Starting at Broadway Street and heading east or more southeast on High Street, we first see the Roman Catholic Proto Cathedral of St. Peter, just across the street from the Missouri Capitol. A proto cathedral is a former cathedral; the present church dates from 1883, and it was the seat, or cathedra of the diocese from 1956 to 1968.

Moving up the hill on High Street is the stately, Art-Deco Broadway State Office Building, from 1938.

It is a fantastic example of the Art-Deco style, but I wonder why they built it so small; I’m sure it was overflowing in a relatively short time period and more government office space was needed.

Keene & Simpson were the architects and Lehr Construction Company were the contractors.

The exterior is ashlar blocks made of Carthage Marble, a famous building material that serves as the front steps and other details of many St. Louis houses and office buildings. It is not actually marble but beautiful limestone that was perhaps on the way to becoming metamorphic rock.

It reminds me in many ways of the Carnahan Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, and of course they were built in the same era.

And of course, our stunning capitol, which I still think is one of the best in the United States, and I’m not just saying that.

I’m intrigued by the fountains out front, perhaps inspired by similar altars in the Sanctuary of Delphi in Greece; there is a similar one in DuPont Circle in Washington, DC.

Now we move up into the main commercial strip of Jefferson City, which I actually looked at way back in May of 2008.

Things have definitely changed in the previous seventeen years (and 124 years, as well).

For one thing, many buildings seem to have been rehabbed since my last visit.

And I have no recollection of this office building, which was obviously there last time.

The aqua slipcover which was so prominent in my old photos is certainly gone, and I think I can see the building in the photo below that is now free of that mid-century modern appurtenance.