Texas State Capital - Home of the Lone Star(s)

Texas Capital

As a bleeding-heart liberal I have to confess, I have issues with Texas. And while Austin's reputation as Hipster South had assured me I would like, maybe even love that city, what I did not expect was that I would also love the state capital building.

I went to Austin to attend an Electronic Resources and Libraries conference held annually on the grounds of the University of Texas (because that's what librarians do these days). Arriving early, and after enjoying an amazing burger I decided to wander about and headed south in the general direction of downtown. On the ride in from the airport we'd all noticed the capital dome. It's hard to miss, huge and shinning there is the dead center of town. And while I hadn't intended to go there at all, I
soon found myself wandering around the 22 acres campus, and then inside the  360,000 square feet capital building itself.

Extra points: The Star is in the center

As you'd expect from Texas, the building is huge! Bigger than the Federal Capital building. But it is also, unexpectedly symmetrical, open and a great place to play Find the Star, or rather Find the Lone Star. According to wikipedia "Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as a former independent republic and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone Star" can be found on the Texas state flag and on the Texas state seal today.^[9]

Yup - here too

Actually, the Lone Star can be found on a lot more than the flag and the seal. Wandering around the massive capital you start seeing stars everywhere. And not just in the impressively large places like the rotunda ceiling, but also carved into the backs of the wooden benches, in the chandeliers, in the door hinges.

Bench Stars

 I even had to check out the bathrooms just to sure I didn't miss any. (1 of the 3 bathrooms had a star).

And then it was off to the Texas State Museum Gift Shop. Ohhh, the marketing opportunities!!!  That is museum gift shop that probably turns a profit. The Lone Star stuff was everywhere - and it was cool too.  You have to admit, the Star is pretty sweet.

A very small sample