue. It was completed in the middle of 1978 and transported to the United States where the three-ton statue was placed atop the Capitol Dome in December of that year.

The statue stood majestically atop the capitol for just shy of 50 years, but in the early fall of 1938, a monster hurricane that devastated much of the east coast of the United States severely damaged the supports underneath the bronze Genius, making it so unstable that it had to be removed. Before plans to could be set into motion to rebuild the supports and re-install the statue, World War II broke out.

At the start of the war, as an example of patriotism to the citizens of Connecticut, Governor Robert A. Hurley donated the bronze statue to the war effort. It was melted down and the bronze used in various ways within the war effort. Instead of creating a new statue to sit atop the building, the original plaster model was brought out and displayed in the North Lobby until 1973, when it was restored and moved to the Rotunda. As part of the complete restoration of the Capitol in the 1980s, this statue was refurbished, a bronze finish added and the dome on which the Genius stands was gold-leafed. In a ceremony in September of 1987, the finished statue was re-dedicated and placed on its current marble base in the Rotunda. This is the statue that we see today. (A smaller model of the Genius stands a few feet away in the East Atrium.

As we toured through the capitol, we were never far from the Rotunda and the Genius. From the landing on the stairs up to the second floor, we could look back and down to the Genius in the Rotunda. And from the third floor, we could look almost directly down onto the Genius statue, and you can see that view here.

Directly above the Genius is the dome of the capitol building. the inside of the dome, as well as the ornate decorative elements below it, were strikingly beautiful. If you'll click on the thumbnail images at left, you'll be able to see some great views of the artistic elements inside the dome of the capitol.

Leaving the first floor, we climbed the staircase to the second floor.

We found the Governor's office on the left side of the West Atrium, and I stuck my head in to see if the Governor would see me but, sadly, he was unavailable.

A little ways down the hall outside the Governor's office, I ran across the podium that I presume he uses when making an address or a statement. The picture at left shows me as I might look were I to be elected to that office.

Fred also took a picture of me outside the Governor's office looking down into the Hall of Flags. From here, we could get a good view of the stained glass windows in the Hall of Flags, and we could see The Seal of the State that decorates the windows. The grapevines may represent the first three settlements in the Connecticut colony: Windsor, Wethersfield and Hartford, or perhaps the three colonies: New Haven, Saybrook and Connecticut (Hartford) which, by 1665, had merged to form the Connecticut of that time. The Latin phrase, the State Motto, translates to "He who transplanted still sustains." My close-up of one of the windows shows those details, but each window actually had four such panels, as you can see in Fred's picture here.

We noticed from here that atop each of the windows around the atria was the seal that you can see here (and, in closeup, at right). The hart is of course a symbol that has long been used in Connecticut dating from one of the original three settlements. The inscription, "post nubila phoebus," which loosely translates to "after the clouds, the sun," is apparently associated with the city of Hartford, and, of course, the hart is familiar as the corporate symbol of the Hartford Insurance Group. Why a city-related seal is adorning a state building is a bit of a mystery.

This is a good place to put a picture that Fred took that shows the beautiful adornment of all the columns and balconies in both of the atria here in the state capitol. Have a look at his picture here.

Proceeding back past the Governor's office towards the east we found the Hall of the House of Representatives on the south side of the building (remember that the original building was extended to accommodate this hall). In corridor outside the House stands the Columbus Urn, a silver-plated, twenty-gallon water cooler crafted for the Centennial of the country in 1876. The urn was used until the 1920s as the representatives' water cooler. It spent some time in storage, and was brought back out in a decorative capacity after the 1980's renovation. It may still be used, but I suspect that most of the members have long-since switched to yuppie bottled water. I thought the decoration in the corridor to be interesting enough that I had Fred pose in front of one of the double columns that line the hallway.

The House of Representatives was not in session, and our guidebook that we look through the glass doors to get a glimpse of the "magnificent chamber, restored to its original grandeur." We did that, and it was certainly grand. I made a movie as well, but just before we turned to head elsewhere in the building, a lady showed up with a couple of tour members in tow. Turns out she was conducting the day's last tour, and invited us into the chamber itself with her and the other folks. So we did get inside after all.

The House of Representatives

When I first entered the chamber, I walked a short ways up one of the aisles between the Representatives' desks to make a movie looking all around the Hall. You can watch that movie with the player at left.

The chamber was, indeed, quite beautiful. Carved walnut paneling, ornate stenciling and stained glass decorated all the walls and windows of the hall, and the Connecticut State Seal adorned the carpet. In addition, the coffered ceiling was incredibly beautiful. As we were told, the original desks of the legislators are still used.

