While on vacation last week, Josh and I toured the Oklahoma State Capitol.  I was quite impressed, to say the least.  The architecture and the decor was top-notch.  In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the capitol went through a major renovation to restore it to the original design.  This meant that a complete remodel of many portions of the building brought it back to the way it was originally designed.  The House and Senate chambers were redone.  In 2002, they added the dome on top of the capitol.  This was a multi-million dollar project.  The dome was in the original plans but the state ran out of money.  To celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the capitol, the governor wanted to have the dome put on.  The dome was added before the anniversary date.

Among the capitol’s artwork, were paintings of two of my boyhood heroes, whom, I found out, are native Oklahomans.  Mickey Mantle, the great Yankee’s Slugger, and Jim Thorpe, believed to be the greatest athlete in the history of America.  Seeing those paintings brought back memories from my childhood, although I was not alive during their playing days.  I can remember a few school reports done on those guys.

All in all, we were impressed most by the State Supreme Court Chambers.  It was absolutely beautiful.  After leaving, the Oklahoma Capitol, we made it a goal to visit all of the capitols of our nation.  That is quite a goal but maybe, we can do it in our life time.