BAMBOO DECORATIVE WINDOW FILM

The Closing Era, designed by sculptor Preston Powers, was dedicated on the east lawn of the Colorado Capitol Building in 1893. The memorial was the original idea of a group of real estate investors who thought that such a sandstone statue would lure newcomers into the Perry Park area of Denver. While this idea never came to fruition, a group called the "Fortnightly Club" and under the leadership of Mrs. E. M. Ashley and Eliza Routt, heard of the idea and thought that the statue would be a nice addition to the State's exhibit at the 1893 World's Fair Exposition at Chicago. The group commissioned Preston Powers, one time dean of the Art Department at the University of Denver and son of sculptor Hiram Powers, to make a bronze sculpture. After the Exposition it was placed for permanent display on the Capitol's East Lawn on a base of granite from Cotopaxi in Fremont County, Colorado. Powers, who was a close friend of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier, commissioned the poem for the base of the statue.

The Colorado State Capitol Building, at 200 East Colfax Avenue, first opened for use in 1894. Designed by architect Elijah E. Myers, the four-story cruciform building, with four similar elevations, is constructed of Colorado gray granite from Gunnison County. The 24-carat golf-leaf covered dome, which rises 150-feet high commemorating the Colorado Gold Rush, was added in 1908.

The interior uses copious amounts of Colorado Rose Onyx, a rare rose marble from a quarry near Beulah, Colorado. White Yule Marble from the quarries near Marble, Colorado was also used for the floors. Important interior spaces include the rotunda with its murals by local artist Allen Tupper True, the House and Senate chambers, and the old Supreme Court chamber. Many of the windows are stained glass, depicting people or events related to the history of Colorado. The halls are decorated with portraits of every president of the United States.

The official elevation of Denver is measured outside the west entrance to the building, where the fifteenth step is engraved with the words "One Mile Above Sea Level." A second mile high marker was set in the 18th step in 1869 when Colorado State University students resurveyed the elevation. In 2003, a more accurate measurement was made with modern means, and the 13th step was identified as being one mile high, where a 3rd marker was installed.

After our class reunion golf outing, Deana and I drove to Valparaiso, Indiana, to visit my parent's graves at Graceland Cemetery.

Our last visit there was during my mother's funeral. I had a general idea of the location of the burial plot, but cemetery's, like every place else, grow more populated over time. We stopped by the cemetery office for a map and got directions. After a walk through the area, I finally spotted my parent's tombstone. Upon examination, we were surprised to see that someone had planted impatiens in the urns on either side of the tombstone. Although the flowers were now dormant, it was cheering to see that an unknown person had taken the time to visit and decorate my parent's grave. We spent some time cleaning the area and contemplating.