Thank you Michael, for your wide ranging unedited thoughts.  They are a true
pleasure to read.  Keep em coming.

Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Davidson <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
<[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, September 30, 1999 11:50 AM
Subject: Re: Corn gods


>The following is an account from a restoration journal; it is based on
>impressions and not anything of record
>
>Never before had I experienced in America such in depth beauty of masonry
>materials all under one roof;
> Iv'e worked on a few; Rockerfeller Center;Carnegie; St; John;Grand
Central;
>Ellis; Borough Hall ;The Lourve;Yale; Phila.City Hall embassies and
churches
>too numerous to mention  and that dosen't include pilgrimages to some of
the
>worlds most holy stone sights; grand Mosques; temples in stone from the
Greek
>gods to the great circles and labyrinths.
>Im not sure of Goodhue's intent here; it is a work deep in the arcane ; it
>has all the symbolism of the sacred grounded in "Nebraska Gothic" The
ground
>floors were for the seats of government; the upperfloors were meant to be a
>grand archival ; holding the akashic record of Nebraska's history; Goodhue
>and several artisans( Lorilee;Hildreth) and aided by some of the top
>mythological scholars of the day; designed and implemented a holy temple
>meant to rival the grand library of Alexandria that was one of the worlds 8
>wonders; they very well may have achieved it here.
>.
>The Neb state capital for masonry craftsmenship stands I believe(my
opinion)
>as one of the marvels of America.This truely is an experience rich in
inlays
>and mosaics and interpetive carving.Refered to sometimes as "collective" in
>style; it is a personal trasformative experience bordering on the religious
>if your into stone.
>
>Some years ago when I was doing marble work on our embassy in Athens
[Gropius
>sp?) I had the chance to visit much of Greece and the temples of antiquity;
>similiar work took me to North Africa and some esteemed Moslem mosques;I
>would say that the carefull thought put into this building parrales some of
>those great structures; but in style it is truly closest to( for my humble
>one eye) is Byzantine;....
> Complete with the Gustavino groin vaulting;and polycromate inlay tile
>ceilings;depicting sacred symbols of the plains indains.
>There are onyx windows and onyx balstrades; domes of glittering inlay and
>coffered ceilings of oak The central tower has  " Delphic"floors in
>geometrics of Vt. Green;Tenn Marble;Minn lime(beautifull)Belgian
>black;Botticcia ; and a curious red that might be from Colo. The collumns
are
>French and Italian; and a stone from Oklahoma that looks like the milkyway
>graces some of the senate rooms..
>"Athenia" with corn graces the central floor in exquisite inlay;complete
with
>a labyrinth from Chartes and Delphi... surrounding her are the four
>elements;also in inlay the size and perspective to be viewed from many
floors
>up.
>The central ceiling holds the sacred of sacred; the elohiem; the eight
angles
>of.. justice law.... prosperity .equality....ect ect (Hildreth Meijne
studio
>NYC} comlete in sacred buffalow robes;The borders are all in  stone detail;
>and all the plains tribes are represented here in style and sybolism;
Omaha;
>Lakotai; Souix nation; pawnee ect.
>You want to go barefoot; as you can eat off the floors as they are so
>polished and neat;no gum wrappers in the corners here; as a bevy of Aryan
>secretaries move about pertly in low slung heels and smartly arched
eyebrows
>with the shoulder sweaters draped dangerously over bare shoulder driving my
>french team into a feeding frenzy;of classic gaul eye contact and body
>language."Here we go again" I mutter.
>Politically;from a work standard
> I feel like I haven't entered a state capital; I feel like I'M in a page
out
>of the court of the Grand Vizar; where  the monks and the enuchs pad
merrily
>around silently through these glorious halls and chambers aiding the
>sentorians in great decisions of responsibility; My visit to one high
>official wasn't much different than Dorthy's visit to the great Oz with
large
>gothic offices and long entrances  where you are left standing in front of
>huge oak desks to get a dressing down for your creating dust in the palace
of
>Il Duce .This is not to mimalize the supuerb care that has gone into this
>place;: but as I watch the unison of adams apples go up and down on these
>officials in hard hats I can tell Im a long way from Kansas Toto.I can tell
>there will be as much paperwork here as there will be work and there will
be
>meetings about the next meeting; may God save us from ourselves
..Michael...
>    .copyright all rights reserved MD
>