Thursday, April 20, 2017

A Day at the Washington State Capitol


A day at the WA State Capitol


Last September around Labor Day, I visited the grounds of the WA State legislature. Everything was in bloom so beautifully. It has taken until now to get this post up, I've been backlogged with fashion events etc.

Spring has finally started showing up here in the northwest, and it's warming up! This is a perfect time  of year to make a visit to the capitol.




a day at the wa state capitol


The Washington State Capital is located in the city of Olympia.  It is located along the I-5 corridor, about 40 minutes south of Tacoma. The campus sits on a grassy knoll overlooking Capital Lake and the southern tip of Puget Sound.  The main capitol building with the rotunda, is considered one of the most magnificent capitol buildings in the United States.


a day at the wa state capitol


a day at the wa state capitol


a day at the wa state capitol


The beautiful dome had me in awe!  It's made from brick and sandstone and rises 287 feet to the top of the cupola. This dome is the tallest one in North America. It was  interesting to find out the exterior sandstone on the building was extracted from quarries, close to Mt. Rainier.

a day at the wa state capitol

 The ceiling of the interior dome rises 175 feet above the rotunda floor. The chandelier was magnificent too. It's made from pure bronze , hangs from a 101 ft chain, and boasts over 200 light bulbs.  The chandelier was made in New York by Tiffany Studios, and brought here by train.

a day at the wa state capitol



The second floor of the capitol is open to explore as well. Here you will find the four executive offices: The offices of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor , Secretary of State, and the Treasury.






The  awe inspiring campus includes a splendid flower garden and 50 landscaped acres. Hello-Central Park in Washington State! The gardens are known for a spectacular show of flowers, bulbs and trees.  The grounds were designed by the Olmstead brothers in 1927- the actual planners of Central Park in NYC.



a day at the wa state capital


a day at the wa state capitol


a day at the wa state capitol

a day at the wa state capitol

You are free to roam around on your own or join complimentary public tours that are offered hourly. Visits are allowed from 10 - 3 pm , Mon-Fri. On weekends the tours start at 11 am and end at 3 as well.  Also located not far down the road, is the Olympia Farmers Market. It's huge, has the most amazing eats, and beautiful scenery too. I have a post coming in the future, featuring the market.

a day at the wa state capitol

a day at the wa state capitol





I hope you enjoyed the tour and will make a visit soon.  Oh, and can you believe it?! I managed to view the campus and not get deported wearing a Canadian T-shirt! ( I have to stay true to my roots!) We were supposed to go to Victoria  on this day. The weather turned bad,  so we changed plans right quick.

Have you visited your state capitol yet ?



a day at the wa state capitol






Would you like to comment?

  1. The photos are beautiful! I'd love to go there sometime. The buildings and gardens are gorgeous.

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    1. Thank you Rachel, its a beautiful tour! I hope you can sometime!

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  2. Wow! it is sure refreshing to see these pictures on a friday afternoon. I am jealous of those flowers, we are still winter here in green bay. Thank you for sharing. Love love love

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    1. Thank you so much, I am glad you liked it. have a lovely day!

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  3. These photos are gorgeous! I need to visit!

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    1. Thank you so much Michelle, I hope you can someday soon!

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  4. I'm headed up there at the end of May, can't wait to see all of this!!

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    1. Hi Ashley, how fun ..you will love it! Good time of year to go!

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  5. That's such a pretty capitol building! I love the gardens; I've never been to Washington state before, and I usually associate it with forests more than flowers. They're beautiful!

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    1. Hi there...thank you so much! I think you are so right about more trees..ha..there are a lot of them for sure!

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  6. good pictures. I liked the architecture and the greenery..Thanks for sharing

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    1. Thank you Ravindra, I hope your weekend is great!

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  7. Oh wow the Capitol building is beautiful! My parents lived in Washington for a bit, but I didn't really get to see anything of the state before they moved! #blogpostsaturday

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    1. Thank you so much Lori! Hopefully you will get to come back for a visit to see them!

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  8. This is great! I have a weird goal of visiting all 50 state capitols. Thanks to my work travels over the last few years, I've gotten to quite a few of them, but I think I'm only about halfway there.

