Capitol Building and Mansion

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Up until now, Ron and I have not toured but one other capitol building and that was in Austin, TX. Our RVillage friend Marie said such glowing things and showed us some beautiful pictures in her blog about the Capitol here in Helena that we thought we should take the tour.  She is so right about the beauty of the building. 

The building is in the neoclassical style which reflects the American Renaissance of the late 19th century.  Construction was begun in 1899 and completed in 1902 on 14.1 acres with Montana sandstone exterior and a dome faced with Montana copper rising 165 feet.  From 1909 – 1912 the east and west wings were added.  In the 1960’s Urban renewal, in an effort to modernize the building, destroyed the looks of the interior by removing chandeliers and wood trim and installing false ceilings and florescent lights.  From 1999-2000 historic restoration and technical upgrades were made restoring the Capitol building to its original glory.  See what you think of the building.

Inside the Capitol are numerous statues.

There are also some recent murals called the Montana Women’s Murals called “Women Build Montana” which were completed by a Missoula mural artist named Hadley Ferguson.  Each mural is surrounded by four corner vignettes.  Recognition for the part we women played in Montana and throughout the country.

The Senate and House Chambers contain some beautiful murals on the ceilings as do the central hallways of the building.  Above the rostrum in the House of Representatives is a very large Charles Russell masterpiece commissioned in 1911 for $5,000.  It is called “Lewis and Clark Meeting Indians at Ross’ Hole and today is worth millions of dollars.”  This is the largest painting ever painted by Russell.   We were able to take the tour so learned other interesting facts about the building and some of the people associated with it. 

Our second tour of the day was at the Original Governor’s Mansion which served as the residence for 9 governors and three private families.  It was the Governor’s Mansion from 1913 until 1959 and represented Montana’s elite who were supported by household staff.  Entrepreneur William A. Chessman built the home in 1888 for his wife and two children.  The home was restored in 1969 with the support of the city.

 A lovely home with a few unique features.  The entry hall has a fireplace which helped to keep visitors warm while they waited in the foyer to see the Governor.

Most of the furnishings are not period pieces but a few items did belong to one of the Governor’s families.  The original chandelier in the Office in the house (today’s man cave) was found at a Spokane auction and was purchased and reinstalled in the room.  

Another interesting item was a little book called GOOPS which is a book on manners. 

Below are a couple of pictures from rooms in the house.

Two interesting tours with lots to absorb.