Special Dispatch to Kansas Public Radio
By Courtney Lane
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - As you walk through the visitor doors of the Kansas State Capitol, your feet land on a giant marble map of Kansas. All 105 counties are represented.
Tucked inside these massive limestone walls are reminders of the state’s rich history… symbols of the men and women who built this state, made it famous and called it home. Lawmakers and lobbyists walk through these halls every day. And you can too. It’s easy to get a free tour of the Kansas Statehouse - and that’s just what I did.
Eight Flags Over Kansas?
Standing here on the first floor, in the rotunda, you’ll look up and see a ring of flags hanging from the balcony. All of these flags represent the countries that once claimed the land we now call Kansas - Spain, France - even the short-lived Lone Star nation of Texas.
Down a corridor and just a few steps away, you’ll encounter the state's official marine fossil, a baby Tylosaurus - a reminder that, long before there was a state capital building here… this whole area was underwater. The Statehouse now sits on the ocean floor of an ancient, massive inland sea.
Murals Galore
Arguably, the most famous mural in the Kansas Statehouse is “Tragic Prelude,” by John Steuart Curry. It depicts abolitionist John Brown with his flowing beard - a rifle in one hand and a Bible in the other, with fallen soldiers from the American Civil War at his feet and a tornado twirling in the distance. At first, the Kansas Legislature rejected the mural and refused to hang it in the Capitol. Curry left the state in disgust, refusing to sign the work or his other mural, Kansas Pastoral, because he considered the project incomplete.
Upstairs and around the corner, visitors will find a mural memorializing the landmark school desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education. This mural is one of the more recent additions to a building full of them. And this painting is full of visual jokes and Kansan innuendos.
One woman boasts a Mickey Mouse watch; on a nearby desk sits an apple with a worm wiggling out; a mail boy with a Snickers painted into his pocket; and, on the opposite side, a boy swinging his KU Jayhawk lunchbox.
In another part of the building, you’ll find the latest mural at the Statehouse, “Rebel Women." It depicts 13 women crucial to the suffrage movement, whose roots run deep in Kansas. The mural, standing 8 feet tall and 19 feet wide, is an oil painting and became the first permanent installation in the Capitol produced by a female artist. Look closely and you will see young Langston Hughes being taught by his teacher, Mary J. Dillard, in Lawrence - a silent nod to the fact that one of the nation’s most famous poets spent his youth right here in the Sunflower State. Everywhere you look, you see reminders of Kansas history. And that’s just on the inside.
Copper Dome and a Kaw Warrior
Before you even enter the building, you’ll see a copper dome - stretching 17 feet higher than the dome on top of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. Higher still, on top of the dome, stands the statue of a Kaw Warrior named Ad Astra, To the Stars. The warrior’s bow is pointed toward the North Star. The giant sculpture was designed and built by Richard Bergen after winning the 1988 Kansas Arts Commission competition.
Plumb Weird
Some of the quirkiest facts about this building belong to the building's plumbing. For decades, lawmakers had sinks and tubs in or right outside of their chambers so they could wash up before heading into session. All but one have since been removed. The last sink remaining still works though. It sits unused in the Secretary of State’s old office.
Capital Secrets Hidden in Plain Sight
Back in the rotunda, on the 2nd floor, the surprises continue. Here you’ll find statues of William Allen White, the sage of Emporia, Aviator Amelia Earhart, General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and former Kansas Governor and publisher Arthur Capper.
Beneath each sculpture is a time capsule tucked into the base — the earliest set to open underneath William Allen White in 2061.
It is also on this 2nd floor that you’ll find Gov. Laura Kelly's office. She actually has two, a ceremonial office up front and a get-down-to-business office in back. She has decorated the ceremonial room with photos of county court houses in Kansas choosing only a handful of the state’s 105 counties to display at one time.
From famous murals and sculptures to flags and baby fossils, the Kansas Statehouse is full of small human touches. They may not be on the front page, but they do say a lot about Kansans - who they are and what they choose to remember inside the very seat of state government. ###
