I’ve always wanted to visit Lincoln, Nebraska’s capital, to visit the Sheldon Museum, the university’s distinguished art gallery, and the Nebraska State Capitol, which I knew to be the phenomenon of the prairies and the grandest such building in the country. My high expectations were met and so exceeded that I consider myself an honorary Cornhusker. The Capitol is also one of America’s greatest civic buildings and the apotheosis of Art Deco style. Here’s to Cornhusker vision and sense of adventure.
Designed in 1920 and built between 1922 and 1932, it’s not a typical capitol with a big white dome, columned but still looking squat and derivative. Its tower soars 400 feet from pancake plains and can be seen for 20 miles on a clear day. The bronze sculpture of a sower on top of the tower is a beacon of civic pride and civic purpose. Louisiana’s capitol, built a little later, is also Art Deco, 50 boastful feet higher. Even with the stray bullet holes from Huey Long’s murder, it’s still a rip-off.
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