TX State Capitol visit using the CHL line: It's all good.
Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 1:30 am
We went down to Austin to see the son on Christmas Day and on Monday, 12/26/2011,
we visited the Texas State Capitol. I approached the first uniformed man at the entry to the Capitol.
He had some kind of a patch on his shirt, but did not appear to be a Texas State Trooper.
I told him quietly that I was a CHL, and where was the CHL line. He directed me right next to him where a
female DPS trooper asked for my DL/CHL. She scanned one of them (probably the CHL) through a stripe reader,
returned the DL/CHL, and said I could go right in.
At the time of this entry I had my EDC in my OWB at 4 o'clock, and my BUG revolver was in a large nylon bag
with 2 straps, on my shoulder. She never asked any questions about gun placement, or examined my bag.
We joined the tour in progress and it was great to tour the Capitol, knowing that the State of Texas trusts me
to do the right thing.
We visited the State Senate chamber, which contains 2 gigantic paintings - 1 of the Alamo, 1 of the San Jacinto
battle.
We visited the House of Representatives, which contained a huge Christmas tree. A Texas House of Reps Christmas
tree is to be at least 10 feet in circumference at its base, and be perfectly symetrical in its appearance. Selection
of THE tree begins around July each year, with various people across the state submitting their candidates.
This year's tree comes from Denison, Texas.
I missed the dates of the 1st Texas State Capitol building.
The 2nd Capitol building was built 1852-1853. It was a 90' x 120' limestone building, and burned down in 1881 due to
a faulty heating pipe.
The 3rd and current Capitol building was built circa 1882-1888, somewhere in there. Over the years many changes were
made to the building, which spoiled the original architecture. The restoration to its original form was done 1991-1994.
Since there had been few photos taken between 1888 and 1910, the restorations relied on a large series of 1910 photos
to return the building to its original forms.
The architect of the Texas State Capitol had also done the Michigan Capitol. He had provided the Michigan Capitol
with a large sea of skylights on the roof. This worked great in Michigan with much colder weather, much of it gray.
In the Texas House of Reps the clear glass skylights served to cook the Reps. The Texas Capitol's clear glass skylights
were first covered with frosted glass, then eventually covered by a much more substantial structure to block the sun.
Both the Senate and the house ceilings hold multiple chandeliers (2 IIRC) that spell out "TEXAS" in lights within a star.
Each chandelier weighs 400 pounds. If they ever fell on someone, they'd be DRT.
I found out that Deaf Smith County (in the Panhandle - the county seat is Hereford) was named for Erastus "Deaf" Smith,
who was a Texas Scout during the Texas Revolution. He was the first person to reach the Alamo after the massacre.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... nty,_Texas
For anyone who can get to Austin, visiting the Capitol is a great experience.
SIA
we visited the Texas State Capitol. I approached the first uniformed man at the entry to the Capitol.
He had some kind of a patch on his shirt, but did not appear to be a Texas State Trooper.
I told him quietly that I was a CHL, and where was the CHL line. He directed me right next to him where a
female DPS trooper asked for my DL/CHL. She scanned one of them (probably the CHL) through a stripe reader,
returned the DL/CHL, and said I could go right in.
At the time of this entry I had my EDC in my OWB at 4 o'clock, and my BUG revolver was in a large nylon bag
with 2 straps, on my shoulder. She never asked any questions about gun placement, or examined my bag.
We joined the tour in progress and it was great to tour the Capitol, knowing that the State of Texas trusts me
to do the right thing.
We visited the State Senate chamber, which contains 2 gigantic paintings - 1 of the Alamo, 1 of the San Jacinto
battle.
We visited the House of Representatives, which contained a huge Christmas tree. A Texas House of Reps Christmas
tree is to be at least 10 feet in circumference at its base, and be perfectly symetrical in its appearance. Selection
of THE tree begins around July each year, with various people across the state submitting their candidates.
This year's tree comes from Denison, Texas.
I missed the dates of the 1st Texas State Capitol building.
The 2nd Capitol building was built 1852-1853. It was a 90' x 120' limestone building, and burned down in 1881 due to
a faulty heating pipe.
The 3rd and current Capitol building was built circa 1882-1888, somewhere in there. Over the years many changes were
made to the building, which spoiled the original architecture. The restoration to its original form was done 1991-1994.
Since there had been few photos taken between 1888 and 1910, the restorations relied on a large series of 1910 photos
to return the building to its original forms.
The architect of the Texas State Capitol had also done the Michigan Capitol. He had provided the Michigan Capitol
with a large sea of skylights on the roof. This worked great in Michigan with much colder weather, much of it gray.
In the Texas House of Reps the clear glass skylights served to cook the Reps. The Texas Capitol's clear glass skylights
were first covered with frosted glass, then eventually covered by a much more substantial structure to block the sun.
Both the Senate and the house ceilings hold multiple chandeliers (2 IIRC) that spell out "TEXAS" in lights within a star.
Each chandelier weighs 400 pounds. If they ever fell on someone, they'd be DRT.
I found out that Deaf Smith County (in the Panhandle - the county seat is Hereford) was named for Erastus "Deaf" Smith,
who was a Texas Scout during the Texas Revolution. He was the first person to reach the Alamo after the massacre.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... nty,_Texas
For anyone who can get to Austin, visiting the Capitol is a great experience.
SIA