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    1. Wow Kris that is an amazing goal..I would love to do that too!Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. I have a friend out in Washington and she keeps trying to convince me to visit. I really need to get out there! I think Olympia is often overlooked!

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    1. Hi Grace...I so agree...Olympia is beautiful and it only took me 30 years to make a visit there...Ive lived in the state that long...lol!

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  10. Lovely pictures. Hopefully I get to visit Washington state some day.

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  11. I don't know which I love more, the architecture or the gardens. A beautiful place to spend the day for sure!

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    1. Hi Stephanie...I agree..they are both so beautiful...have a great day!

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  12. The gardens are beautiful! I've visited several of my state capitals nearby.

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    1. Hi Maegan..thats awesome..I think this is the only one Ive seen in the states..I am from Canada and have seen govt campuses there too..have a great day!

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  13. How awesome! Love DC. There's always so much to see.

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    1. Hi Maggie, thanks for stopping in..this looks just like DC..huh! Its south of Seattle...

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  14. What a fun day! i love the history of the place and it looks gorgeous!

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    1. Thank you for the comment...it is a beautiful place for sure!

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  15. Lovely place and great photos. Washington State is on my need to travel to list. Thanks for you post:-)

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    1. Thank you Kathy...I am so happy you stopped by...I hope you get here soon to visit!

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  16. Aw, my home state! I'm so glad you enjoyed your day in Olympia, it looks like you saw quite a bit!

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    1. Hey Leah, cool you are from here! thank you for stopping by!

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  17. What a beautiful capitol building, indeed! I'm thinking not many have beautiful flower gardens either. Thanks for the tour.

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    1. Thank you for visiting my blog...yes I think most of them might be pretty boring...lol..not this one!

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  18. Looks like a fun day! I've visited my state capitol but I never found it terribly interesting. Then again, it isn't as pretty as this!

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    1. I hear that Lia..I wasnt really crazy about the idea until I saw how beautiful it really was!

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  19. I love the Capitol! It's on such beautiful grounds.

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  20. Love it, amazing picture. For sure now I want to go. Thanks for sharing your experience.

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    1. Thank you Lillian...great..I love to inspire others to explore !

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  21. not gonna lie.. when I was first seeing the pictures from the outside, I was more amused by the plants.. but WOW the inside is truly fascinating !

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    1. Ha ha thats funny Haley, I have to agree with you tho..the outside had my attention more!

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  22. I have been to the Capitol but never inside the building. Beautiful!

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    1. HI Abbey, since you live close, maybe you can go back again..thank you for commenting!

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  23. Gah! I'm a sucker for a beautiful garden. I didn't even know the WA State Capital had one this big! Thanks for sharing and the next time I'm out that way I'm going to have to stop and get some flower photos for myself :D

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    1. Ha me too Sarah..the gardens here are so dreamy, I hope you come back again!

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  24. Wow! Amazing Pictures! Looks like you had fun exploring the State Capitol. Thank You for sharing the experience with us! :)

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    1. Thank you for the kind words Prachi and for stopping here!

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  25. What a gorgeous place! I actually like that you can roam freely. I much prefer doing self-guided tours than being stuck with others for hours!

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    1. I so agree Maggie, Im not a fan of guided tours either..have a great week!

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  26. Inside it looks VERY SIMILAR to the state capitol in Utah. I would like to spend time exploring Washington though!

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    1. Wow Jamie that is cool to find out! Everyone mistakes this one for the one in DC..ha..Hope you visit soon!

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  27. I've been fortunate enough to be on the grounds of this place for a conference - going where the public isn't allowed. It's an amazing property. I actually got lunch and stumbled into Obama's lunch break - he wasn't there but everyone else was!

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    1. I am guessing you mean WAshington DC? This capitol is the other Washington, although I think it looks very similar, wow what a cool exp you had!

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  28. It looks lovely there. I don't think I've ever gone to Washington, but will definitely go there when I have a chance.

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  29. What a lovely garden! And a very imposing building! Never had the chance to go to Olympia when I lived in the US.

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  30. How cool you lived here..thanks for stopping by!

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