Lawmakers returned to Nashville this month, and it’s busy again inside the Tennessee State Capitol. But all year round, the historic building draws interest and provides tours — and it has prompted several questions to Curious Nashville.
Capitol tour guide Philip Staffelli-Suel and Tennessee State Architect Ann McGauran helped with answers.
Was the capitol built on an Indian burial mound?
“No,” says McGauran, “the capitol sits on a dome of limestone bedrock, and these hills, or knobs, are common throughout Tennessee.”
The building is also built with limestone that was gathered from the surrounding area.
But while there isn’t a burial mound under the building, there are people buried in and around it.
“There is the architect of the capitol, Mr. Strickland is buried in the capitol. And then the first chairman of the Capitol Commission is buried in the capitol as well,” says McGauran.
The grave of architect William Strickland is located in the north wall, while Samuel Morgan, the former chairman, is located in the south wall.
And there’s more bodies.
Chas Sisk WPLN NewsThe tomb of President James K. Polk and his wife Sarah.
“So not only are we the only U.S. state capitol to have dead guys in our walls, we’re the only one to have a former first lady and president on the grounds as well,” says Stafelli-Suel.
For those who don’t know, that couple is eleventh U.S. President James K. Polk and his wife Sarah. Their gravesites are located in what’s known as the East Garden.
Why is there only one set of stairs up to the capitol when coming up from James Robertson Parkway?
When looking at the capitol from the north — the Bicentennial Mall side — there’s a single curving staircase, shaped like half of a horseshoe. It’s a popular climb for cardio training.
McGauran says there isn’t a second set of stairs — to complete the horseshoe — because of what you can’t see below.
“On the other side, where the other half of the horseshoe would go is a very large utility line infrastructure that would cost over $1 million to relocate,” she says, “so that put a damper on that being cost effective for the state.”
Who mows the lawn? And have they ever mowed words or a picture into the lawn?
As you can see from the picture above, there’s a lot of lawn to take care. The state contracts with Brightview, a major landscaping company that also handles baseball fields, golf courses and even snow removal. (When it does snow, these same steep lawns are known to attract daring sledders, including lawmakers.)
The company has never mowed a picture or words into the lawn, and they follow a strict contract, McGauran says.
But words have slipped through in another way.
“There was one time when the Predators were in the playoffs where somebody had stenciled paint on that hill and then we did mow it out,” says McGauran.
Fun fact: none other than Sean Henry, president and CEO of the Predators, admitted to participating in the act in an interview with The Nashville Business Journal in 2020. They spray painted “Let’s Go Preds.”
Tony Gonzalez WPLN News (File)The capitol cupola changes colors to honor special causes.
Are the colors of the lights on the cupola chosen or random?
There’s actually a process to lighting the cupola.
“The requests are sent to the Capital Commission for approval, and the colors represent a connection to the various organization identifications,” said McGauran.
This can include awareness campaigns for health causes, tributes or holidays, or more casual endeavors like a playoff game for the Tennessee Titans.
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