A state capitol building love affair and my Occupy Denver experience
By Jeremy Branham on Jul 16, 2012 with Comments 19
I hate politics. I really abhor them. I don’t have much faith in our politicians or government to make a lot of positive differences in the world (regardless of the political party). I believe that travel can change world. However, I love state capitol buildings.
I am not sure what sparked my interest in State Capitol buildings. I guess it has something to do with being around them for much of my life.
Living in the state capital
South Carolina State Capitol Building - Columbia, SC
For the last 20 years, I have lived in two capital cities – Columbia, South Carolina and Sacramento, California.
In college, I lived a few blocks from the SC State Capitol. Unfortunately, the South Carolina State Capitol building has been the center of controversy. For years, the Confederate Flag hung from the top of the State Capitol building.
The state has seen boycotts from the NAACP and the NCAA due to the flag controversy. The flag was removed and became part of a Confederate soldiers monument. Despite the move, the controversy remains.
Since 2001, I have lived in the Sacramento area. For the last few years, I’ve stood on the steps of the California State Capitol to help raise money for babies in the Sacramento March for Babies.
I love walking the grounds of state capitol buildings. There is so much history and beauty that makes the grounds a fun place to explore. Last year, I enjoyed the parks and monuments on the grounds of the California State Capitol as I learned more about the state’s history.
Maybe that is the reason I love these buildings. If real estate is all about “location, location, location” these capitol buildings have the best the pieces of land in the city.
While I don’t care for the history being made in the legislature, I enjoy the history, the architecture, and the beauty of the state capitol buildings.
Inevitably, you can’t avoid some of the politics. And while I respect our government and our democratic process, the history and beauty of these buildings and the world of politics collide.
The Colorado State Capitol Building
Colorado Veterans Monument and the State Capitol
When I arrived in Denver, I checked into my hotel and immediately walked to the Colorado State Capitol building (The second thing I did was take a tour of Coors Field – home of the Colorado Rockies).
Downtown Denver made a pretty good first impression. The streets were easy to navigate and everything was within walking distance.
From the Queen Anne Bed and Breakfast on Tremont Place, the Colorado State Capitol building was located a little more than a half mile on walk on E Colfax. It’s location in the heart of Denver offers some great views of the city.
Wandering around the building, the capitol looks similar to other state capitol buildings I’ve visited. While the dome is a popular feature atop many state capitol buildings, the gold dome on the Colorado State Capitol building symbolizes its gold rush days.
Located in the Capital Hill District of Denver, the state capitol sits above the rest of the city giving you a panoramic view of downtown. The building was designed by Elijah Myers and built in the early 1890s. On the steps, there is a marker indicating 5,280 feet above sea level – exactly one mile.
In front of the Capitol building, a Union soldier honors the efforts of Colorado’s Civil War heroes. Across the street from the state capitol building is Civic Center Park with views of the Denver city and county building.
Walking across the street, you enter Civic Center Park and are greeted by the Colorado Veterans Monument. This memorial pays tribute to those who have served in the Armed Forces. The green space, monuments, capitol on a hill, and the city and county building provide a peaceful from a place that is the center of controversy.
While the state capitol building is a symbol of Colorado’s government, what is happening outside the building says a lot about the state of our country.
Occupy Colorado
Homeless people hang out in Civic Center Park
While the park, monuments, and the gold dome of the Colorado State Capitol building were a nice welcome to Denver, what was happening around me was a sad reminder of the issues our country faces today.
Occupy Colorado is the movement protesting the abuse of economic power by corporations and government on the citizens of Colorado. The protests of the people are were born out of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
However, it seems so much bigger than that now.
A number of Occupy movements have started all over Colorado – Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley, Aspen, and more. The initial protests were small with just a few people. In October, the numbers grew as 5,000 people were part of the first Occupy Denver march through the streets of Denver.
While the march was supposed to be peaceful, it featured riot police, pepper spray, and arrests.
