We took Sam to the vet to get his drains removed, but it was going to take a few hours. That allowed us a chance to visit Oklahoma's capitol building. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of a large refurbishment project, so we did not get to see it at its best.
"Bronze tribute to the romantic riders of the range" 1930, by Constance Whitney Warren
We stopped in the information center at the top of the hour to take a tour. It was not a busy day, so we had our own private showing of the capitol building. Our tour guide, Bill, seemed to be pretty well known. As we were walking around, the Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor, Todd Lamb, introduced himself. He talked for a few minutes about being stationed in Brunswick, Georgia, before telling us we had the best tour guide in the Capitol.
It's the tour guides that make capitols interesting. They are usually a wealth of information. Bill was no exception.
"The Guardian" Sculpted by Enoch Kelly Haney, Seminole-Creek Master Artist and Oklahoma Senator
This is a 9-foot edition of the statue that sits atop the Capitol's dome (a 22-foot 9-inch sculpture raised and mounted in 2002.
I thought it was interesting that the capitol building was completed in 1917 without a dome at a cost of $1.5 million. The 157-foot steel and granite dome that I was viewing above was added in 2002 for a cool $22 million. Don't worry, it was mostly funded through private donations.
"Flight of Spirit" 1991 by Mike Larsen, Chickasaw
The mural was commissioned to honor the five world-renowned Indian ballerinas from Oklahoma: Yvonne Chouteau, Cherokee; Rosella Hightower, Choctaw; Moscelyne Larkin, Shawnee; Maria Tallchief, Osage and Marjorie Tallchief, Osage.
Dialogue, 1991 bronze, by Allan C. Houser
(This was a glassed-in gallery safe from the dust of the renovation.)
In the hall below, a quick "head count" told me there were too many Governors for the states very young history (Oklahoma became a state in 1907). Bill rather sheepishly admitted several were impeached and did not serve a full term.
We received a call from Banfield, Sam's vet, who told us we could pick him up. The call was very early because his wounds had not healed enough to remove the drains. It cut our sightseeing short, but we decided to get Sammie home.
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