This is the old Louisiana state capitol, now a museum. The original building was badly damaged by fire during the Civil War and rebuilt in the 1880's.
Mark Twain, apparently not a fan of historic preservation, wrote: "It is pathetic enough, that a whitewashed castle, with turrets and things - materials all ungenuine within and without, pretending to be what they are not- should ever have been built in this otherwise honorable place; but it is much more pathetic to see this architectural falsehood undergoing restoration and perpetuation in our day, when it would have been so easy to let dynamite finish what a charitable fire began...."
It might not be to everybody's taste, but it is clearly the product of an imaginative mind/. So was Huckleberry Finn, as a matter of fact (sorry ...fiction!)
So boo to you, Mr Twain.
Beautiful architecture and capture of it. Tanks Diane for the explanation. If Mr. Twain had lived to see the beton jungle or steel structures in today's cities he would have definitely changed his mind about this wonderful building.
So boo to you, Mr Twain.