Occupy Denver organizes these marches using their general assembly. Recent marches include protests over Quebec tuition, Iran, and neo-feudalism.
Such a broad range of topics has brought a lot of attention to this movement. However, I am not even sure how many people understand or know what is really the focus of these Occupy movements. While the numbers aren’t as big as they were in the beginning, there are a number of people still faithful to the Occupy efforts.
On this mid-June evening at Colorado’s State Capitol, there seems to be some tension. Police are on patrol in Civic Center Park. However, the Occupy Denver movement seems to be more of a homeless movement right now as many are hanging out in the park.
In May, the Denver City Council passed an urban camping ban to prevent homeless people from camping out on the streets and in parks. The reaction has been strong on both sides.
As an outsider, I don’t understand the homeless issues or pretend to be an expert on the Occupy Denver movement. However, I was surprised by the large number of young people and homeless hanging out at the capitol and Civic Center Park.
The police presence and the people didn’t scare me but it seems that the homeless problem in Denver is a big issue. Out of respect for the people and the situation, I didn’t want to take many photos. However, I was surprised at the number of people that weren’t there to see the capitol.
The number of people congregating in the park and at the state capitol building while the police watched made me realize there are still a lot of issues facing our governments today.
Where the past meets the present
Visiting a state capitol building will give you a glimpse of the history and architecture of these buildings. They are the work place for our elected officials and state governments.
Even though I love these state capitol buildings, the are a reminder that what is going on outside these buildings may be just as important as what goes on inside.
From the monuments to the protests, take a walk through history or be a part of it as it is being made. From Occupy Wall Street movements to Confederate flag controversies, a visit to a State Capitol building brings past and present issues together.
A view of downtown Denver from the E Colfax side of the Colorado State Capitol building
The Denver Post
Downtown Denver from Lincoln St with police presence in the park
Denver City and County Building across from Civic Center Park
Colorado Liberty Bell in Civic Center Park
gold dome atop the Colorado State Capitol Building
Union solider statue in front of the Colorado State Capitol building
Colorado Veterans Monument in Civic Center Park
An Occupy Denver squirrel protests in the park (or he is just looking for food)
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Filed Under: Destinations • Featured • USA
I'm Jeremy Branham and I love to travel. Check out my travel stories, guides, sports travels, and adventures.
It seems everytime you go somewhere for TBEX something crazy breaks out. First it was the Vancouver riots and now an Occupy protest.
I have never really explored many state capitols except from the window of my car. I have seen the Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana all from my car window going 30mph or whatever the speed limit dictates. I will have to stop and check them out sometime.
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To be fair, there wasn’t a protest that day. I was just surprised at how much of the movement seemed to be like a bunch of homeless people hanging out. Homeless people didn’t catch my attention – it was the police presence. That let me know there was some tension.
When I got home, I did some research on this and found out there was the homeless ban. So this made a little more sense later. So while there wasn’t anything that happened, what I saw made me dig a little deeper into what was going on.
First off, that squirrel picture cracks me up.
Secondly, I love capitol buildings.I just revisited my favorite in January. (Psst…it’s Texas, just in case anyone was wondering.) As partial as I am to my home state’s capitol(it’s also the biggest,including that one in DC), I was really impressed with the ones in Georgia and Louisiana (both old and new).
As you pointed out, there’s so much more to these places than the politics inside and the bronze, granite, and marble on the outside. It’s history and a glimpse into each state’s past.
By the way, I have neighbors in their 60s and their goal is to see every state capitol. They’ve gotten around to 40 or so. Next month they’re headed to Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska for the sole purpose of seeing the capitols. I think that’s pretty dang cool.
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I’ve heard Austin is a great city. I am sure I will get there and visit one day.
I spent years near the South Carolina Capitol building as campus was just a couple of blocks away. Strangely enough, I don’t go inside very often. I enjoy the buildings and the grounds more than the inside. That’s probably due to my disdain for politics. I still enjoy the history parts though and hope to see more state capitol buildings in my travels.
