Indy - Capitol, Library and 500 Museum

Because of the unknowns of having the slide repaired, we did not have reservations for over the Fourth of July, which can be a real problem for fulltimers. We wanted to spend a week in Indianapolis at the state fairgrounds. Turned out we could get in there for five days but had to leave on the fourth. That worked for us but changed our future plans. After leaving Indy we spent two days in Louisville and added a four day visit to Nashville.

The current capitol of Indiana, the second in Indianapolis, was built starting in 1880. It was completed in 1888 at a cost of nearly two million dollars. It was built with Indiana limestone, marble, bricks and mortar. It is one of only eight capitols where all three branches of the government are housed in one building. 

Exhibit about the only president from Indiana, Benjamin Harrison, who was the 23rd president serving from 1889 to 1892. His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was from Ohio and was the 9th president. He died 31 days into his term. There is also an exhibit about the six Indianans who were vice-president including the current VP.

The stained glass dome is 72 feet in diameter and 105 feet above the floor. Above the stained glass is the large dome that you see on the outside. It is 235 feet high.

Around the rotunda just under the dome are eight statues representing the values that are considered positive attributes of civilization.

The building has the offices of the eight state executives; Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Clerk of Courts, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Legislative Services, Auditor, and Secretary of State, whose office we got to tour.

The House of Representatives chamber. There are 100 House members who serve two year terms. The chandelier in this chamber has 100 bulbs, one for each representative. It is an original and was quite impressive.

The mural in the House chamber was painted in 1963 by Eugene Savage. The center section represents statehood with the woman carrying a white rose and the governor of the Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison. The right side shows the business and industry of Indiana. The left side represents music, art and education. Under the mural is the State Seal. 

The Supreme Court chamber is the most unchanged from the 1888 original. The chamber is a cube with equally sized walls, floor and ceiling to represent equal justice. There are five justices on this court. 

The state library has been restored to its original appearance. 

How cool are these US Supreme Court justice's bobble heads. They come from a group called The Green Bag. I guess I'm a real geek to think something like this is so neat.

The interior of the capitol is Italian Renaissance Revival. In 1988 and 1989 an $11,000,000 renovation was done to restore the building to its original appearance. Here, on the fourth floor, all the original chandeliers that were designed for both gas and electricity were left in place. All the decorative painting, almost four acres, was done by local art students as their senior project. After graduating they formed a company that does historical restorations.

The Senate Chamber. There are 50 senators who serve four year terms. During the last renovation both the House and Senate Chambers were reduced in size to make room for offices for the legislature that are located behind the windows overlooking the chamber. 

The Indiana constitution.

The Oliver P. Morton statue honors Indiana's Civil War Governor and the Indiana soldiers who fought in the Grand Army of the Republic to save the Union and end slavery.  

We liked the National Road and the Washington statue as the road passes through our home town, Washington, PA.

This is our 31st capitol. It is different from others in many ways with the stained glass dome, the smaller legislative chambers and having all three branches of government in the same building. 

Across the street from the capitol is the state library, a beautiful Art Deco building that is worth a visit. In the main entrance these stained glass windows illustrate the changing ways information has been passed to the next generation. Ancient learning was first done orally. Then in the 13th century illuminated manuscripts were used. With the invention of the printing press in the 15th century books became widely available. The last window shows the picture writing of the American Indians.  

There are murals that follow the history of Indiana, from the Native Americans to....

defeating the British, to Indiana becoming a state.

Another room celebrates Indiana born authors. Among those is Jim Davis the creator of Garfield. 

This is one of 100 Bison art works that was done for the state's "Bison Tennial Art Project. It celebrates the state with drawings of the state flower, bird, tree, etc. It was painted by Troy Fiechter a Hoosier native who is a combat veteran. 

The Indiana State Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Monument Circle started out originally to honor those Hoosiers who fought for the Union in the Civil War. As it was being built between 1888 and 1901, those who fought in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American and the Spanish-American Wars were added. It was the first monument to honor the common soldier in the country. You can go to the top of the monument, but it was closed when we were there.

For any race fan if you are in Indy a visit to Indianapolis Motor Raceway Hall of Fame is a must do. We have been to the time trials and the 500. We also went to the first Formula One race in 2000 and the Brickyard 400. We have not been to the museum since our first visit.

This is the 2016 winning car that was driven by Bryan Herta beside the first winner in 1911 driven by Ray Harroun. They sure have changed over the years. 

How about these two beautiful winners from 1950.

There is a huge exhibit dedicated to A.J. Foyt, the first four time winner of the 500. A.J. has been in the 500 an unbelievable 35 times and has 67 wins and seven Indy car series titles. 

He has also been a sprint car champion, and won the Daytona and Le Mans 24 hour races and the Daytona 500. No doubt, A.J. is one of the greatest drivers of all time.  This is a great tribute covering the life of a storied race car driver.  Visiting the raceway again really sparked an urge to make a plan to return to see another 500 race.  Something to add to our bucket list.  Love those Indy cars!   

Hoover NHS, Library and Museum - RV Repair

We moved only 125 miles from Des Moines to Linden Point COE Park in Iowa City that was only $13.00 for a full hookup site using the senior pass. We were here to visit the Herbert Hoover sites in nearby West Branch. It was also only fifty miles from Lasso E RV where we had an appointment the morning we were leaving to have the slide repaired. 