The 151 representatives sit by political party, with the Republican members sitting on the left as viewed from the dais at the front of the chamber, and the Democratic members on the right. Voting boards are located on the side walls for both the legislators and the public to view; the display is activated by the voting panels at each Representative's desk. We saw similar systems in about half the state capitols we visited, the others being too small to require them.

The House Chamber from the Podium

I thought it would be interesting to see the House chamber as viewed from the podium at the top of the dais, and so I walked up there and made a movie. You can watch it with the player at right.

When the House is in session, the Hall of the House can be seen from the gallery which is a half-floor above the chamber and behind the dais and podium. Entrances are off the East and West staircases between the third and fourth floors.

We took some other good pictures in the Hall of Representatives; click on the thumbnails below to look at them:

Next, we went back to the central staircases and headed up to the third floor.

The Senate Chamber

The Senate Chamber is on the third floor here, and although we couldn't get into the chamber, I was able to take a fairly decent movie looking through the mahogany and glass doors into it. You can watch that movie with the player at left.

Inside the Senate Chamber you can see the circle of desks for the 36 senators. Originally, this was the location of the State Library. The room was converted into the Senate Chamber by 1913. The Lieutenant Governor presides from the Charter Oak Chair which stands beneath one of Seth Thomas' first electric clocks. The Charter Oak Chair was carved from the fallen oak tree which hid the self-governing charter given to the colony by King Charles II in 1662. The charter is on display at the Museum of Connecticut History located in the State Library/Museum/Supreme Court building across the street from the State Capitol.

I went off to do a bit of exploring while the other guys milled around on the third floor or headed back downstairs. While they were wandering around, they took a number of good pictures of the decorative and architectural elements that are used here in the capitol building. They also focused on the compass-point motif that is repeated throughout the building in lights, paint, stone, plaster, metal and stained glass. I wanted to include a group of the best of these pictures for you to see, and if you will click on the thumbnails below you can have a look at them:

I had noticed down at the end of the third floor over the East Atrium that there were matching staircases that led up. I had no idea where they went until I got close to one of them and saw that it was the stairway to the Capitol Press Room. I had no idea where it might go, but I went up anyway. I came to a door that indicated it was, indeed, the press room. The door was open so I went in.

What I found was a room full of desks, papers, tables and chairs and four or five people working on different things. When I apologized for intruding, one of the fellows pointed out that it was a public building and a public room and that I should feel free to wander around and look at whatever I wanted.

Click on the thumbnails below to see a couple of other views of the Capitol Press Room:

The Press Room

It was really interesting, watching folks writing articles, reading legislation, editing video and doing all sorts of reporter-type things. But what was also interesting was that it seemed as if every inch of wall space, and most of the desks and tables were covered with all sorts of posters, pictures, cartoons and other, mostly funny or satirical, stuff. It reminded me of cubicle dwellers at a software firm, with all manner of knicknacks, although here, almost everything was focused on either Connecticut or national government.

I took a short movie before I left the Press Room, and you can have a look at it with the player at left.

I went back down to the atrium on the third floor, and then made my way down to the second floor.

In the Capitol Building

Back down on the second floor, I met up with the guys again.

Before we went downstairs to the first floor, I made one more movie, this time looking across the second floor and then down to the statue of the Genius of Connecticut and up to the dome of the capitol building. I think the movie will give you an excellent idea of what the interior of the building was like, if earlier pictures haven't already done so. Watch it with the player at right.

We all went back down the staircase to the first floor, and the south entry in which we had come. Just at the top of the escalator that led to the basement and the tunnel to the Legislative Office Building were two other notable things. The first was Connecticut's replica of the Liberty Bell. Every state received a model of the famous cracked bell in 1950 to mark the start of President Truman's U.S. Savings Bond Drive to raise money to help offset the National Debt. Today, the bell is rung on special occasions. We saw one in Rhode Island, and I will be looking for more in the other state capitols.

The other notable element was a memorial to Prudence Crandall (1803-1890). She is the only "State Heroine" that I have encountered, and you can read about her, what she did, and how she came to be Connecticut's "State Heroine" by reading the descriptive plaque here.

As I mentioned earlier, before we began our tour of the Connecticut Capitol, Steve, Mario and Fred had gone over to the Legislative Office Building. Below is a section detailing what they found there.

The Legislative Office Building

When we first came into the capitol building, I went off in search of some material for a self-guided tour. Steve, Mario and Fred went instead down the stairs that are just inside the south entry to get to the underground access tunnel that led to the Legislative Office Building, across the street to the southwest. Steve needed some more batteries for his camera, and he was told there was a little gift shop there that might have them (he was successful).

The gift shop turned out to be just off the atrium in that building. The atrium had a beautiful glass ceiling, and there was a sculpture in the middle of the room.

The sculpture was called "Eagle," by the artist David von Schlegell (1920-1992), a professor at Yale University, and it was installed when the building was constructed in 1988. In the moderately abstract sculpture, the "eagle" is landing on a twenty-four foot tall granite column. The "eagle" itself is made of aluminum, covered in gold leaf, and stands eight feet tall. It symbolizes civic pride, virtue, and strength. The column is the only piece of Connecticut stone found in the Legislative Office Building, and the sculpture is situated so it is aligned with the Capitol dome, connecting the two buildings visually.

That concluded our tour of the Connecticut State Capitol (and the side trip to the Legislative Office Building), so we walked back to the vehicle, set the GPS, and headed off to the Mark Twain home.

Touring the Mark Twain House in Hartford (CN)

Arrival and Museum

From the parking lot where we'd left the car for our tour of the capitol, we drove northwest across town about two miles to an area that used to be residential but which was now a mix of residential and offices (like lawyers and such). We found the Mark Twain House entrance on our left, turned in and parked.

The Twain Home complex includes not only the home, but a rather large visitor center and museum. Also, right next door is the home of Harriet Beecher Stowe (that particular home was closed today). You can see the relative positions of these homes and facilities on the aerial view below:

When we first walked over from the parking area towards the museum and tour entrance, we stopped down the hill below the Twain home on the southwest side. From here, we got a really nice view of the Twain Home on the hill up above us. The area was nicely wooded, and it must have been a pleasure for the Clemens family to live here. (In this narrative, I'll just refer to Samuel Clemens by his nom de plume of Mark Twain; it's just easier.)

After admiring the house for a short while, we headed up the steps to the museum. Inside, we signed up for a tour leaving quite soon, and spent just a few minutes wandering around the museum itself. We didn't have time to see much, but we did note the model of the Mark Twain Memorial, designed and executed by sculptor Walter Russell for installation in Hannibal, Missouri. In the sculpture, the writer is seated in the centre and the characters from his books are standing around him. Russell had only switched from painting to sculpture a few years when he was commissioned to do this monument. The sculpture world thought him insolent to think he could do so many figures so soon, noting that no one had ever done a successful group of twenty-eight figures. All indications are that Russell has proved his critics wrong, although I do not know if the sculpture has been completed.

One other interesting item was a full-size statue of Mark Twain built entirely of Lego blocks. Steve took a picture of the full form, but it was hard to distinguish the Lego blocks. You can do so much better in the picture he took of just the head and shoulders; have a look at it here. We found that there were two different tours. The first was a short one of the servants' area of the house, and the second, longer tour, took us through the house itself. We signed up for both of them.

The Servants' Wing (Tour 1)

In the Mark Twain House

After just a few minutes, our tour guide led us through the museum and to a patio that lies between the museum and the garage/carriage house of the Twain home. You can watch a bit of her presentation with the movie player at right.

Samuel and Olivia Clemens were married in 1870; they moved to Hartford in 1871, purchased some land and engaged an architect. Livy had strong opinions about the design of her home; she drew sketches and sought the counsel of trusted friends on her ideas. Construction began in August 1873‚ while Sam and Livy were abroad; the family moved into their house inn September‚ 1874- before the house was completed. Despite construction delays and increasing costs, Samuel was enamored with the finished product‚ saying‚ “It is a home - and the word never had so much meaning before.”

Financial problems forced Sam and Livy to move the family to Europe in 1891. Though he would complain about other places the family lived compared to the Hartford house (”How ugly‚ tasteless‚ repulsive are all the domestic interiors I have ever seen in Europe compared with the perfect taste of this ground floor”)‚ the family would never live in Hartford again. The death of their daughter in 1896 made it too hard for Livy to return to their Hartford home‚ and the Clemenses sold the property in 1903.

From the museum, our guide led us over towards the house. Our path came around the side of the carriage house via the walkway that you can see in the previous picture to the driveway between it and the main house. You can see the carriage house as seen from the main house here.

Our guide led us along the east side of the house along the carriageway that led from the carriage house, underneath the porte d'cochere and on down to the avenue. This drive is no longer used. Before we followed our guide for the first part of the tour- the kitchen and servants quarters- we wandered about taking pictures of the Mark Twain House from various angles.

