OLYMPIA - The ornate ceiling on the gallery of the state house of representatives carries a secret message.

The oak leaves on the state seal and around the ceiling symbolize strength, according to tour guide Rita Niesen. Laurels signify peace, and rosettes are for beauty. The egg-and-dart symbol means life and death.

"We hope when they're voting they remember to keep our state beautiful, and that many of these issues are life-and-death matters for us," Niesen said.

Niesen is one of several volunteers who lead hourly tours of the legislative building in Olympia. A retired school teacher from Wenatchee, Niesen shares many bits of knowledge during the free, hour-long tour.

The domed capitol building cost about $7 million to build when it was completed in 1928. To recreate it today, with the same materials and craftsmanship, would cost about $1 billion.

After suffering damage in a 2001 earthquake, the building underwent a $120-million rehabilitation. The quake caused some cracks and sagging of the 287-foot tall dome, yet the building has survived three earthquakes.

Its walls and stairways are made of various kinds of marble. In the State Reception Room, Niesen likes to help school children find different shapes in the Italian "picturebook" marble, a process like watching clouds.

It's under these "silhouetted ladies" and "butterflies" that Washington's electoral college meets to cast votes in each presidential election. Their ballots will be well-lit. Nearly all the lighting in the legislative building was made by Tiffany's & Co. in New York.

The chandelier in the capitol rotunda weighs 10,000 pounds and is large enough to fit a Volkswagen Beetle inside. Also made by Tiffany's, a figurine-framed fire pot sits in each corner of the rotunda and imitates beacons the Romans used to indicate when the Senate was in session. They all have electric bulbs now.

The state pays tribute to its namesake with a bronze state seal, which features George Washington's face, on the floor of the rotunda. It wasn't roped off from the public originally, Niesen said, so Washington's face is a bit worn from visitors' feet.

On the third floor, a bronze bust of Washington bares evidence of visitors' hands. Its nose is rubbed for good luck, and is now particularly shiny.

People wishing to touch the Founding Father's nose for themselves or see their state legislators in action can visit the capitol in Olympia year-round, although the legislature generally meets from January to March or April.

The guided public tours are offered hourly until 3 p.m., beginning at 10 a.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends.