Texas State Capitol

Address 1100 Congress Ave

The pink granite dome of the Texas State Capitol dominates the northern end of Congress Avenue and is one of the finest state capitols in America. Completed in 1888, it is taller than the national Capitol in Washington — a fact Texans will tell you without being asked — and its interior is as ornate as the exterior promises.

The rotunda, under the dome, has portraits of every Texas president and governor arranged in a ring, with the lone star inlaid in the floor below. Free guided tours run throughout the day; the tour of the legislative chambers and underground extension is worth an hour of any visitor's time. The grounds include several monuments — the Confederate memorial is particularly worth examining given the debates it has attracted — and the view south down Congress Avenue from the front steps is one of the classic Austin vistas.

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The Texas Capitol stands seven feet taller than the US Capitol in Washington — a point of enormous Texas pride. It was built in 1888 using sunset red granite quarried near Marble Falls, and the state paid for the construction by giving 3 million acres of West Texas land to the contractors. That land eventually became the largest cattle ranch in the world.

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