The best pictures were the ones that Fred took; click on the thumbnails below to have a look at them:

When everyone was ready, our tour guide led us along the driveway that curves around to the side of the house that fronts on the street. There, we found the outside stairs leading to the servants' entrance. This was where we began our tour of the servants' wing of the house.

This part of the tour concentrated on the servants' wing of the house, which was opened to visitors in 2005 after painstaking research and restoration.

We spent most of our time in the kitchen, but also saw the butler's pantry and other areas important to the Clemenses' daily lives. The massive cast iron stove, the stocks of food in the larder, the gleaming copper hot water tank in the scullery- and especially the hard work of the six to seven servants- made it possible for the family to live well and entertain constantly during their 17 years in the home.

We heard the stories of the other side of life at 351 Farmington Ave., led by such characters as butler George Griffin, a freed slave, and the irrepressible Irish-American maid, Katy Leary. As with other home tours we've been on, photography was not allowed, and since we were never out of sight of our tour guide here in the kitchen, I have no pictures of it. But I have gotten a copy of one of the official pictures of the kitchen area, and you can see it above, right.

When we were done in the servant wing, our tour guide led us back out the servants' entrance and around to the side of the house where the large, wraparound porch called the "ombra" was and asked to wait for the second tour. Not everyone taking the first tour, so our guide went back to the visitor center to collect the folks for the second tour. We wandered over to the Harriet Beecher Stowe home, but we'll look at those pictures later. Mostly we just hung out on the porch for a quarter hour or so until our guide returned. You can see a couple of additional views of the "ombra" here and here.

The Main House (Tour 2)

Before we begin the second tour, I might mention that it turned out that I was able to get some movies and pictures inside the house. I had to be unobtrusive about it, but I did get some, and so I'll be including them here.

In the Main House

Our second tour was of the main house, and it began on the ombra where our tour guide gave us some additional background on the house and the Clemens family. Fred made a movie of part of her presentation, and you can watch that movie with the player at right.

The Main House - First Floor

When we entered the house through the front door, we were in the entrance hall. To help you follow through the tour of the first floor, and of course understand the arrangement of the rooms, I have put a first-floor plan at left, and marked on it the approximate path that the tour group took.

The entrance hall was a pretty impressive area in which to receive visitors. Leon Marcotte of Paris carved the ornamental detail, and Louis Tiffany did the stenciling of the room's original wainscotting in silver, and painted the walls and ceiling red with patterns of black and silver. I was never able to get away from the tour enough to take a picture of the hall, so the official one from the brochure will have to do; it is below.

The Drawing Room

From the entrance hall, we turned right into the drawing room. This room was where the Clemenses did their formal entertaining. Tiffany stenciled the walls and ceiling in silver East Indian motifs over salmon pink. The large pier glass mirror was a wedding gift that the Clemenses brought to Hartford from their first home in Buffalo, NY. The furniture in the room belonged to the family during their residence here.

I made a movie in this room, and you can watch it with the player at left.

The Dining Room

From the drawing room, we moved into the adjacent dining room, which was situated near the kitchen we saw on the earlier tour. The family ate most of their meals here in the dining room, from small family suppers to formal, elegant dinner parties. In 1881, the walls were covered with a rich embossed paper of red and gold to simulate the look of tooled leather; the work was most likely done by Candace Wheeler of Tiffany & Co. The walnut paneling and doors were covered with a delicate stenciling based on Chinese motifs. The kitchen and servants' wing are located off the north end of the room.

I made another movie here in the dining room, and you can watch it with the player at right.

The Library

Moving through the hall again from the dining room, the tour went into the library. The mantel was the focal point of this room, and it was there that Clemens recited poetry, told stories and read excerpts from his new works to his family and friends. The Clemenses purchased the large oak mantelpiece from Ayton Castle in Scotland specifically for their library. The Scottish Mitchell-Innes family crest appears on the overmantel, as well as the year "1874", an alteration made by Sam to reflect the year his family moved into their Hartford home. Sam also added a brass smoke shield with the inscription: "The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it", a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

At the south end of the room was a really nice conservatory, open to the library. The windows had views out to the south, and this must have been a wonderful room to live in at any time of the year.

I made a movie here in the library/conservatory, and you can watch it with the player at left.

The guest room on this floor, was actually named "The Mahogany Room" for the suite of mahogany furniture and grained wookwork. William Dean Howells, contemporary author and close friend of Twain, called this the "Royal Chamber" because of its luxuries, including a private bath with shower and speaking tube leading directly to the servants' wing.

I was never able to get my own picture of this room, but you can look at the official one at right.

The Main House - Second Floor

On the second floor, I was able to actually take pictures, as the tour group headed to the third floor while I lagged behind.

