Capitol Series
The tower on the plains — twelve deep dives into Nebraska's Art Deco masterpiece.
01 · Architecture
The Vertical Vision
Why no dome? We went vertical.
Nebraska's Capitol breaks the dome trend with a soaring tower by Bertram Goodhue — 400 feet of growth from the plains. Radical departure. One of the most influential buildings of the 20th century.
Coming soon
02 · People
Bertram Goodhue: Architect of the Plains
The maverick behind the tower.
Goodhue fused Romanesque, Gothic, and Art Deco into one vision. He died before completion — but every carved stone carries his intent.
03 · Art
Hildreth Meière: Mosaic Whisperer
Stories painted in stone.
Meière's mosaics flood the Capitol with color — rotunda floor to vaulted ceilings. Look up. Always look up.
04 · Art
Lee Lawrie: Sculptor of the Sower
When bronze tells stories.
The 19.5-foot Sower casts seeds to the four winds — agriculture, hope, and the endless cycle of the plains.
05 · Construction
From Quarry to Capitol
Indiana limestone, carved by hand.
Warm cream stone chosen to hold fine detail. Craftspeople spent years on a single facade.
06 · Symbolism
Saturn Over Lincoln
Agriculture & time, watching over us.
Roman god of agriculture beneath The Sower — classical myth meets the Good Life.
Coming soon
07 · History
Names in Stone
Why Napoleon is on our walls.
Hammurabi, Justinian, Blackstone, Napoleon — a who's-who of law carved in limestone.
08 · Culture
"The Penis of the Plains"
Okay, but here's the real story.
Goodhue called it a seed pod reaching upward. The jokes came later. Aspiration over grandeur.
09 · Symbolism
Corn, Wheat, & Wisdom
Agricultural allegories everywhere.
Corn, wheat, sunflowers, bison — in stone, tile, and bronze. Nebraska's identity made permanent.
Coming soon
10 · Construction
How It Was Built
1920s mega-project logistics.
Ten years, four phases, $9.8 million — paid in cash. Government never stopped operating.
11 · Symbolism
Hidden Layers
A scavenger hunt in stone.
Thunderbirds, virtues, bison — the building rewards repeat visits. There is always more.
12 · Culture
The Good Life
A building with a Nebraska soul.
Not the biggest. Not the most famous. The most honest — what Nebraska believes about itself, carved in limestone.