Indoor

The Missouri State Capitol is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Housing the Missouri General Assembly, it is located in the state capital of Jefferson City at 201 West Capitol Avenue. The domed building was designed by the New York architectural firm of Tracy and Swartwout and completed in 1917. It is the third capitol building in Jefferson City.

Room Function

The House Lounge has been open to the public since the commission of the Benton murals in 1935 when visitors were allowed to observe the project in progress. With the exception of meetings scheduled by legislators, the lounge continues to remain open to the public. At the time the mural was painted legislators did not have their own offices, so the lounge served as a place for legislators to congregate. The room began to fall out of use as a lounge as committees and other organizations outgrew their old meeting rooms; these rooms were then reclaimed one-by-one by legislators as offices. Today the room functions primarily for the admiration of Benton’s most socially-charged work. To the north side of the House Lounge sits the office of the Speaker of the House (which controls room reservations), and to the south side the office for the Chairman of the Budget and Planning Committee.

The décor of the lounge may also be taken into consideration when assessing use and function. Some of the original furnishings included drapes with a satin-like finish and doors with glass inlays and also with some light woodworking around the margins. Today the doors have been replaced by more conservative, plain doors without glass or other decoration. The drapes have also been replaced by a sturdier, institutional fabric. This change in material may well have allowed for better viewing of the surrounding murals of life-sized corn stalks and industrial landscapes.

Posted by Onasill ~ Bill on 2018-10-24 21:12:10

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