This week we ushered in a new era in American history with the swearing in of the nation's first African-American president. Ohio, as she has been historically, was an important part of the election process. While millions gathered this week in the nation's capital, let's take a peek at Ohio's capitol, the Ohio Statehouse.
Ohio's first capital was in Chillicothe, followed briefly by Zanesville before finally settling in Columbus in 1816. Above left, President McKinley stands in front of the entrance on High Street.
Nestled among towering office buildings today, the current Statehouse dates to 1816 and offers grand vistas both inside and out of the building. While most state capitol's feature a dome similar to the U.S. Capitol building, Ohio's statehouse features more of a cupola and is unique. Standing beneath the rotunda the stained glass artwork features the Great Seal of Ohio (see Adena blog entry) (left, click to enlarge). 
The grounds surrounding the Statehouse offers several statues situated among its two acres. Located in the largest city bearing the name of Christopher Columbus, the southwest corner of the statehouse bears a statue in his honor (see right, click to enlarge).
Another statue located north of the Columbus statue, right at the foot of one of the High Street entrance pays tribute to soldiers from Ohio during the Spanish-American War in 1898. Called "The Spirit of '98", the soldier symbolically guards the entrance to the building (see left, click to enlarge).
Ohio had a significant place in the Civil War, sending more men to fight than any state other than Pennsylvania and New York. It was also a state that saw many men take arms against kin. The southern part of Ohio was settled largely by Virginians, and until West Virginia was granted statehood during the Civil War, bordered the Confederacy. An historical marker on the grounds of the Statehouse shares the relevance of Ohio in the Civil War (see above right, click to enlarge). 
On the northwest corner is a statue praising Ohio's own during the tumultuous Civil War era. "These are my Jewels", designed by Civil War veteran Levi Tucker Scofield, personifies Ohio's place in the forefront of political and military leadership in the 1860s (see left, click to enlarge). Encircling the statue are Ulysses S. Grant (born in Point Pleasant), William Tecumseh Sherman (Sherman House, city of Lancaster), James A. Garfield (residence in Mentor) and Philip Sheridan (raised in Somerset), all Ohio military contributors to the Civil War, and Salmon Chase (gained notoriety in Cincinnati) and Edwin Stanton (born in Steubenville), who were members of President Lincoln's Cabinet serving as Secretary of Treasury and War respectively.
Lincoln also has his ties to Ohio. Following the fame he garnered from the legendary Lincoln-Douglas debates in his failed attempt to win a U.S. Senate seat, Lincoln spoke at on the statehouse grounds in 1859. That spot is now part of the Atrium of the Statehouse and is noted by a historical marker (see left, click to enlarge). It is not easy to find in a casual walk-through of the building and is often in the background of press conferences that are sometimes conducted in this area of the grounds.
There is more to see inside and and below the Statehouse than outside of it. Tours of the Statehouse yield history of both the state and the nation. One of the more popular stops is the Map Room (see right, click to enlarge) located in the lower levels of the building. It shows all 88 counties using 5 types of marble from around the world.
Located right off one of the entrances is the George Washington Williams Room, in honor of Ohio's first African-American state lawmaker. A Civil War veteran and ordained minister, Williams was elected from the Cincinnati area in 1880. The room is exquisitely decorated and is used for several purposes (see left, click to enlarge).
The Crypt below the statehouse has many display cases of Ohio artifacts, a museum store, cafe, other governmental offices and a restored stagecoach (see right, click to enlarge), which gives a greater sense of the method of travel of the mid 1800s through Ohio and points west. Noticeably missing on the stagecoach are shock absorbers and only the smallest hint of springs to make a ride on unpaved roads tolerable.
But perhaps the most intriguing items to look for upon wandering the Capitol building itself is the attention to detail in the architecture. Even a visit to the Ohio Senate Chamber can yield monumental minutiae. The lighting fixtures, once used for gas lighting, are now electric.
But they have been lovingly cared for and the original fixtures still remain, evident is the knobs used to open and close the gas valve. Less evident, unless upon greater inspection, is that the Great Seal of Ohio (see Adena blog entry) is stamped on each of the light's gas valves (see left, click to enlarge). And there are more than a few of these lights.
While a tour of the U.S. Capitol building is certainly a must for any Washington, D.C. visitor, so must be the Ohio Capitol tour if passing through Columbus. A tour of the nation's capitol will whisk you through the building after a long wait in line, Ohio's capitol tour features a less harried pace and much less of a wait to tour. And with Ohio's statehood occurring a mere 27 years into our nation's history, nearly as much history has passed here as has there.
- J.
Dayton, Ohio (map, government) is home to Wright Patterson Air Force Base and its museum with a spectacular collection of aircraft spanning the entire history of aviation. It is a living memorial to those daring young men and their flying machines. It rivals, or perhaps eclipses, the collection seen in Washington, DC at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and Annex.
