The Texas State Capitol is the capitol and seat of government of the American state of Texas. Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the structure houses the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and of the Governor of Texas. Designed in 1881 by architect Elijah E. Myers, it was constructed from 1882 to 1888 under the direction of civil engineer Reuben Lindsay Walker. A $75 million underground extension was completed in 1993. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
Thomas David Van Orden was an American lawyer who challenged the constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas Capitol under the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Van Orden v. Perry, 125 S. Ct. 2854 (2005).
Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677 (2005), was a United States Supreme Court case involving whether a display of the Ten Commandments on a monument given to the government at the Texas State Capitol in Austin violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) is a conservative, state-based think tank in Oklahoma, US.
The Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza is an urban park and gathering place in front of the Arizona state capitol complex in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. One of the Phoenix Points of Pride, it is the site of various memorials honoring prominent figures, wars, and events in Arizona history.
James Michael Ritze is an American politician from the state of Oklahoma United States. A Republican, Ritze served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, representing the 80th district, which includes parts of Tulsa and Wagoner counties.
Prescott v. Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission, 2015 OK 54, 373 P.3d 1032, was a landmark case by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in which the Court found the placement of a Ten Commandments Monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol was unconstitutional.
The Ten Commandments Monument is an outdoor monument installed on the Arkansas State Capitol grounds in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the United States. The monument is being challenged as unconstitutional by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU says that the monument demonstrates a religious preference, violating the First Amendment and the religious preference prohibition clause of the Arkansas State Constitution.
The Ten Commandments Monument, authorized by the Oklahoma legislature and approved by the governor in 2009, was installed on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol, in Oklahoma City, in 2012. The mere concept engendered years of political controversy, court suits based on religious freedom of religion issues, destruction in 2014 by a man who drove his car into it, replacement in the same location, and even attempts to remove Supreme Court justices who ruled in 2014 that the monument must be removed to another site. After Governor Mary Fallin, key legislators, and the justices agreed on a substitute site, the monument was removed from the capitol grounds in 2015.
The statue of Baphomet is a bronze sculpture commissioned by The Satanic Temple depicting Baphomet, a winged, goat-headed, humanoid and a symbol of the occult. First unveiled in Detroit in 2015, the statue stands 8.5 feet (2.6 m) tall and features a prominent pentagram as well as two smiling youths gazing up at the seated central figure. Petitions to display the piece on public grounds have resulted in arguments concerning the separation of church and state. Production of the statue, and its initial notoriety, is featured in the documentary Hail Satan? (2019).
The Pearl Harbor Monument is a memorial commemorating Texans enrolled in the military during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The Texas Sunset Red Granite and marble monument was designed by Scott Field and erected by the Pearl Harbor Survivors of Texas in 1989. It features inscriptions and the bronze seal of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.
The Tejano Monument is a memorial commemorating the impact of Tejanos on Texas culture and history, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The monument was sculpted by Armando Hinojosa and erected by Tejano Monument, Inc. in 2012. It features nine life-size bronze statues on a 275-ton Texas Sunset Red Granite base, and five plaques describing Tejano history.
Terry's Texas Rangers Monument is an outdoor memorial commemorating Terry's Texas Rangers, a regiment of the Confederate Army installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The monument was designed by Pompeo Coppini and erected in 1907.
The Texas Cowboy Monument is an outdoor memorial commemorating Texas' cowboys, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The monument was sculpted by Constance Whitney Warren and erected in 1925. It features a bronze statue of a cowboy on a rearing horse atop a concrete base.
The Texas Pioneer Woman Monument is an outdoor memorial commemorating the pioneer women of Texas, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The monument was sculpted by Linda Sioux Henley and erected by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, District VIII, in 1998. It features a bronze statue of a pioneer mother and her baby on a Texas Sunset Red Granite pedestal.
The Tribute to Texas Children Monument is an outdoor memorial commemorating children of Texas, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The monument was sculpted by Lawrence Ludtke, funded by students from 600 schools across the state, and erected in 1998. It features bronze statues of children on a field trip to the Capitol.
The Volunteer Firemen Monument is an outdoor memorial commemorating Texan volunteer firefighters who died while in service, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. It was erected by the State Firemen's Association of Texas in 1896, and modified in 1905. The monument features a bronze sculpture of a fireman carrying a child in his left arm and a lantern in his opposite, designed by J. Segesman. The statue rests on a granite base designed by Frank Teich, which has a ring of granite pillars with inscribed names of volunteers. According to the Texas State Preservation Board, the memorial has "historical omissions and errors", which have been kept.
The World War I Monument is an outdoor memorial commemorating veterans of World War I, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The Texas Sunset Red Granite monument, designed by an unknown artist, was erected by members of the Department of Texas, Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1961. It lists the barracks and auxiliaries that worked to create the memorial.
The Statue of Liberty Replica Monument is an outdoor replica of the Statue of Liberty, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The bronze replica was cast by the Friedley-Voshardt Company and erected by the Boy Scouts of America in 1951.
