Things to do in Idaho
The State Capital of Idaho
The capitol building for Idaho is located in Boise. The sandstone building’s architectural style is that of Renaissance Revival with a central dome raising 208 feet into the skyline. Architects John E. Tourtellotte and Charles Hummel designed the structure. The central section was the first portion to be built and was completed in 1912. The second phase was the building of the east and west wings to house the legislature and was completed in 1920. A major renovation and addition of two underground wings was completed in 2010.
In Mosaic Tile
The garden level of the capitol building houses the legislature in the new underground wings. The center hall on this floor has a large mosaic inlay of the great seal of the state of Idaho designed by Emma Edwards Green in 1891. Idaho is the only state to have its seal designed by a woman. Surrounding the seal is an informative display that documents events in Idaho’s history. This includes the signing of a bill by President Abraham Lincoln on March 4, 1863 creating the Idaho territory. Information about the early days in Idaho included the gold rush followed by an economy based in extracting natural resources. Idaho also addressed the importance of water rights early on and established the “first in time” were “first in right” as a basis for determining access to water. The 1980’s brought a change to the economy with the development of engineering and technology products becoming the main source of employment in Idaho.
Going up to the next levels in the capitol building you will see the inside of the central dome surrounded by multistory columns. Inside the dome are 13 larger stars to represent the original colonies and 43 smaller stars to represent Idaho status as the 43rd state in the union. The columns are constructed of steel, brick and concrete and coated in scafliola, a faux marble technique using selenite, white animal glue, and pigments.
The house and senate chambers are located in the east and west wings off the central hall. The chambers ceilings each have a beautiful dome and a balcony for gallery seating.
Statuary Hall is on the top floor and has a rotating display of the state’s art collection. Two statues flank the opening of Statuary Hall, one is a plaster replica of the Winged Victory ca 1949. The statue was a gift to Idaho from Paris as a thank you to the U.S. for liberating France from Germany during World War II. The other statue is of George Washington mounted on a horse. Charles L. Ostner carved the gold glided statue from yellow pine in 1869.
Inside the hall are carvings made from the historic trees that were cut down during the renovation. Representative Max C. Black spearheaded the reuse project by gathering 50 carvers from around the state to contribute to the collection.
We enjoyed our visit to the Idaho state capitol building and are happy to say that it was the third capitol building we visited as we traveled across the U.S. Be sure to visit the Idaho State Capitol website to learn even more about the state and its capitol building. https://capitolcommission.idaho.gov/about/history.html
World Center for Birds of Prey
The Peregrine Fund was founded in 1970 to restore the Peregrine Falcon to the wild. Since that time the organization has expanded its focus to the conservation of raptors worldwide. Their mission includes restoring rare species through captive breeding and release programs, improving local conservation of habitat, conducting research, and environmental education. Through the monitoring of a cornerstone species such as birds of prey the overall stability of the environment can be determined.
A visit to the centers’ indoor and outdoor exhibits brings you up close to many live birds of prey. The volunteers also bring the birds out of their enclosures during scheduled presentations so visitors can learn even more about the birds housed at the center.
There are also informative displays about the birds throughout the Velma Morrison Interpretive Center. Currently the largest captive and release breeding program for California Condors is located at the center. The information learned by this breeding program has been used to help other birds of prey like the Aplomaho Falcon to come back from near extinction.
Adjacent to the interpretive center is the Archives of Falconry. This building houses the most comprehensive English-language falconry library in the world. In addition to the library there are artifacts from ancient and modern falconry. The Sheikh Zayed Arab Heritage Wing depicts the importance of falconry in the lives of the nomadic Arab Bedouin. The World Center for Birds of Prey provides its visitor a truly remarkable look into the fantastic world of these magnificent birds.
Please visit the World Center for Birds of Preys’ website for even more information http://www.peregrinefund.org/visit
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