The complex includes hangars of planes, a memorial park (see right, click to enlarge), iMax theater, cafeteria and gift shop. Housed primarily in three incredibly large hangars, one can freely spend hours wandering the aircraft, artifacts and stories behind the young men, and women, of the air force who have so devotedly served.
"Freely spend" is the operative phrase, as it being a government facility there is no charge for parking or admission. In what feels like no time, several hours have passed and there is still more to see. This is not an easy museum to do in one visit unless you can spend most of your day absorbing it all.
Parking is primarily in two long rows and you can easily on a busy day have to walk quite a way to the entrance (an unloading zone is easily accessible). But this allows the visitor to wander through the Memorial Park. Scattered are numerous monuments to various air wings, aircraft and even individual events or pilots. There is tremendous creativity in the variety of monuments erected (see left, click to enlarge).
The hangars are divided into eras: World War I and II, Korea & Vietnam and the Modern Era. There is another hangar off the main base housing Presidential Aircraft and other Wright Brothers historical sites. Each hangar display offers aircraft on the ground, mounted on stands and hanging from the roof. It is easy to be struck at the enormity of the complex (see right, click to enlarge). It is also amazing to see the large variety of planes that flew. For those younger boys (and not-so younger boys), it would be hard to name each plane you encountered.
What is easily lost to history, especially an era 
where black and white photography was the only archiving footage available, is that many planes sported unusual coloring. Particularly striking to me was the German World War I bi-plane that appears to be supporting breast-cancer awareness well before its time (see left, click to enlarge). Particularly during World War I, many of the planes on display have very colorful paint schemes.
The aircraft are displayed in a manner that puts you right up close to the actual aircraft. These are not mock-ups, but the real aircraft, now retired and preserved. Despite the warnings not to touch, it is difficult when allowed such close proximity to intimidating aircraft, such as the World War II B-24 Liberator bomber (see right, click to enlarge). While the museum is very kid-friendly, there are many points to consider explaining or shooing the young ones past.
Unavoidable is the decorative nose art many of the World War II era planes carry (see B-17 Flying Fortress to below left, click to enlarge). Many are laden with visionary thoughts of ladies in various drawings or statements (or both). It should never be forgotten to history that the flyboys of World War II were as young as 18 and girls are never far from the thoughts of a young man. Even several of the flight jackets carry both whimsical and suggestive artwork. History is what it was and sometimes it may need some explaining to those with different sensitivities. Today reproductions are available for purchase.
Between the World War areas of the first hangar there is a display devoted to Bob Hope (see right, click to enlarge) and his decades of performing for soldiers in combat zones. A native Ohioan, Bob Hope is synonymous with the United Service Organizations (USO). Video and artifact displays do a wonderful job of presenting his patriotic contributions.
While the nose art and jacket art tell one story, there are many displays that touch upon the all too human story of war. Many aircraft on exhibit also have on display related artifacts. Next to a World War II P-38 Lightning, the pilot's flight jacket is rife with shrapnel holes punched through it along with the story of being shot down (see left, click to enlarge).
But one of the most compelling companion aircraft and artifact displays tells the story of the Doolittle Raid on Japan in World War II. The raid was of little productive damage to Tokyo, but served to boost the morale and spirit of America. A retaliatory strike revenging the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor was largely symbolic. But in 1946, a year after the war, the surviving crews from the raid met to celebrate Doolittle's birthday and it has turned into a memorial reunion.
Located behind the retired B-25 is a series of Goblets that the survivors drink from each year. The photo above right (click to enlarge) shows a blow-up inset of the goblets (above the left engine), the display can be seen between the left engine nacelle and fuselage on a wall at the rear of the plane. When one passes away, his goblet is inverted. As of the past reunion, only 11 surviving crew remain, with Doolittle himself passing away in 1996. Two died in November of 2008, leaving only nine remaining. The final two survivors will open an 1896 bottle of Cognac, donated by Hennessey to commemorate Doolittle's birth year.
Displays are not limited to American craft. Displays of Italian, German, French, English and even Russian combat aircraft can be seen in all of the hangars. One section of the World War II area has several Nazi aircraft, ranging from the first jets and rockets to larger bombers (see right, click to enlarge). In fact it was surprising, but in hindsight shouldn't have been, to hear several different languages being spoken by the visitors on the day I toured the facility.
The Cold War and Modern Era hangars have countless aircraft on display and allow access up to the cockpits, but not inside, some of the less vintage aircraft. One could climb and peer along and then down into an A-10 "Warthog" (see right, click to enlarge). The museum does allow veterans who have flown planes, and who are physically able, to access a plane like he flew. 
