On Wednesday April 23 Cat and I took an excursion downtown because we could not make the field trip. We both live in West Campus so the walk to the Capitol Building was a short and easy one. We identified with Ancient Greece upon arrival when we saw the examples of Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns both inside and outside of the building.
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1]Ionic column on rotunda of Capitol just below top layer of dome next to windows and Corintian columns under Ionics.
Doric Column on North entrance.
Once we documented all of the columns Cat and I headed to the center of the building, under the illustrious dome. Unfortunately, we could not get right under the dome because a group of braces-wearing middle school students were monopolizing the area. But the effect was still dazzling nonetheless. 
Photo of Cat and me under the dome area. As I lay there, looking up into the eternal perfection of the dome shape, I could not help but to become lost in the dome’s trance. The rotunda, just as that of the Pantheon and St. Peter’s Basilica, seemed to be beckoning to the heavens. Perhaps it was built to symbolize the heavenly rays of justice and compassion that are (supposed) to be shed upon lawmakers. I must admit that I was a tad jealous…the LA Capitol is a building much like the tower and needless to say, without a rotunda. 
Photo of Texas Capitol dome.
[2] The Roman Pantheon.
[3] St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.
We then headed out of the Capitol to the Old General Land Office Building, which is now the visitor’s center. There we saw Star of David window frames which connected us to ancient Israel. 
Cat and I in front of bldg. 
The Star of David window frames.
The beautiful St.Mary’s Cathedral was next on the list and it’s Gothic architecture was immediately apparent on its exterior. The exterior exhibited Ruskin’s second principle of “The Nature of Gothic.” The building “did not say the same thing over and over again,”[4] but was composed of all different design schemes. On the left was a wide and tall bell tower and on the right, a shorter and skinnier tower. Additionally, the rose window contrasted with the more vertical windows on the rest of the exterior. 
Me in front of church. 
Large bell tower.Unfortunately, we could not visit the interior of the church due to a funeral(see hearse in previous photo).
Next it was off to the Driskill Hotel. Along the way we passed by a few more Victorian buildings. 
Me in front of Victorian buildings. The Driskill is certainly the grande dame of Victorian architecture in Austin. The building’s size and its preservation are magnificent. It was easy to notice Ruskin’s fourth principle of “disturbed imagination.” The outside is strange to comprehend at first, it does not make any sense. There are windows off all shapes and sizes as well as arches which are curved and pointy but it is this ludicrous design that makes the building so unique. Th
e outside of the Driskill.he inside is fantastic as well. The lobby appears to be a large vault with towering pillars. Photo of me inside Driskill at top of blog. The interior is home to the “Widow Maker.” It is a statue where a cowboy is caught in part of his saddle and dragged to his death. [5] The “Widow Maker” statue.
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