– First, it’s a long exposure taken at night. This is obvious because the lit windows are visible and there’s a streak of light on the right side of the photo from a car driving past.
– It’s hard to see in this shrunk-down version, but a string of utility poles runs from the lower left diagonally to the center right of the shot, and I’m not sure if they’re power lines or telephone wires.
– The original capitol building had burned down and the bottom two floors were all that survived. It was suggested to me that you can see it in the center-right portion of the shot, right below the “.com” of the watermark. I’m not sure if that’s true, or if it’s a portion of the Liberty Memorial Building.
– The landscape was far different then, as you can see the road in the foreground and the slope of the hill.
How cool would it be if they still did this every Easter? Hm…
I recently found the Bismarck/Mandan blog and enjoyed Mr. Eastgate’s picture. I contacted my uncle Warren (88) to get an input/confirmation on the picture. Here is his response to me:
“The two story brick building in the east foreground is the old capital building. It caught fire on December 28, 1930, my 8th birthday. At breakfast time, we could see smoke from our north windows at 801 Fourth St, so we ran out to the alley behind us and looked north, thinking that the old William Moore School (one block north) was on fire. We soon learned that the Capital was burning.
Many investigations occurred and the only answer to stop more investigations was that it was caused by an oily rag left in a warm place. We all joined the crowd watching the fire. I can remember going in the 2-story structure several times, most likely with my dad. The rest of the state offices were scattered all over Bismarck until the new building was completed.
We walked to the new site often to watch the excavation, the steam shovels, and construction bit-by-bit until it topped out. There were huge lignite furnaces in the lower level and the state had to use a state product. Years later, natural gas from North Dakota sources permitted the conversion of the furnaces to natural gas.
The old photo is taken from the southwest by south so the World War Memorial Building is not visible. The water tower was a laced structure on the east side of the old capital building. It had a leaky base area. We called it a spring and often drank the water.
I seem to remember, but not very clearly, that there was a carpenter shop or maintenance shop nearby. Also, there was a shooting range to the east where we often dug up lead shot that we melted and cast into various objects. Near by was a grove of wild plums and the old Teddy Roosevelt cabin that had been moved from the Bad Lands area and was later moved back there.
The photo was likely taken about Easter 1935. I think that construction started in 1932 and was completed in 1934. Everybody went to the Capital area for the dedication and I remember that it was nice day. The photo shows that the new building is obviously occupied by workers and the old Capital building has not been torn down yet. They were probably waiting for spring weather to remove it.”
Very unusual picture. I have never read anything about a cross being on the capital building …. I wonder how many years this was done.
Very cool. Happy Easter, Clint!