State Capitals - American Traveler Author:Thomas G. Aylesworth Every state has a capital city, where the business of state government is conducted. These cities are unique in personality and distinctive in a number of other ways also. They vary greatly in population, for example, from Phoenix's 789,704 to Montpelier's 8,241. Some, like Lansing and Indianapolis, were carved out of the wilderness, cre... more »ated capital cities where no town had existed before. Many are old, many are young, ranging from Richmond (1607) to Oklahoma City (1889). Many states have had more than one capital city: Alabama, Tennesse, California, and Georgia have had four; Rhode Island five, and Louisiana an impressive six.
Each state has a capitol building, or state house, where the legislature meets. In more than 90 full-color pictures, the nation's best professional photographers capture the extraordinary variety of architectural styles. Many buildings are "copies" of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., others are Greek and Roman temples, and still others are skyscrapers. Capitols vary in age as well. There's Maryland's 1772 venerable structure and Hawaii's "recent" 1969 building.
Here, then, is the story of capitals and capitols -- a state-by-state exploration of yet another facet of our nation and its history.« less