Oklahoma State Capitol Building

As the old saying of «Don’t judge a book by its cover» goes, Oklahoma’s state capitol building is a reminder to follow that age old advice. Old and genteel on the outside, yet regal and decadent on the inside is what sums up a remarkable structure of modern architecture that houses the entire state government of the Sooner State.
One of the first things that you notice upon driving down the street heading toward the south front of the building is a large oil pump. Not certain if it still works or not (I assume that it does), yet it leaves a lasting impression of accentuating the state’s motto of «Labor conquers all things.» The parking area with the south front is quite large, with half of it reserved for state employees, elected officials, and the press. Upon getting close to the building, the first homage to the native American heritage of the state is paid to a large statue of an native American woman, presumably that of the Choctaw tribe.
After entering security, the capitol building has 5 floor levels open to the public, not counting the basement. On the second floor, there is quite a bit of paintings all around the office, one of which is a large version of Mickey Mantle, the New York Yankees great and son of Oklahoma. There are other paintings of Will Rogers, Jim Thorpe, and past governors and state contributors on other floors. Marble seems to be the stone of the day, and it is shown prominently throughout the building. And of course, the large capitol dome reflects a greco-​roman style of architecture that would make even Michelangelo jealous.
While there are other exhibits to observe on the building’s northern front (i.e., The Ten Commandants monument until mid-​October 2015, the fountain of tears), you’ll see quite a bit of state employees getting their exercise at all hours of the day just by circling the building via speed-​walking.
This building is certainly one of the first that I’ve seen that reflects the heritage and diversity of the state with a nod to a style of architecture that isn’t seen in very many places within the United States. Well worth the stop, if ever in Oklahoma City for a few hours.

I’ve lived in Oklahoma for a little over a year now and just visited the capitol for the first time the other day. It was well worth the trip. I learned a lot, enjoyed the beauty of the space and all of the art.
It’s a very beautiful building. We enjoyed going room to room and trying to see it all. We especially enjoyed the Governor’s gallery.
If all of that isn’t enough to convince you then the only thing I can say is that it’s free. Nothing beats something free to do. :)

The building itself is gorgeous. The art gallery is really nice too and really reflects Oklahoma’s history and diversity well. Check out their free tours which run every hour on the hour, I believe.

Well, it is funny that I have lived in Oklahoma from kindergarten to 9^th grade without going to the capitol bldg. So, my girlfriend thought it would be good to visit this during the holidays. Thank goodness, there were plenty of tours and we were able to see it. The tour was pretty good and extensive throughout. However, the execution was kinda poor in terms of delivery by our tour guide. Also, the gift shop was a nice touch since sometimes you don’t even see it. This is a rather old bldg. which is currently under construction. There was a nice Christmas tree in front decorated and my girlfriend found a tree inside from her old middle school:)

If you’re into architecture, this is a must-​see, esp if you make it a habit to tour state capitol buildings, otherwise, you might be bored.
The Oklahoma State Capitol is neo-​classical (Greco-​Roman), and is well-​done architecture. Remember that everything was handmade back then!
Note the oil rig out front, which is supposedly funcitonal. Also note that the entire front entrance is barricaded (as a result of the ⁹⁄₁₁ fear), though if you follow the signs, you take the side southeast entrance through security.
Interesting thing about this one is that when the building was originally built in 1917, they ran out of funds to build the dome, and they were able to raise private funds to get the dome built in 2002, which is pretty impressive. It looks almost seamless.
The tour is free. You can either self-​guide yourself, or go with the tour on-​the-​hour led by a volunteer (mine was Marjorie). Note that they don’t have a noon tour, though, assuming this is lunch hour ;-)
Some of the artwork is nice, esp the older pieces. Some of the newer pieces though (and they have a few of those!) don’t seem to fit in as well.
The statue, The Guardian, is my favorite, and represents/​honors the Native Americans indigent to Oklahoma.
The House of Reps chamber, and also the original judicial chamber, have really minute architectural details that can be appreciated.
I think that the web advertises the tour as being 45 minutes or so, but I could’ve sworn that this took 1−½ hours!
Marjorie, the volunteer, was informed on history, made the tour personable, and was smiling the whole time.

