Off Limits Triangle: North Carolina State Capitol

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- North Carolina history fills the halls at the state capitol building.

Yes, tours of the buildingare available to the public, though a tour will not take you to the top.

But ABC11 has able to access that space and has a reenactment of what you'd see.

Picture this ...

A velvet rope keeps visitors from climbing 28 narrow steps.

On the right are two doors, one that seems impossible to get into. And to the left, a single white door.

The first door requires a bit of acrobatic skill to get into, but history fills the room.

"These are really the bones of the building," said Terra Schramm of North Carolina Historic Sites.

Schramm is referring to the thick heart of pine beams.

The pines hold up nearly 200 years worth of history, including names carved into them like Civil war soldiers and members of General Sherman's troops when they occupied the space in April of 1865.

"We have discovered some graffiti when they had signed and dated it."

Exiting the first room and moving to the only door that opens to the right, we find ourselves in the highest accessible point inside of the building.

This spot has a small window that overlooks the round ceiling of the building.

The window acts an access point to lights that are on a rope. The rope enables lights to be changed with ease.

Also in the room, an air rade from World War II.

It was once mounted to the top of the building in case citizens of Raleigh were to come under attack.

"All sorts of things are kind of hidden up in these spaces," Schramm said.

As we exit that room, we step to one more, the final door on the left. It opens to reveal a small space that leads to a walk around the top of the circled building. Those who leave this room are required to wear a harness to travel around the outside of the building.