This Land is YOUR Land
May 2019
You can drive there. Or take the train with your kids. But once you reach downtown Jefferson City, walk around your property. The land you own there is filled with priceless surprises.
Of course, you share the deed with six million other Missourians. No matter. These buildings are your monuments, your history, your art.
Begin at your biggest property—the Missouri State Capitol, with the single most valuable work of art this side of Eads Bridge. Never mind that its hundred-year-old skin is getting a rejuvenating facelift; check out the treasures inside. Your state capitol is a monstrous monument to Missouri—more than a quarter million square feet of floor space—a building so large it creates its own weather. It’s a museum with beautiful artwork around every corner. And in a room on the third floor you’ll find a Missouri masterpiece. The man who created it had the perfect recipe for a hearty feast…for the eyes.
In 1936, some wise Missouri ancestors invited this master of the ancient egg tempura technique to cover the walls of the capitol’s House Lounge. He took ninety dozen egg yolks, beat them and poured them into separate tins. He added a pinch of indigo here, a dash of chalk there, some ceruse, charcoal, crushed brick and Indian paintbrush. With a little water, he mixed each color, and applied them in a pattern to a flat surface, where he let them dry to perfection.
The results turned out tastier than any cookbook cover. And the cook welcomed curious onlookers into his kitchen with only one admonition: no suggestions, please.
Oh, they tried to suggest anyway. Some legislators even tried to stop the project and strip artist Thomas Hart Benton of his commission. How dare he adorn a state capitol with scenes of lynchings, beatings, shootings, robberies and mob bosses? Well, it’s Missouri, where the Wild West began. Benton only describes its turbulent history. The James Gang robbed a train. Boss Pendergast fleeced Kansas City. Frankie shot Johnnie. And Huck and Jim set out for adventure.
Speaking of Eads Bridge, don’t miss the art on the second floor. In 1919, artists from around Missouri and from the Taos, New Mexico art colony painted lunettes in the capitol mezzanine. Masters like Berninghaus and Wyeth depict scenes at Wilson’s Creek and Eads Bridge, the Pony Express and the Santa Fe Trail, Washington Irving and Kit Carson at Arrow Rock Tavern, and the first steamboat to reach Franklin.
Jefferson’s Landing is the oldest surviving riverfront landing on the Missouri River. Some of the buildings date back to 1839. Today, they’re museums, including the Elizabeth Rozier Gallery, inside the old Union Hotel. Organized tours of Jefferson’s Landing operate Tuesday through Saturday, 10-4 p.m. until December. There’s no admission—remember, these are your properties—and walk-ins are welcome.
Watching over the landing is a stately old building with a mansard roof. Built in 1871, the Missouri Governor’s Mansion is one of America’s oldest executive mansions. Check mansion.mo.gov for a schedule of free guided tours.
Just up the street, the “bloodiest 47 acres in America” is open for history tours, ghost tours, even overnight ghost encounters. That’s the good news. The bad news? You don’t own the old Missouri State Penitentiary anymore. For ticket prices and availability visit MissouriPenTours.com/contact.php.
It’s time to give your old properties a visit.