STATEHOUSE NEWS


Virtual Tour Online 2021
This month the Ohio Statehouse Museum and Education staff will present a virtual tour of the Ohio Statehouse that will focus on how our state government works. You can virtually join the tour through Facebook Live at 12 p.m. on Friday, May 21, 2021.

The Ohio Statehouse: A Working Government Building

The virtual tour will feature the Ohio Statehouse as the location where state laws are made. When the Ohio Statehouse was new in 1861, all three branches of state government fit inside 53 rooms. Since then, our state and our government has grown. The judicial branch, the Supreme Court of Ohio, is in a separate building now. There are executive branch offices for the Governor and others inside the Ohio Statehouse. The historic Governor’s Office is often where the Governor signs a bill into law.

The legislative branch, the Ohio General Assembly, continues to make laws inside the Ohio Statehouse. The virtual tour will walk viewers through the process by viewing public spaces, hearing rooms and at least one of the legislative chambers.

Learn more about law making at the Statehouse by taking part in our virtual tour at 12 p.m. on Friday, May 21. You can join through Facebook Live, and you do not need a Facebook account to participate.

Please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/161028022636111.

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In accordance with the orders issued by the President in honoring Peace Officer Memorial Day and Police Week, the flags will be flown at half-staff throughout the State of Ohio from sunrise to sunset on May 15, 2021.
 
 
 

May 3, 2021 at Ohio Statehouse
In honor of the life and service of Nelsonville Firefighter Jeff Armes, the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Athens County, the Ohio Statehouse, the Vern Riffe Center, and the Rhodes State Office Tower until sunset on the day of his funeral. All other public buildings and grounds throughout the state may fly the flags at half-staff at their discretion for the same time period.

Update: 5/5/21
The funeral for Nelsonville Firefighter Jeff Armes will take place on Friday, May 7, 2021. Flags may be raised back to full-staff on Friday at sunset.
 
 
 

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In honor of the life and service of US Army Staff Sergeant Kyle McKee, of Lake County, who was killed November 12, 2020 in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the flags shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Lake County, the Ohio Statehouse, the Vern Riffe Center, and the Rhodes State Office Tower from sunrise to sunset on the day of his memorial, Saturday, April 24, 2021.

All others may fly the flags at half-staff at their discretion for the same time period
 
 
 

Rotunda Virtual Tour 2021
The date of the April Virtual Tour of the Ohio Statehouse has been changed from Thursday to Wednesday. [updated 4/27/21 CSRAB]

You can virtually join the tour through Facebook Live at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28. The Ohio Statehouse Museum and Education staff’s Chris Matheney will present a virtual tour of the Ohio Statehouse that will focus on the building’s historic past and present.

The Ohio Statehouse: An Historic Landmark

The virtual tour will feature the Ohio Statehouse’s history, art and architecture. The building showcases the Greek Revival style, a type of design based on the buildings of ancient Greece. Because ancient Greece is the birthplace of democracy, the style had great meaning in our young American nation. In 1857, the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate began meeting in their respective chambers in the Statehouse, and most of the executive offices were occupied before the Civil War. The Statehouse has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. This honor recognizes the long history of the building and the continued role it will have in the life and lawmaking of the state of Ohio.

Learn more about the history of the Statehouse and the influential events that have taken place within its walls by taking part in our virtual tour at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28. You can join through Facebook Live, and you do not need a Facebook account to participate. Please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/493939188272242.

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Flag in Rotunda 2021
An historic 156-year old thirty-six star American flag is currently on display in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda. The flag’s display includes an exhibit of Civil War artifacts related to the Lincoln funeral train and will be open to the public from April 21 to November 14, 2021.

The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) welcomes the return of the Thirty-Six Star flag that flew over Capitol Square during the repose of President Abraham Lincoln, on April 29, 1865. The flag originally was presented to David Nevin Murray of Portsmouth, Ohio for his contributions to the war effort on behalf of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Since then, Murray and succeeding members of his family lent the flag for parades, memorials, and special events, including the inaugurations of Governor John W. Bricker and Governor Frank Lausche at the Ohio Statehouse. In 1945, the flag hung in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda as a memorial for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The flag was donated to the Ohio History Connection in 2016 by David N. Murray’s great, great granddaughters, Lt. Colonel Mary K. Van Tilburg and Dr. Emmalou Van Tilburg. The flag is on loan from the Ohio History Connection until Veterans Day.

Included in this display is an exhibit of artifacts related to the Lincoln funeral journey. These artifacts are on loan from the descendants of Brig. General John C. Caldwell, a member of the Guard of Honor on Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train in 1865.

This exhibit is a good way to remember the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, even though CSRAB had to cancel the annual reenactment events this year. The Repose of Lincoln and the Civil War Encampment at the Ohio Statehouse will not take place in 2021.

The Ohio Statehouse is open to the public during working hours. Social distancing and face coverings are encouraged. Guided tours have been postponed until further notice. The Ohio Statehouse is closed on Memorial Day and on all state holidays.

Pictures available at http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/galleries/thirty-six-star-flag-in-rotunda

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Capitol Square today
In accordance with the orders issued by the President of the United States of America, in honoring the life and service of former Vice President Walter Mondale, the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout the State of Ohio until sunset on the day of internment.
 
 
 

file photo 2021
In accordance with the order issued by the President of the United States of America and in remembrance of the victims of the shooting in Indianapolis, Indiana, the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout the State of Ohio until sunset on April 20, 2021.
 
 
 
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