IN A FLASH: Secrets of the Statehouse

Kent State students in the university's Columbus Program in State Issues were treated to a private tour of the Ohio Statehouse. These students serve as interns in Columbus, working closely with lawmakers as they learn about the workings of the state legislature. 

A private tour of the Ohio Statehouse shows Kent State students some of the building's secrets

Photo by Rami Daud, senior photographer, University Communications and Marketing

Part of the tour included seeing the signature of one of the carvers who worked on the Statehouse renovation in 1897. One of the inner bands of the building's cupola bears the 126-year-old inscription "J.S. Hamilton July 6, 1897."

A CPSI student signs the cupola inside the Ohio Statehouse

Photo by Rami Daud, senior photographer, University Communications and Marketing

Construction on Ohio's capitol building began on July 4, 1839. The building was finally completed in 1861. During other parts of the tour, the students got to see the building's rarely used observation deck, which at one time was the highest point in the city, and then sign their names on the interior of the coupola. The oldest signature is from "J. Cook 1870."

The oldest signature inside the Ohio Statehouse cupola.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Monthly

Want to see one of YOUR photos in “IN A FLASH?” Submit your Kent State-related photos to InAFlash@kent.edu and you may see them in a future Kent State Today post. Photos should be framed -horizontally- and include a brief description of what’s happening in the photo along with when and where it was taken.

POSTED: Wednesday, December 6, 2023 07:59 PM
Updated: Thursday, December 7, 2023 05:19 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Phil B. Soencksen