Feb. 25, Monday Day 4 Phoenix
Arizona built its first permanent capitol in 1901, when it was just a territory. Arizona is the 48th state, admitted in 1812. The capitol is made of stone, and it has lots of windows (imagine Phoenix in the summer!) (Picture 1) It has a copper dome because Arizona produced lots of copper. Winged Victory perches atop and is also a wind vane which moves around and faces the wind. I wish we had seen it 2 days ago with the 16 mph winds. Today was calm. The cost was $135,000, ($4-5 per square foot). When they built the new Senate and House, it cost $200 per sq. ft.9
When they built the new capitol, they and made the original into The Arizona Capitol Museum. It sits between the current Senate and House, with the Governor's Office in a building at the rear. The governor functioned out of the old capitol until 1975.
They give tours at 10 and 2, so we went to the 10:00 tour. Our guide took us to the new Senate building first. (Picture 2). This picture of a senator's desk shows the party symbol, an elephant, so this senator was a Republican. Democrats made major strides this last election and are now only down 4 seats, 17 Republicans to 13 Dems. If a senator wants to speak, she/he presses the yellow RTS button (request to speak). When the leader gives the OK, he turns on your mike. Everyone's name comes up yellow when it's time to vote (yellow means "abstain"), and the senator can change by pressing the red (nay) or green (yea) button. Senators are elected for only 2 years.
Senators and representatives only make $24,000 per year. According to the Arizona Constitution, their pay can only be raised by a vote from the people, and we were told that it's put up on the ballot every year and rejected every year. Both senators and representatives may only serve 8 years, solo or combined. The governor has a 4-year term, and he also leaves after 8 years. All elective offices may be recalled, including judges Taft, who was President when Arizona petitioned for statehood, was a retired judge, and later a Supreme Court justice. He said Arizona couldn't enter the U S unless they got rid of the recall, so they passed a law banning the recall. Less than a year later, they reinstated it, when they wrote their state constitution.
The legislature meets every year from mid-January to April for 100 days. The governor or they themselves can call a special session, and in reality, they usually meet 5-6 months a year. Out-of-towners receive a per diem for housing, and there is no governor's mansion. They also economize by not having a lieutenant governor. If the governor dies, the secretary of state takes over.
We returned to the museum and saw the Old House Chamber, which they have tried to restore to the original by using old photos for guidance. (Picture 3) There are 60 House members. The lamps pointing upward were gas lights. The ones facing down were fed by electricity. The state provided the desks, but each representative had to bring his own chair. (Picture 4) The seating and size of the desks reminded me of a crowded classroom.
The lobby had a mosaic state seal in the floor. (Picture 5) It was assembled in Ohio and was supposed to have the "5 C's" (Climate (sun), Cotton, Copper, Cow, Citrus). However, there are several problem areas--no cow, no citrus tree, and the copper miner shouldn't have cuffs on his pants. The motto "Ditat deus" means God enriches.
The lobby had a display honoring the Buffalo Soldiers. I learned that they were called "buffalo" not from the area they patrolled, which was what I thought. They were called "buffalo" because the "nappiness" of their hair reminded the army of the hair on buffalo.
Next, we visited the old governor's office (Picture 6), which did have electricity. The figure is modeled after George W P Hunt, who was the governor 7 times. He's be voted in, voted out, then in, then out.....He sounds like he was very well-heeled. He was the ambassador to Siam, and he toured Egypt. He arranged to have a pyramid-shaped tomb built at the site where the zoo is, and he, his wife, his daughter, and his daughter's family are all buried there. If you look carefully, you can see a wire hanging down from the chandelier. If the governor wanted to use the lamp or fan, he had to plug into the chandelier.
Picture 7 is a wall hanging of the state seal as it was designed, with the cow and the citrus tree.
At the end of the tour as the guide bade us farewell, one of the tour group said, "Aren't you going to show us the Merci Room?" I'm so glad she spoke up. Our guide left us there, and we discovered these stars. (Picture 8) Many French citizens had nothing after World War II, but they were very grateful to the Americans who liberated them. To thank us, they painstakingly cut, colored, and sewed hand-crafted stars out of whatever materials they had available. Hundreds of these stars with messages of thanks were sent to their American friends.
There were also gifts that were sent to Arizona from the Merci Gratitude Train. The U. S. had instituted the Marshall Plan to help get Europe back on their feet. A few years later, the French sent 49 wooden railroad cars that were 20' x 8'. They were called Hommes 40 et Chevaux 8 because they could carry 40 men or 8 horses. They had been used during WWII to transport troops. Each state and the District of Columbia received one railroad car. Citizens of France had donated gifts from the heart and family heirlooms--a wedding dress, war medals, an expensive but worn Peugot bike, and personal treasures. They donated 52,000 items. When these wooden cars arrived in New York, they were put on flatbed railcars, and one was sent to each state. In Arizona's car there were over 1700 items.
Staying at Phoenix Metro RV Park, $33/night, has everything, wonderful, we'd highly recommend it