The retired F-16 that was part of the elite Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team (see left, click to enlarge) has a mock cockpit that was used for training purposes that one can climb in. Appropriately cautioned, the dimensions are very small in the cockpit and only those nimble and agile enough should take a quick seat behind the controls.
The massive B-52 spans a large portion of the Cold War hangar, giving a symbolic feel to the global implications of nuclear fears that spanned the years following World War II up through the early 1990s. Standing under the open bomb-bay doors, it is unfathomable to see the amount of destruction that could be rained down from these behemoths.
There is still more to uncover at the museum, as if your time allows there are several aircraft displayed outside. Along with the displays a mock-up of what appears a "Mighty 8th" Army Air Force base in England during World War II.
Upon leaving, the F-104 Starfighter mounted at the entrance to the grounds points skyward, beckoning to those who daydream, who dare to dream of the impossible and for those who dared to do and have already been to the wild blue yonder and beyond.
- J.
This week we ushered in a new era in American history with the swearing in of the nation's first African-American president. Ohio, as she has been historically, was an important part of the election process. While millions gathered this week in the nation's capital, let's take a peek at Ohio's capitol, the Ohio Statehouse. 
Nestled among towering office buildings today, the current Statehouse dates to 1816 and offers grand vistas both inside and out of the building. While most state capitol's feature a dome similar to the U.S. Capitol building, Ohio's statehouse features more of a cupola and is unique. Standing beneath the rotunda the stained glass artwork features the Great Seal of Ohio (see Adena blog entry) (left, click to enlarge). 
The grounds surrounding the Statehouse offers several statues situated among its two acres. Located in the largest city bearing the name of Christopher Columbus, the southwest corner of the statehouse bears a statue in his honor (see right, click to enlarge). 
Another statue located north of the Columbus statue, right at the foot of one of the High Street entrance pays tribute to soldiers from Ohio during the Spanish-American War in 1898. Called "The Spirit of '98", the soldier symbolically guards the entrance to the building (see left, click to enlarge). 
Ohio had a significant place in the Civil War, sending more men to fight than any state other than Pennsylvania and New York. It was also a state that saw many men take arms against kin. The southern part of Ohio was settled largely by Virginians, and until West Virginia was granted statehood during the Civil War, bordered the Confederacy. An historical marker on the grounds of the Statehouse shares the relevance of Ohio in the Civil War (see above right, click to enlarge). 
On the northwest corner is a statue praising Ohio's own during the tumultuous Civil War era. "These are my Jewels", designed by Civil War veteran Levi Tucker Scofield, personifies Ohio's place in the forefront of political and military leadership in the 1860s (see left, click to enlarge). Encircling the statue are Ulysses S. Grant (born in Point Pleasant), William Tecumseh Sherman (Sherman House, city of Lancaster), James A. Garfield (residence in Mentor) and Philip Sheridan (raised in Somerset), all Ohio military contributors to the Civil War, and Salmon Chase (gained notoriety in Cincinnati) and Edwin Stanton (born in Steubenville), who were members of President Lincoln's Cabinet serving as Secretary of Treasury and War respectively. 
Lincoln also has his ties to Ohio. Following the fame he garnered from the legendary Lincoln-Douglas debates in his failed attempt to win a U.S. Senate seat, Lincoln spoke at on the statehouse grounds in 1859. That spot is now part of the Atrium of the Statehouse and is noted by a historical marker (see left, click to enlarge). It is not easy to find in a casual walk-through of the building and is often in the background of press conferences that are sometimes conducted in this area of the grounds.
There is more to see inside and and below the Statehouse than outside of it. Tours of the Statehouse yield history of both the state and the nation. One of the more popular stops is the Map Room (see right, click to enlarge) located in the lower levels of the building. It shows all 88 counties using 5 types of marble from around the world. 
Located right off one of the entrances is the George Washington Williams Room, in honor of Ohio's first African-American state lawmaker. A Civil War veteran and ordained minister, Williams was elected from the Cincinnati area in 1880. The room is exquisitely decorated and is used for several purposes (see left, click to enlarge). 
The Crypt below the statehouse has many display cases of Ohio artifacts, a museum store, cafe, other governmental offices and a restored stagecoach (see right, click to enlarge), which gives a greater sense of the method of travel of the mid 1800s through Ohio and points west. Noticeably missing on the stagecoach are shock absorbers and only the smallest hint of springs to make a ride on unpaved roads tolerable. 
But they have been lovingly cared for and the original fixtures still remain, evident is the knobs used to open and close the gas valve. Less evident, unless upon greater inspection, is that the Great Seal of Ohio (see Adena blog entry) is stamped on each of the light's gas valves (see left, click to enlarge). And there are more than a few of these lights.
