Foyer

The theme of the Foyer is the “Life of Man”. On the floor are three mosaics which represent the Earth, “The Spirit of the Soil”, “The Spirit of Vegetation” and “The Spirit of Animal Life”. The three medallions in the ceiling represent “Traditions of the Past”, “Life of the Present” and “Ideas of the Future”.

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The window arches contain figures to represent the activities of society: the Family, the School, Recreation, Reflection, Beauty and Truth. The four inward facing ceiling panels symbolize Law, Labor, Public Spirit and Religion.

The six large mosaics on the walls were commissioned to celebrate Nebraska's Centennial in 1967. They are: The United State Survey by Charles Clement, The Blizzard of 1888 and Tree Planting by Jeanne Reynal, The Coming of the Railroad by F. John Miller, and The Spirit of Nebraska and The Building of the Capitol by Reinhold Marxhaussen.

The Murals

The United States Survey

The Blizzard of 1888

Tree Planting

The Coming of the Railroad

The Building of the Capitol

The Spirit of Nebraska

The Nebraska Hall of Fame was dedicated in 1961 and includes busts of individuals who have served Nebraska and the nation. Starting in the Foyer, the Hall of Fame continues in the Courtyard Galleries.

The Galleries housing Nebraska's Hall of Fame over look the Capitol's four interior courtyards. The Capitol's Architectural plan called out fountains in each courtyard. Unfortunately, the Great Depression stopped the installation. To celebrate the State's Sesquicentennial, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature funded the installation of the fountains. They were dedicated in September of 2017 when Governor Ricketts flipped a switch and the water began to flow.




An anonymous donor provided the funds to line the fountains with colored and gold Venetian glass. The blue, white, red and yellow glass tiles are the colors of the Native American Medicine Wheel. This work was completed in 2019. The fountains will be filled and running as the current HVAC project activity allows.







The Former Legislators of the Nebraska Unicameral have raised funds to restore the original 1934 Ernst Herminghaus landscape plan. The southwest courtyard landscape will be the first to be restored in 2020. Landscape restoration will also be dependent on the progress of the HVAC Project.