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Oregon
State Capitol Tour
Tower, Oregon Pioneer
and Capitol Grounds
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Tower
and Oregon Pioneer
The Oregon Pioneer statue that tops the building is another work by Ulric
Ellerhusen. This heroic figure represents the spirit of Oregon's early settlers. |
| Cast in bronze and finished in gold leaf, it weighs 8.5 tons
and is hollow inside. The base of the 23-foot high statue is 140 feet above
the ground. The statue is reached by 121 steps spiraling up into the tower
from the fourth floor of the building out onto a deck providing a spectacular
view of Salem. |
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Capitol
Grounds
Ornamental and native trees and shrubs are featured in the landscaped areas
surrounding the Capitol. |
| To the east, Capitol Park is also the setting of three
statues representing major forces in Oregon history: The Circuit Rider by
A. Phimister Proctor is symbolic of the many missionaries who came to Oregon;
Gifford Proctor sculpted both Reverend Jason Lee, and Dr. John McLoughlin.
Lee, a minister, played a major role in the American colonization of Oregon. |
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He was also the founder of Oregon's oldest university, Willamette University
located south of the Capitol. McLoughlin was the chief factor of the Hudson's
Bay Company and was the first man to govern the Oregon territory, although he
held no official title.
Recent additions to the Capitol Park are fragments of Corinthian columns salvaged
from the Capitol destroyed by fire in 1935.
Willson Park, to the west, was a city park from 1853 until 1965 when it officially
became part of the Capitol grounds. It is the setting for the Waite Fountain,
Parade of Animals sculpture, a Liberty Bell replica, and a gazebo constructed
in 1982.
