NORTH DAKOTA, BISMARCK: STATE CAPITOL BUILDING

September 13, 2019

One of the things we like to do as we have traveled around to the 50 states is visit the state capitol buildings. There are a lot of states we will have to go back to because we didn't go to the capital city or because it was Sunday and the capitol was closed or because of some other reason.  

But we made it to the capitol in Bismarck, North Dakota's capital.  It was not super exciting, but it had some fun components. 

First, some info on Bismarck itself. It was founded in 1872 by European Americans on the Missouri River and was made the capital in 1889, the year the state was created from the Dakota Territory and admitted to the union as the 39th state. (FYI, it made it in ahead of South Dakota, the 40th state.)  Bismarck has a population of about 75,000 people, not very big, but by no means the smallest capital city.

The original state capitol was built in 1883-1884 to house the territorial government, but it burned to the ground in 1930, requiring that a new building be built during the height of the Great Depression. They came up with this 21-story Art Deco structure, still the tallest building in North Dakota. Its nickname is "The Skyscraper on the Prairie."

They have a very nice state seal, which is in the front entry.

Some Art Deco features include these windows:

. . . the elevator doors:

. . . light fixtures:

. . . ornamentation:

. . . and a few other things, but I wouldn't call it an Art Deco gem.

We took the elevator to the top floor, where we had a good panoramic view of Bismarck. The capitol complex includes five other buildings on 160 acres. That lawn, mowed in perfect diagonal stripes, looks like it is the size of about two football fields!

I loved that the five Indian Nation flags are on display in the capitol and are flanked by the US and North Dakota flags. (Note the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe flag in the center. It is their reservation that was the site of many protests about the Dakota Access Pipeline a few years ago.)

The House of Representatives . . .

. . . and the Senate:

Sofas in the long hallway look like they belong in a train sleeper car (in case the House and Senate meetings get too boring and one needs a nap).

By far my favorite thing in the capitol was what I have name "The Hall of Just in Case You Thought No One Famous Came from North Dakota."

Native sons include Louis L'Amour, a prolific writer of western-themed novels "whose 50 million books purchased make him the fastest selling novelist in America," and Eric Severeid, nationally known CBS news commentator.

North Dakota claims New York Yankee Roger Maris, who was the single-season homerun king from 1961-1998, and Peggy Lee, jazz and pop music singer and actress.

I was stunned to learn that bandleader and TV personality Lawrence Welk was not born in Germany but in Strasburg (at least that's appropriate), North Dakota. And although Teddy Roosevelt was born in New York, as a young man he spent a lot of time in North Dakota operating two ranches in the Badlands. He said, "I have always said I would not be President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota."

TV and movie star Angie Dickinson must have picked up some of her Police Woman moves in North Dakota, and Warren Christopher, Secretary of State under President Clinton and holder of many other offices, must have learned his negotiation skills in his home state.

Finally, one of my favorite authors, Louise Erdrich, was born in Minnesota but grew up in North Dakota and wrote about Native American characters and settings. North Dakota is therefore happy to claim her as well.

Back outside, we decided to head downtown for dinner.

However, I made Bob pull over so I could admire this beautiful statue of North Dakota's most important heroes: the pioneer family.

Back in downtown Bismarck, we spent some time walking around the "Downtowners Street Fair," an arts, crafts, music, and food extravaganza (at least by North Dakota standards).

I had a Navajo taco and a scrumptious crepe for dinner. Whatever Bob had, it wasn't as good as this.

 Seriously cute. I wish I could have taken this little birdie home.