Montana State Capitol: The Granite Lady of Helena
Every state capital building has a personality, and Montana's is a sturdy one: a granite neoclassical capitol with a copper dome, completed in 1902 and expanded in 1912, standing on the south edge of Helena with the statue of a horseman out front and the state's whole self-image carved into its stone.
Our Visit
We came over from the Montana Heritage Center next door, capitol after museum. The building was mid-facelift - scaffolding on the exterior kept us from getting good dome photos, and the construction affected the light on the interior stained glass - but the rooms, the murals, and the quietly immense Charles M. Russell-era art and artifacts carry it anyway.
The Family Debate
Now, a matter of some domestic contention. Both of us came away feeling the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre is the prettier building inside - and here is the fun footnote: South Dakota built its capitol using Montana's original blueprints, more or less, so the family resemblance is real. One state got the dome and the grand exterior; the other refined the interior. We will take that argument over dinner anytime. ("Smash burgers for lunch - OK, but definitely not something to write home about.")