Tallahassee, Fla. — Welcome to Florida Politics, the 1902 edition.
Welcome to the Florida Historic Capitol Museum. Museum Director Tiffany Bake has been talking political history in Tallahassee for more than a decade.
“We are open 363 days of the year. And we are free,” Baker said. “And so we love to welcome visitors to this historic backdrop for Florida’s political climate.”
The historical capital was restored to its 1902 footprint in the 1970s and 1980s.
And it included all three branches of government: the legislature, the Supreme Court and the governor’s office.
In the House chambers, Baker sets the scene.
“You are not even seeing everything that would have been in this space. There would have been rugs on the floor —spittoons at every single desk,” she explained.
You heard right — spittoons. All spitting aside, Baker showed off their historic black and white photographs at the entrance of the museum.
“Each one of these has a very special story,” said Baker.
They were references for recreating spaces, like the governor’s suite, from the technologically correct telephone to the color-accurate carpeting.
Look for pocket doors in the governor’s office — they hid out for 50 years before rediscovery.
Another surprise discovered in a wall: 100 pounds of glass pieces from the building’s original dome.
It took two years- but now light shines through same colored glass and pattern as a century ago.
“And this place would feel completely different if they have not done all of that work during the restoration,” said Baker, especially as the museum sits in the shadow of Florida’s modern seat of government.
It’s where the past meets the future.
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