By: Emily Lewis, Fox Cities
Thanks to the tour guide, Craig, YIG delegates had a delightful tour through the first three floors of the Capitol Building in Madison, WI. There are four main wings on the second level, which is where most of the action takes place. Strangely enough, the Capitol measures by the European style, so the second floor often seems like the third floor at times.
Rooms were reserved for the three branches. The legislative branch has two groups, the Assembly and Senate, and both groups were assigned their own rooms. Because of this, Wisconsin Youth in Government is occupying the four main wings of the Capitol building.
First is the North Wing. This wing is the home to the Media branch, which mainly functions in the Hearing Room; a beautiful yellow marble room with murals along the ceiling depicting the evolution of transportation and trade in Wisconsin. On the first floor, below the Media room, there is a copy of the Wisconsin Constitution in Plexi-Glass. Above the large door to the Hearing room, there is a badger to symbolize the miners in Wisconsin’s agriculture.
Next is the East Wing. This section contains the Supreme Courtroom where the judicial delegates debate their cases. Inside the room there is a large picture along the left wall that depicts the signing of the constitution but with a few twists. First, Thomas Jefferson is painted in but was actually not present at the signing. Secondly, there is a little boy and his large dog sitting on one of the steps. This boy, of course, was not present either, however the artist wanted to have a little memorial of his son and his dog in the painting. Interestingly, the son then went on to become the governor of Massachusetts and the Secretary of State. Outside and on the first floor, there is a small head statue of Robert LaFollette, a previous governor in Wisconsin.
Third, there is the South Wing where half of the Legislative branch takes place. This is the Senate, the stricter and more difficult chamber of the Legislative branch. On the first floor there is a copy of the famous Liberty Bell that weighs and looks the same but differs in the crack in the metal. The room contains a large chair for the judge and a row of chairs on a lower level. There is a mural of three paintings behind the large chair that depicts the marriage of the North to the South, symbolizing how Wisconsin can work together.
The last wing is the West Wing which holds the Assembly room. This is where the newer Legislative delegates meet and debate bills. As usual, there is a feature on the first floor. This feature is a memorial to the veterans who have served this country. Additionally, the four values or sections in the capit can be seen. The values are Justice, Legislation, Government, and Liberty. These represent the parts of the Capitol. The Assembly room has two observing boxes for visitors and many chairs for legislatures to vote on bills.
Finally, all of this leads up to the most interesting part about the Capitol: singing in the center of the floor and hearing voices echo, reverberating on the excellent acoustics in the Capitol. All of the beautiful structure and art cannot compare to the wonderful feeling of singing up to the stained glass windows above.