A Family Visit to the Colorado State Capitol
We decided to walk to the Colorado State Capitol from The Money Museum and it was a little over a mile walk. It was a beautiful day, perfect for a walk, but I don’t think we were completely adjusted to the higher altitude, because we were huffing and puffing at times.
Guided tours are offered but space is limited. A tour was getting ready to head out when we arrived, but our group of 13 was too large to join. Since we missed out on the guided tour we grabbed a map with a self-guided tour instead. The kids were also able to pick up a picture scavenger hunt which they were excited about.
The Colorado State Capitol building opened in 1894 and looks similar to the United States Capitol building in Washington D.C. The exterior is made of white granite and a copper-covered dome that is gilded with gold leaf from a Colorado mine.
The interior is covered with Rose Onyx from Colorado, and it’s believed that they depleted their resources of Rose Onyx when they built the Capitol. It’s a very rare marble and it’s gorgeous. White Yule Marble, also from Colorado, was used for the floors.
In the third floor rotunda there is a wall of presidential portraits, and if you look up the ceiling is exquisite as well.
There are lots of stained glass windows throughout the Capitol depicting people and events relevant to the history of Colorado.
We spent some time sitting in the balcony of the House of Representative and Senate chambers, looking down and imagining what it would be like to be able to watch them while they are in session.
While we enjoyed getting to walk around and explore the Capitol on our own, I think we would’ve gotten more out of our visit if we had been on the guided tour.
For another look at our visit to the Colorado State Capitol check out our YouTube video below. You can read about Day 1 of our trip and our visit to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater and Casa Bonita, as well as Day 2 and our stops at Garden of the Gods, Manitou Cliff Dwelling Museum, Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, and Magic Town. We started Day 3 in Colorado Springs at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry before heading to Denver for the afternoon. Our first stop in Denver was at The Money Museum.
37 Comments
Beth Shields
Nice post and impressive pictures. Amazed at so many of these capitols built in the late 1800’s. And just beautiful. The marble is gorgeous and just overall, what a different time that seemed to reflect the importance of discussion and decisions that took place. Interesting. Thanks
Pam
What a beautiful building. I love visiting courthouses and other historical places – there is so much to learn. The courthouse in St. Louis also offers a scavenger hunt which my kids love.
Sara W
Thanks for the tip. We may be heading to St. Louis later this year.
Alison
The Capitol Building is beautiful – I love all of your pictures! It’s too bad you couldn’t join the guided tour, but it looks like you had an incredible adventure on your own!
Sara W
Thank you. Yes, we were bummed, but we made the most of it.
kmf
Such beautiful architecture…I’ve never done tours like this and am now inspired to do so.
Sara W
Some of the tours I’ve enjoyed the most are the ones that I wasn’t really interested in doing at first.
Tricia Snow
What a great trip for the kids to learn about the government! I fear most children will never step foot into a capitol building.
Sara W
I’m glad we went when we did. It may be hard to get into them for a while until things settle down.
Stacey Billingsley
I love checking out capitol buildings. So beautiful. I’ve only seen this one in passing from the outside, but I would tour the inside in a heartbeat!
Sara W
The inside was stunning!
Lisa Manderino
I love going to state capital buildings. They are so beautiful!
Sara W
I know, and today’s modern buildings look so bland. Where did we go wrong? Haha.
Adrian Pottinger
You snapped some great photos. Amazing views!
Sara W
Thank you.
Leeanne
First of all, what a beautiful building. I love showing kids how government works. Going to the State House is a great trip.
Sara W
Yes, there’s something about seeing it in person that helps make it all click for my kids.
Casandra
I love that they included a picture scavenger hunt for kids. What a great way to keep them entertained while still learning.
Sara W
Yes, having things like this helps keep our kids engaged. And they learn so much more.
Cindy
I love that the kids seem engaged in the process. Mine would have been bored stiff at that age and showing it.
Sara W
There are some places that we visit that one or more of my kids are bored and showing it. But overall they seem to enjoy the places we go. I think it’s because they know they’d rather be learning through travel instead of being stuck behind a desk.
Cindy
State capital buildings are so gorgeous! I e visited Missouri’s several times. So impressive. Colorado has a beautiful one as well!
Missy
Such a great history lesson visit. I look forward to visiting.
Eva Keller
This looks like a cool place to visit. I’ve driven by the outside while passing through town, but everything was closed so we didn’t stop to explore anything. I’ve been to the Ohio State Capitol in high school for Youth in Government mock things and we learned when sitting at the desks not to push the buttons underneath them because it sends an emergency alert out to the police and they storm the building. Someone did it without knowing because they hadn’t warned us yet.
Sara W
What an exciting field trip that must’ve been. I wonder how many times that has happened.
Amanda
This may sound stupid, but I didn’t realize the state capital’s are open to the public. Gesh! Colorado State Capital is beautiful.
Sara W
Normally they are. You can just walk right in. We had to go through a security checkpoint, and then there was an information desk where we could either sign up for a guided tour or grab a map for the self-guided tour. The legislature wasn’t in session when we were there, so it may be a little different setup during those times. I’m not sure if they are currently allowing visitors yet though because of Covid.
Taci- Life Beyond Zebra
Cool! I haven’t seen this before. I like the architecture!
Sara W
It was beautiful both inside and out.
Sarah
So cool! I love that they have a scavenger hunt food the kids
Sara W
We’ve been finding that a lot of places have scavenger hunts for the kids. It’s always a nice touch that we appreciate.
Live Love Mom
Looks like lots of fun!
Sara W
It was. We enjoyed it.
Adriana
Oh wow this is amazing! I did not realize that you can take these kinds of tours. Going to do one here in GA with my son when things get better
Sara W
This was the first state capitol that we toured and now we’d like to visit more of them when we travel.
Mamie
Sounds like a nice visit. I haven’t been there yet.
Sara W
It was a neat stop on our trip.