The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1950-02-02
| MISSISSIPPI'S NEW CAPITOL
is BIG TOURIST ATTRACTION

Mississippi's historic New Capt.
tol Building il downtown Jackson.
completed in 1903 at cost of
little over s1.000.000 and recent
ly re-decorated and cleaned, is
proving to be one of the states
foremost tourist attractions.
During the Is months period
ending January /, 1850, total of
nearly 10000 visitors from As
states and 81 foreign countries
have registered with Mrs. w. G..
Eckles, capitol recepti0nist whose
job 1t is to squire visitors around
and give them the history of the
states foremost public building.
A total of 14,329 visitors, about
60 per cent of them Mississippians,
registered at the Capitol in 1949.
Missouri has provided the greatest
number of tourists from outside
the state with 1850, Texas is sec
ond with Ills, Louisiana third
with 746, and Illinois fourth with
$50 registering. Fewest number of
visitors. only one, registered from
New Hampshire.
Mrs. Eckles, who was appointed
to her present position as recep-
zionist in August, 194S. says the
area west of the MISSISSIPPI River
provides the Capitols heaviest
crop of tourists. Her oldest visitor
was 80, her youngest ? weeks of
age
The New Capitol, although less
than so years old, is already ac-
cumulating traditions and legends
which add to its interesting quail
ties. One existing tradition is that
the many inches for statuary re-
main empty because the Capitol is
state house and was meant to
honor no single man.
1t is undoubtedly one of the
most beautiful buildings in the
state, and among the most magnif-
icent and impressive state capitols
in tn nation.
The old penitentiary grounds
were selected as a site for the
structure and the architectural
plan Of Theodore C. Link of st.
Louis was adopted. The design fol-
lows the renaissance architectural
lines.
Stone for the outside walls was
bought, cut and shaped in the
famous Hoosier quarries of Bed
ford, Indiana, and a special rail-
road track was laid to carry this
stone and other materials to the
site, $50 foot square in the heart
of the Capital City.
To provide lasting foundation
for the four-story building, which
is 42O feet from east to west and
225 wide through the center pavil-
lion, contractors removed strata
of Jackson mari clay, replacing it
with sand from Pearl River. Into
this the corner stone was set.
Fourteen months were required
to finish the job, but when the
New Capitol was turned over to
the state it was considered one of
the most magnificent buildings in
the nation.
The main entrance is of YER
mont Blue marble on a base
of black Belgian Marble. The
spacious rotunda, surmounted by
a dome 1870 feet above the main
entrance level, Is of Italian marble
with trimmings Of Jet black and
friezes and columns of scagliola.
The dome. originally of white
stucco, has been redecorated twice
and is now beautiful kaliede-
scope OF pastel shades and murals
trimmed with gold leaf.
Inside the central rotunda opens
upward to the ceiling of the dome.
Around the rotunda are built the
wings which comprise the second,
third and fourth floors.
The two legislative chambers
are at the opposite ends of the
third floor and are built up of
marble and scagliola with ceilings
of oxidized copper, stucco and
stained glass with friezes of Indian
design around the domes.
The office of the governor is
perhaps the most beautiful in the
building. 1t is built of Nubian
marble. the most expensive in the
building and is furnished in
French Renaissance.
There are nineteen types of
marble in the building. costing a
total of $4,000. However, only