As state capitols go it is kinda blah. Not bad but it sort of looks like they left all sorts of round marble in places for when they get the money to do some exciting pieces. The plus it is free and you can see the 10 commandment monument. As the old guy in the visitor center shouted at me «It’s God’s law, all religions are derived from it! No controversy, those satanists are just trying to cause trouble.» If he had a full 5 minutes of that I’d give it another star.

This is a must visit site if you are in the Oklahoma City area. The main points of attraction within this location is the guided tour! THE GUIDED TOUR! GO ON IT. GO NOW!
We had a great guide named Margaret. She was very patient and took the time to answer all of our questions about Oklahoma /​its capitol. She went in depth in all of the random paintings that the building had within it and also took us into the senate and house chambers. Awesomeeeee!
The tour took us into all 6 floors of the building and kept us occupied for the better part of an hour. The tours are every hour Mon — Fri from 9 — 3 (but no tour at noon).
If you are in OK, the capitol tour with Margaret is highly recommended!

Oklahoma’s Capitol is a beautiful building with a lot of neat history. Go when you have time to walk the inside and out. There are incredible paintings, sculptures, and other things to view. If in the area, take the time to go across the street to the Oklahoma History Museum!

This review is for the Capitol as a wedding venue. Not for the zany politickin’ that goes on over there, which is a whole other bag o’ rattlesnakes hidden your colleague’s truck (a famously stupid prank that a state legislator pulled a few years back). No, that referendum would read quite a bit differently for the majority of those dudes and dames. This is also not a review of the new Ten Commandments that went up this week — WITH MISSPELLED WORDS. Jeeeee… well you get the idea.
At this point you’re scratching you head, now why four stars again, JP? Remember, this is just for the capitol as a place to get hitched. My friends were married in the rotunda area, just above the grand stairs.
So here’s what’s great about it:
*It’s absolutely beautiful. It’s grand; it’s regal. It’s like getting married inside a Fabergé egg. My friends had a few very dramatic, very beautiful flowers at the front, and they were perfect. You really don’t have to do much if anything at all for it look gorgeous.
*It’s super-​affordable. You pay a fee for the chairs and such, but it’s one of the most financially wise choices a pair of people could make. (You know, for those of you not inclined to spend more than your annual salary on a party that lasts a few hours).
I put a lot of weight on these first two items, so this is a solid four. The points below are of some concern, and worth mentioning, but are not deal breakers in my opinion.
*Parking and getting in can be a bit of a struggle, and the parking is far from the rotunda area.
* All guests must go through the metal detector, and they reserve the right to check IDs against a guest list
*You do have to figure out your own sound system. In this case, the groom is in a band, so they had their own PA (and the knowledge + bandmates/​groomsmen to set it up and tear it down). For most people, this would be a concern.
*There’s no great place for the bride and groom to get ready (and stay out of sight) before the wedding. There are bathrooms, but they’re public, and not particularly comfortable.
*It does remain open to the public, so you may have some randos walking around. There weren’t many tourists while we were there, but there were a few.
Overall, a winner for sure, especially where price is a concern.

Not my favourite state capitol building (this makes number 7), not very user-​friendly (it’s not very intuitive where the chambers are), no helpful people at the desk telling us all about what to see and where to go (both in the building and the city) but it’s pretty and it has a memorial across the street.
The functional derrick outside is pretty cool and the statues are cool too :)

It is free to do a self guided tour, and you can check out the legislative chambers and walk all around the building. I got there right at opening, and the first thing I see in the parking lot is a giant pickup truck and an oil well, which the picture here shows perfectly.
Also there is a tourism office downstairs, they are very helpful.