I've put a floor plan for the second floor at left, and marked the approximate route of the tour.

First, we looked into the master bedroom, the private quarters of Clemens and his wife. The couple's elaborately-carved bed, which they purchased in 1878 in Venice, dominates the space. Sam kept it with him all his life, calling it "the most comfortable bedstead that ever was, with space enough in it for a family, and carved angels enough...to bring peace to the sleepers, and pleasant dreams." Samuel Clemens died in this bed in his Redding, Connecticut home in 1910. Twain's only surviving daughter, Clara, gave it to the museum in 1940.

The schoolroom, originally designed as Twain's study, later became a play area and classroom for his daughters. They were educated by their mother and a governess, who taught them German, history, geography, and arithmetic, among other subjects. The Fischer upright piano is the same year and model as the one they were given for christmas in 1880. The wall and ceiling decorations were done in 1879 by an Elmira, NY decorator named Frederick Schweppe.

Adjacent to the schoolroom was the children's bedroom, and we peeked into it briefly.

The Main House - Third Floor

Our tour continued up to the third floor of the Mark Twain House.

The billiard room on the third floor served as Mark Twain's office, study and private domain. Located away from the bustle of a busy household, it was teh place where the author would write his great works, fanning the manuscripts on the billiard table to be edited. Twain could relax and informally entertain friends, sometimes into the early morning hours. The billiard table now in the house was given to Sam by a friend in 1904.

Twain's biographer, Albert bigelow Paine, wrote: "Every Friday evening, or oftener, a small party of billiard lovers gathered, and played until the late hour, told stories, smoked till the room was blue, comforting themselves with hot Scotch and general good-fellowship. Mark Twain always had a genuine passion for billiards. He never tired of the game. He could play all night. He could stay until the last man gave out from sheer weariness, then he would go on knocking the balls about alone."

That completed our tour of the Mark Twain house.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe House

By the 1870s, the area on the western edge of Hartford was a celebrated center of New England literary life, and the words "Nook Farm" (as the area was known) were as evocative as "the Hamptons" or "the Islands" are today. The vibrant neighborhood that would become Nook Farm began in 1853, when brothers-in-law John Hooker and Francis Gillette purchased 140 acres of pasture and woodland from William Imlay. Bordered on the east by Sigourney Street, the north by Farmington Avenue and on the west and south by the Park River where it made a large curve, or nook, the Imlay property was appropriately called Nook Farm. Hooker and Gillette kept the name for their developing community.

Over the years, as Hooker and Gillette sold parcels of land to relatives and friends, a community of reformers and activists grew. Some were politicians; others were journalists, feminists, spiritualists, painters, or writers. All of them worked in their own ways to make a positive difference in their worlds. Their accomplishments, activities, and easy hospitality fascinated the public and brought the neighborhood renown.

Two residents, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain, were international celebrities. Isabella Beecher Hooker, Joseph Hawley, Charles Dudley Warner and William Gillette acquired national fame. Others may be less familiar today, but they were prominent Connecticut citizens.

The Stowe home is next door to the Twain home, across a small lawn, and today the two sites cooperate in restoration, museum work, and tours. We might have wanted to tour the Stowe home, but it was closed on Mondays in any case. So we had to content ourselves with pictures of the home's exterior. We took a number of pictures, and I've selected the best of them to include here. Just click on the thumbnail images at right to view these pictures.

Our walk over to the Harriet Beecher Stowe house completed our visit to Mark Twain's home, and now it was time to head on from Hartford to our next state capital- Albany, New York.

Driving from Hartford (CN) to Albany (NY)

Getting to Albany took a little over two hours, and the route was very easy. There was an entrance onto I-91 right near the Twain home, and all we had to do was take that north into Massachusetts and get on the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) and head west. This became the New York Thruway when we crossed the state line, and I-90 took us right into Albany.

Mario had made reservations while we were driving at the Best Western near the Albany airport, and getting there was easy. We continued across the Hudson River on I-90, and went right by downtown Albany on the north, eventually turning north on I-87. Then it was only a few exits to the one for our hotel.

We found the hotel with no problem, checked in, and then walked across Wolf Road and north a couple of blocks to have dinner at the Wolf Road Diner. It was just what we expected, and a lot better diner than the one we ate at Saturday night.

Tomorrow we will be touring downtown Albany, and particularly the New York State Capitol.

You can use the links below to continue through our New England trip or return to the index page to continue through the photo album.

	September 27, 2011: The New York State Capitol and Albany/TD>
	September 25, 2011: Newport, RI, and Provincetown, MA
	Return to the Index for our New England Trip