The waymark coordinates are at the south entry steps to the historic Texas State Capitol Building, which is larger than the US Capitol. TRUE!! See here (from the Orlando Sentinel, so you know we are not just bragging through our 11-gallon Cowboy hats (ha!): (
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"OTHER NEWS TO NOTE - SOUTH
January 14, 1999
AUSTIN, Texas - Citizens of the Lone Star State were delighted to learn Wednesday that something they had bragged about for years turned out to be true: The Texas Capitol in Austin is taller than the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Surveyors using high-tech equipment measured Austin's domed pink-granite building in December and found that at 302.64 feet, it is almost 15 feet taller than the 288-foot-high U.S. Capitol, the Austin American-Statesman reported. But Texans cannot claim the tallest capitol building in the country. That honor goes to Louisiana's 450-foot tower in Baton Rouge." [end]
How do you build such a grand capitol building in a largely rural state still somewhat short on cash from the Civil War? You horse-trade and rely on the generosity of friends (unpaid convict labor helps, too)
From the State Preservation Board: (
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"The Architect
The Texas State Capitol was designed by architect Elijah E. Myers, architect of the Michigan and Colorado Capitols, who won a nationwide design competition for the project in 1881. Contractors were offered an interesting trade: three million acres in the Texas Panhandle in exchange for constructing the Capitol. This acreage would become the famous XIT Ranch.
Construction
Construction on the Capitol began in February 1882. Originally, the exterior was to be limestone, but the stone that was quarried streaked when exposed to air. Granite, a harder, more expensive stone, was proposed. The debate delayed construction for almost two years. Finally the decision was made to use "Sunset Red" granite donated by its owners in what is now Marble Falls, Texas. The state gave the stone to the contractor along with 1,000 convicts to quarry it. When, in 1885, the granite cutter's union objected to the use of convict labor and boycotted, the contractor responded by importing experienced stonecutters from Scotland.
The Goddess
By mid-1887, the walls were up and the dome began to take shape. In February 1888, the Goddess of Liberty statue was placed on the dome. When the Capitol was finished, it measured over 310 feet in height, had 392 rooms, 924 windows and 404 doors. It took over 1,000 people, including engineers, contractors, laborers and craftsmen, seven years to build at a cost of $3,744,600.
The Dedication
The Capitol opened to the public on San Jacinto Day, April 21, 1888. In May, week-long festivities marked the dedication and were organized to celebrate the "splendor that was befitting the glory of Texas and the grandeur of that building." Special streetcar lines were built to encampment grounds set up one mile from the city. Drill team competitions, military displays, band concerts and fireworks were among the attractions. Crowds lined Congress Avenue and filled the Capitol grounds to watch the parade and ceremonies.
Temple Houston, son of Sam Houston, accepted the building at the dedication: "This building fires the heart and excites reflections in the minds of all... the architecture of a civilization is its most enduring feature, and by this structure shall Texas transmit herself to posterity..." [end]
From the state historic marker at Granite Mountain, just outside of Marble Falls TX, the quarry that provided the donated granite:
"GRANITE MOUNTAIN
This 866-foot dome of solid pink granite, covering 180 acres, contains the largest quarry of its kind in the United States. This mountain, like all granite formations, was once melted rock similar to lava. As the molten rock cooled thousands of feet below the earth's surface, it hardened into large crystals of quartz, feldspar and several dark-colored minerals. Wherever strength, durability and beauty of finish are required, granite is a favored building stone. The mountain was part of a grant made to Texas colonist William Slaughter. The site became famous commercially when a dispute arose in the 1880s over the type of stone to be used in the Capitol in Austin. The issue was settled in 1885 when Governor John Ireland resisted demands to use non-native limestone. Following this decision, a special track was built to haul the granite to the rail line in Burnet. The stone was generously donated to the state by quarry owners G. W. Lacy, N. L. Norton, and W. H. Westfall. Today granite from the quarry here is shipped to all parts of Texas, the U.S. and foreign countries for use in monuments, shafts, jetties, and buildings. It has been used in the Galveston sea wall and in new state office buildings near the Capitol in Austin." [end]