West Branch is the birthplace of the 31st president, Herbert Hoover, on August 10, 1874. There is a National Historic Site and a Presidential Library and Museum on the grounds. The small home that Hoover was born in was built by his father and consisted of two rooms and a path.

His father owned a blacksmith shop like this one. He later started a successful farm implement business and built a larger home for the family. That house is no longer there. By the time Herbert was ten both his parents had died. After living with an aunt and uncle in West Branch for a while he was sent to another relative in Oregon.

The one room schoolhouse where Hoover attended school until he was eleven. 

The Hoover family were Quakers and attended this meeting house. At Quaker meetings there was no preacher and everyone sat in silent thought until someone who had an insight or spiritual message would stand and speak to the congregation. Hoover later said, "The long hours of meeting awaiting the spirit to move someone may not have been recreation, but it was strong training in patience." 

Part of the site is an 81-acre tallgrass prairie that has been restored to what first settlers in Iowa would have found. This fertile land would have been farmland by the time Hoover was born. 

I can say, most of what I knew about Herbert Hoover was that he was the president when the Great Depression started. The library tells the story of a man who after graduating from the first class at Stanford University became the most successful mining engineer in the world. This success gave him world recognition and his wealth allowed him to become a great humanitarian. 

There was a special exhibit about all the presidents. The only photos allowed were cutouts at the entrance. They have one of the current occupant of the White House but we opted for Abe and Hoover.

The museum traces Herbert Hoover's life from his early years in Iowa through his successful career, to a life of public service and a long retirement of more service.

Hoover was the youngest member of his 1895 graduating class so he grew a moustache and bought this suit and top hat to look older when he applied for his first job.  Left is Lou who became his wife in 1899. She was an Iowa born girl and also graduated from Stanford.

After working successfully in the gold fields of California, he joined a British firm and moved to Australia in 1897 as a mining engineer.

After getting married, the Hoovers went to China where in 1900 they were caught in the middle of the Boxer Rebellion, an uprising against foreigners in China. Because of his success in helping several mines recover, he became known as the "doctor of sick mines." This lead to him becoming a partner in a British company in 1901 and starting his own international engineering firm in 1912. This made him a millionaire by the age of 40.

In 1914 his life as an humanitarian and public servant began when he took charge of getting Americans out of Europe who had been trapped there since the start of WWI. In 1917 he became the head of the United States Food Administration for President Wilson. 

This led to Hoover being the Director General of American Relief Administration that fed 350 million people in 21 countries who had suffered because of the war. After the war the Hoovers returned to Stanford to start the Hoover Institution of War, Revolution and Peace. The institution continues as a conservative think tank promoting the principle of individual economics and political freedom.

In 1921 he became the Secretary of Commerce and held the position until 1928 serving in the administrations of Harding and Coolidge. As secretary he worked to make government more efficient through standardization. He also promoted foreign trade.

In 1927 he directed the relief efforts during the Great Mississippi River Flood that covered 27,000 square miles in nearly 30 feet of water leaving 700,000 people homeless. He personally went to the Mississippi Valley to oversee the response, including the building of over 100 tent cities.  

His work at Commerce and with the flood relief made him the favorite for the Republican nomination for president in 1928. With his solid reputation and the booming economy of the "roaring twenties" he won an overwhelming victory with 58% of the vote and winning several Democratic Southern states.  

Only eight months after taking office the stock market crashed in October 1929. This was after Hoover had started working to reform the government's role in regulating business and the economy.

The crash triggered the Great Depression that continued until the start of WWII. Hoover did respond with plans for more government spending, but wanted it done while still balancing the budget. These events lead to Hoover's loss in the 1932 election against Franklin D. Roosevelt.

From 1933 Hoover remained the only living former president for 19 years until 1953 when Truman left office. He first went to New York and then to Stanford until his wife, Lou, died in 1944. He then returned to New York and lived in this suite at the Waldorf Astoria until he died in 1964. 

After WWII Truman asked Hoover to go to Europe to assess the needs of the people after the war. This lead to programs like CARE and UNICEF that helped children around the world.  This marked his return to public service where he later headed a commission under both Truman and Eisenhower that made recommendations on how the president could better manage the executive branch. 

A couple of quilts made from t-shirts from schools across the nation that were named after Hoover. I can say a visit to the Herbert Hoover site in West Branch will leave you with a different look at a president who is mostly remembered as being in office when the stock market crashed and the Great Depression started 

When Hoover died in 1964 he was buried in West Branch alongside his wife Lou. Leading the funeral procession was former president Harry Truman. There are thirteen presidential libraries and this is the sixth we have visited. Each one offers a great, in depth look at the person they are built to honor.

This is what we have been living with since we were in South Dakota. We did not want to open the slide after finding ball bearings on the floor when we opened it in Mitchell. It took a while to find a repair facility that could schedule us and with whom we felt comfortable. The first place in Omaha could not get the parts in time, a dealer in Indiana said we could "drop off" the rig in August and a place we called in North Carolina never returned our call.  

 After talking to Newmar again, we called Lasso E RV in Anamosa, Iowa. Not only could they get us in, they had the rollers in stock. If you look closely you can see they had the top of the slide tilted out to get access to the rollers inside. Talk about great service, we arrived at 9:30 for our 11:00 appointment and were paying the bill by 11:00. This is the best service we have ever had since hitting the road ten years ago.

We are back to normal with the slide working so we have easy access to the pantry and much more room. The slide was repaired June 28th and we have since been to Indianapolis, Louisville and Nashville so we have plenty more to blog about.