That gold dome is impressive. American’s really know how to celebrate their foundations and history. As a young country, New Zealand is still confused by how to do it I think.
I won’t get into the whole Occupy chat here as I don’t think that was what you were trying to get into but I don’t agree that people should be allowed to camp in public areas for free. Yes there may be a homeless problem but some people are abusing the privilege and unfortunately ruining it for other visitors that actually come to check the sights out.
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I appreciate the state capitol buildings for the history and architecture. I think states have done a pretty good job of creating buildings to admire and appreciate. Most were built around the same time with an emphasis on big, grand buildings.
As for the Occupy movement, I don’t have much experience with it so I won’t say much. However, I agree with your sentiments and understand your position. It will be interesting to see what happens with this movement. I don’t think there is a clear direction so I think many people are using it for their own purposes.
Kali and I were just talking about the Occupy protests and what happened to them. We haven’t heard anything for months, which surprises me.
We attended the Occupy Berlin protest last October and were surprised by how many families and people of all ages attended.
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What was it like in Berlin? I haven’t had too many experiences with the Occupy movements. However, it seems that these have had a way of unifying people but there isn’t a real clear direction or purpose for most.
I’m all for buildings. To be honest, they’d probably do a better job running the place than the politicians. I’m sure there’s a quote somewhere that those who strive for power shouldn’t be the ones to attain it. I’d vote for a funky looking building (or that sqeuirrel actually) to run a country over a power hungry sleaze monger any day!
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I think we can agree on our politics. The worst thing about some of these state capitol buildings are what goes on inside. If it weren’t for that, I’d probably like them even more.
That squirrel is adorable!! Of all the places we visited since the Occupy movements began, we only actually came face to face with a small parade in Chicago at the Bean. Interesting how our appetite for media consumption only lasts for a short time until the next story pops up – the Occupy movements are so few and far between again…
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I don’t know that I really understand the Occupy movements other than they are a rallying cry for things that are wrong with our economics and politics. I don’t know that the people really know what they are about either. However, it has had a way of unifying people. This was my first experience with the Occupy movements so it was interesting to learn what was going on in Colorado.
Occupy Denver Squirrel for President! Obviously I have quite a few thoughts on the whole Occupy movement and the corporatization of American politics, but I’ll save that for another time. I do wish that Americans as a people cared more about news and what goes on behind the scene in the political process…
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I could spend quite a few pages talking about politics. I’ll sum it up briefly – Americans spend way too much time on politics and our politicians spend way too playing the politics game. I abhor it. On both sides, politicians do a poor job of running this country and see themselves as far more important than they really are.
Our governments will NEVER “save the world” and too many Americans are clueless and don’t understand that. In my opinion, governments and politicians make things worse. I could say a lot more about it but I will leave it at that
Feel free to rant, rave, and share more of your thoughts. Being from the South, I am curious what you think.
Perhaps they always make the capital building so impressive that people get distracted and don’t pay attention to the crap that happens inside it. Or maybe it’s just because the politicians are the ones who control the budget. Why don’t they make the public housing that fancy, for instance?
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Like most states during that era, architectural structures for the government were a big thing. A long time ago, churches got all the money to build these beautiful buildings. In the 19th century, the trend was building a grand capitol building. I think funds and priorities are quite different these days.
Have you been to the state capitol building in New Mexico? It’s nickname is the Roundhouse because, well, it’s round. When I was growing up in NM, a radio announcer always used to call it the “Merry Roundhouse.”
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I haven’t been to that one. I’ve only passed through New Mexico but never stayed. I will have to make it there one day and visit. Not sure there are a lot of statehouses that have a roundhouse look.
[...] into my room and looked around the place before heading out to explore downtown Denver and the Colorado State Capitol building.As I headed out the front door, a number of people were hanging out, throwing a frisbee, and [...]