Baton Rouge Capitals

Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana and it has a fantastic capital building.  Actually it has two fantastic capital buildings and both are impressive in their own right.  The old capital is a smaller, castle-looking building that has been turned into a museum.

The interior of the building is equally impressive, very ornate, sparkly, and colorful. The main lobby area has a steel staircase winding up to the second floor which holds exhibits and a portrait gallery of former governors.  The staircase, though, gathered my attention immediately.  Because it was made of steel and felt very different than the stairs I normally tread.  It took up much less space than concrete or wood staircases which lead to a small magical feeling, like it was impossible that something so insubstantial could possible support my weight.  And stepping on the stairs had a different tactile feel; no thud of concrete or squeak of wood but a slightly springiness and vibration.  The stairs felt responsive and nimble, not monolithic.

There were several examples of stained glass wonderfully made.  The ceiling above the central staircase was all stained glass and several windows in both legislative chambers were done as well.  Both of these rooms were beautiful and we were told that they were often used for receptions.

The other capital building, the one where the politics gather to work, is an art deco tower  similar to the capital of Nebraska, at least on the outside.  In fact, it was noted in several places that the Baton Rouge has the tallest capital building in the world, Nebraska's is second.

The main lobby of the capital is a barely lit place.  It seems almost every surface is covered in dark marble, dark stained wood, or bronze.  The day we toured was a working day at the capital and there was a constant flow of professionally dressed people in and out of the building.  The lobby was busy and loud; I felt out of place as a tourist, as if I somehow was intruding or getting in the way.

At either end are the legislative chambers, equally ornate but much better lit.  The Senate was not in session but the House was very busy passing legislation.  In the twenty minutes we were there about eight bills were passed.  It was all very perfunctory, so much so that most legislatures spent most of the time talking, ignoring the proceedings, or not being present.  This didn't keep them from voting, though.   The voting used electronic devices at each representatives seat with a big display at the front of the room showing the status of each representatives vote.  On several occasions I saw representatives voting for those around them who were absent.

And there were the pages.  Most say off to the side with nothing to do, waiting to be called on and be made useful.  The only two I saw busy were those assigned to the printers on either side of the front of the chamber.  When a representative printed a document, the page delivered it.

I have no reason to believe that what I witnessed is abnormal in any way as compared to other legislative bodies in this country.  Compared to what is normally airing on CSPAN, the attendance here was quite impressive.  It seems that there is something fundamentally wrong with how our country governs itself when laws are created in such a manner, when the act of governing is given is little attention.  This is easy for me to say, though; I've never had to do what these people do.

Lastly, like Nebraska, the Capital had an observation deck at the top of the tower. The view of the area is impressive: the Mississippi river, the refineries north of town, the downtown area, the LSU stadium and arena.  And the surrounding jungle/bayou/swamp, the ever present explosion of green.