A work in progress

Since we spent the night in Oklahoma’s capitol city, it made sense to visit the State Capitol today.  It was a unique visit.  It appears that the entire Capitol is undergoing rehabilitation.  Crews are working on one entire side of the exterior, and they are also replacing windows, doors, HVAC, wiring, plumbing, etc. in the entire building.  If it can be updated, I think it’s being done.  As a result, many areas were restricted to construction workers, and others were in varying states of disarray.  The entire first floor is under construction.  To enter the building, we had to pass security at a first floor door and then wend our way through a lengthy maze to an open stairway that took us to the second floor.  Many doors throughout the Capitol were marked “Construction Workers Only.”   We took a guided tour, which helped us find our way around the construction areas.

The OK State Capitol is the only one in the U.S. that has a working oil rig on the grounds.  That’s it in the far right background.

The Great Seal of OK has 45 stars in the blue fields to represent the 45 states in the Union prior to OK’s statehood.  The large center star is for OK.  The five points of the center star depict the five tribes of OK:  Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole.

The Hall of Governors has a bust of each OK Governor, including the first woman governor, who is currently serving her term.  The construction crew was busy in this room.

This is called the Blue Room.  It’s the room in which the governor holds press conferences and signs bills.  The wall on the right is covered for construction.

The tour included the state art gallery.  This was my favorite picture.  I like the colors and the impact it makes when you see it.

This painting has a name, but I dubbed it “A Good Start.”

It’s no surprise that one of the stained glass windows in the building recognizes the oil workers of the state.

Each of the four wings of the Capitol is decorated like this with beautiful moldings, arches, and art depicting qualities of Oklahoma. The upper part of the photo is the lower part of the dome.