Photohunters: Symbolic and Power

POWER

SYMBOLIC

I flipped through my photo archives trying to think of a way to combine the two photohunt words: symbolic and power.

Since I live in Raleigh which is the state capital of North Carolina, I ran across photos I've taken through the years of the State Capitol.

The capitol can be symbolic of the power of government.

As the buildings downtown have gotten taller and taller the capitol is somewhat diminished. I guess tall buildings for banks and other commerce could be symbolic of the power of money.

Note- During the colonial period NC had modest government facilities in Edenton, NC in 1722. When the population of NC shifted, New Bern was selected as the center of power in 1766. Tryon's Palace was built in New Bern between 1767 and 1771 for the Governor as well as state offices. However, during the revolutionary war the government took to the road when New Bern was under attack. Later since the population had move westward the state convention came up with a plan for the current capital in the central part of the state and Raleigh was designed for that purpose.

The first state house in Raleigh, North Carolina was built in 1796 but it burned down in 1831. The State Capitol in the shots above was built between 1833 and 1840. The fact that a capitol burned down could be symbolic of the power of fire being greater than the power of man.

The NC state legislature met in the State Capitol from 1840 until 1963 when the legislative building below was completed. Now the Governor has offices in the Capitol but the General Assembly meet in the State legislative building which is a block away from the State Capitol. You don't get an accurate sense of the size of the legislative building from the shot below but it covers a city block.

Click for the Power Photohunt theme, and or click for the symbolic photohunt theme.