I toured the Minnesota State Capitol last Friday. I've never seen such an extraordinary spectacle of exotic marbles, placed in such a unified and luxurious design. And I have been to Rome and Florence and seen plenty of marble, let me tell you. Built for a few million back in the 19th century, building it today would (if even possible - many of the marble types used are now exhausted) cost over 500 million. Or, if you're a Wall Street banker looking for a handout, "pocket change." But I digress.
The free tours, which leave on the hour during the week, take you all the way to the top of the building, where the capitol's signature golden horses charge forever toward the city of St. Paul and the Mississippi.
Minnesota's Glittering Capitol
Welcome to Northern Word, the online home of writer Susan McNerney. Northern Word features lots of photography, words on the business and process of writing, original bits of fiction and nonfiction, travelogues and travel writing, and anything else that Susan feels like posting. Browse the categories on the left (or the topic cloud below) to see previous episodes, and don't miss the two big travelogues: A Week in Rome and A Great Southwest Road Trip. Susan is originally from the redwood regions of Northern California, but now lives and writes in chilly Minnesota.
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