OurNextStop: Largest State Capitol City in the USA

We did not know until recently that Phoenix is the largest state capitol city in the USA. Population for the greater metropolitan area is 4.1 million people; about twice the size of Orlando! It is in a valley formed by mountains around the city. It appears the valley is about 50 miles wide (north-south) and 75 or so miles long (east-west). It is approximately 1,100 feet above sea level which makes it and Tucson the lowest (and warmest) major city in Arizona.

AZ State Capitol Museum

Arizona has taken the original capitol building built in 1900-1904 and turned it into a state museum that showcases some of the attributes of the Sate. When it was built it was the main building for the Arizona Territory; Arizona was not made a State until 1912.

The museum was in the center of a complex housing many other state offices. The Senate and House of Representatives met in two buildings just to the front left and right of the museum. Other buildings were across the street, or in some cases, other parts of the city.

Part of the silver service for the USS Arizona

More of the silver service

The Museum had a section dedicated to the State’s namesake battleship – the USS Arizona and the memorial to it in Hawaii. They had a piece of the hull as well as some other memorabilia. One particularly impressive exhibit was the extensive silver set of the battleship. These first line ships were frequently used for receptions and gala’s when they visited foreign countries representing the US and proper silver service was an essential "tool" of the diplomats of the time! The Arizona governor was asked by the US Navy when the ship was built about 1915 to provide the silver service. However, the governor did not think taxpayer money should be used for that purpose. So the mayor of Nogales formed a committee that raised the $9,000 needed for the set (and that was at a 50% discount provided by an Arizona silversmith company)!

Shortly after the Japanese attack a rumor started the silver service was lost when the battleship was sunk. However, subsequently they found out it had been removed from the ship in preparation for its deployment to a possible war zone!

Another interesting exhibit was about the Merci Train – a demonstration of appreciation by the French during the post WW II period. That is an interesting story we first encountered in Ogden where the Merci train car for UT was displayed. They did not have the AZ car at this museum but it is in a train museum in Scottsdale, a suburb of Phoenix and we hope to visit it before leaving Phoenix.

Model of the Merci Car for AZ.

A hand-made wedding dress from the collection

This whole story of the Merci Train and associated information is worth another blog entry and I will put into on my to-do list. It is worth repeating. In the meantime here are two pics, one of a handmade dress, one of the many gifts in the train and a picture of a model of the train car that AZ received. The French called these train cars the Forty and Eight. I originally thought that was because there were 48 cars, one for each state. Wrong – the cars held either 40 men or 8 horses when used in the railway system in France.

In front of the museum was a city block size park dedicated to the veterans and other public service units. There were statutes comemerating both World Wars, as well as, the Vietnam, Korea and War on Terrorism. Additionally, there was one of the 20,000 pound anchors from the USS Arizona and it signal mast that was salvaged from the battleship after it was sunk by the Japanese. The Code Talkers of WWII were recognized as well as other segments of the military effort. Also, a memorial to AZ peace officers killed in the line of duty and the K-9 corps. It was well put together park and I was glad to see a lot of young school kids there on a field trip when BJ and I arrived.