Texas Capitol Is Adorned With Unique Door Hinges And Bright Chandeliers

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Built out of red granite from Marble Falls, Texas has one of the largest and most unique state capitols of all the states in the union. Currently, it's the sixth tallest state capitol building and just one of several that are taller than the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Yep, everything is bigger here in Texas!

Those are just a few of the facts that I learned when I visited the capitol building last weekend while visiting some friends in Austin. Now I've been blessed to have visited the capitol several times when I was younger and as a kid, it's just a building where if you make a loud noise in the hallways or rotunda you realize it echos a lot. Needless to say, we got in trouble a time or two by our parents when we'd shout out 'Hey' or 'Marco' waiting for someone to respond with 'Polo' - yes, in the Texas capitol building, but we were kids.

While visiting some friends in Austin this past weekend we decided to go pay the capital building a visit. I did not realize that the building is open seven days a week for visitors but was excited about it. You just walk in and you're taking in the history. There are guided tours that you can take or just mill around on your own, which is what we did.

Look closely and you'll notice some intricate details of the building and offices.

The building itself is beautiful and huge and this time around I was looking at the building from a different perspective, as an adult appreciating what happens in this historic gorgeous building. There are so many details that can be overlooked quite easily if you're really not paying attention. A few of those things are:

• door hinges
• door knobs
• chandeliers in chambers

From the woodworking to the elaborate wide staircases to artwork and statues there is so much to see and learn about. Being in the House Of Representatives and Senate Chambers was inspiring. Both of these rooms featured unique chandeliers that if you don't really look at them you'll just think they're light fixtures.

As we were leaving though, my daughter happened to notice something very interesting about the door hinges on the south entrance, they're not your ordinary hardware store door hinges. These are customized for our capital building.

Check out some of the pictures I took from our trip to the Texas Capitol and if you ever get the chance while in Austin, I recommend a visit - even if its a self-guided tour - and if you're children yell out 'Marco' and I'm there, I'll answer them with 'Polo'!