South Carolina State Capitol

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina_State_House

"The South Carolina State House is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The building houses the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. It is located in the capital city of Columbia near the corner of Gervais and Assembly Streets.

The South Carolina State House was first designed by Vienna-born architect John Niernsee. Construction began in 1851, but the original architect was dismissed for fraud and dereliction of duty.[3] Soon thereafter, the structure was largely dismantled because of defective materials and workmanship. Work on the Niernsee redesigned structure began in 1855, slowed during the Civil War, and was suspended in 1865 as Sherman's Union Army entered Columbia on February 17. Although several public buildings were "put to the torch" when United States troops entered the city, the capitol building was not.

Example of one of the six bronze stars, marking the spots hit by Sherman's cannons.
The structure was damaged by artillery and smoke from the burning of adjacent structures. Building work was finally completed in 1907.

The building's grounds are home to several monuments. On the north side is a monument to South Carolina's Confederate dead, a monument that includes a flagpole flying a traditional version of the Confederate battle flag. The monument was established following a controversy which arose during the 2000 U.S. presidential campaign about the Confederate flag flying over the dome of the State House.[7] The flag, originally placed over the dome in 1962,[8], was moved to its present location on July 1, 2000..

The grounds are also home to a monument dedicated to the contributions and history of African-Americans, as well as one on the southwest of the South Portico that is dedicated to fallen South Carolina law enforcement officers. The grounds also feature statues of Senators Strom Thurmond and Benjamin Tillman."

The Model was created by: Paul Medley. See it in Google Earth here.