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Dome in need of do-over

Ritter earmarks $12 million to pay for Capitol repairs

By April M. Washington

Published November 23, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.

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A painting of the eighth president of the United States, Martin Van Buren, is one of many that hang below the dome of the state Capitol building in Denver.

Photo by Ken Papaleo © The Rocky

A painting of the eighth president of the United States, Martin Van Buren, is one of many that hang below the dome of the state Capitol building in Denver.

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At nearly 100 years old, it's no wonder the state Capitol's gilded dome is showing its age.

An independent study found that the dome, which was completed in 1908, is in need of major repairs because of years of neglect.

"We have pieces falling down that we need to do something about now," said Lance Shepherd, manager of design and construction for the Office of the State Architect.

Gov. Bill Ritter earmarked $12 million in next year's budget to pay for repairs.

But the costs could climb higher once a team of preservationists and architects start chipping away at the dome's exterior and interior to assess the damage, Shepherd said.

If the legislature approves the money, restoration work should get under way in 2008, following the Democratic National Convention next fall. The effort is expected to take up to two years.

All repairs will be done in a manner sensitive to the historic fabric of the building, said Shepherd.

The plan calls, in part, for addressing decay and corrosion to the exterior cast-iron features and elements of the dome, repairing and replacing gutters and downspouts, repairing foundation walls, refinishing exterior wood windows to prevent decay and rot, and replacing broken skylight panes.

Although severely dimpled from past hailstorms, the 24-karat gold-gilded portion of the dome is largely intact and ranks low on the list of priorities.

Some lawmakers are already questioning where the repair money will come from.

"I want to know where are we going to get $12 million," asked Rep. Alice Borodkin, D-Denver. "We have other pressing needs. I want the governor to show me the money."

Over the past five years, the state has spent between $8 million and $10 million annually from the Colorado Historical Society preservation fund on improvements to the Statehouse, said Rep. Bernie Buescher, chairman of the Joint Budget Committee, which sets the state's budget.

"My question to the governor is why isn't (the work) being done out of that fund," said the Grand Junction Democrat, who represents Mesa State College, which also is seeking state money to fix crumbling buildings.

Ritter's spokesman, Evan Dreyer, said the historical society denied, in part, a grant request to do extensive repairs to the dome.

The repairs can no longer wait because the dome's deterioration is becoming a serious safety hazard, Dreyer said.

"A piece of the structure actually fell into the stairwell," Dreyer said. "You can't allow a dangerous situation like that to continue to exist."

In 2006, the state hired a private firm to study the condition of the dome. Preservationist architects based in Chicago concluded "there is evidence of corrosion and decay on almost every feature of the dome."

That year, state architects and preservationists became increasingly alarmed when a chunk of cast iron broke away from the dome's exterior and dropped to a stairwell below, forcing workers to reinforce cornices with netting.

The rate of decay is increasing with each passing winter. In many cases, the freezing and thawing action has caused severe damage to the dome's exterior, said Hugh Fowler, a former lawmaker who is spearheading efforts to fix the structure.

"I don't think people realize everything above the roof is cast iron plates that are made to look like sandstone, and they're held together with nuts and bolts," said Fowler, chairman of the Capitol Building Advisory Committee. "On the outside of the building, where the nuts and bolts have been exposed to weather for over 100 years, they're not in good shape, and the fasteners have given way. This is a life and safety issue."

The dome was closed to the public following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The state reopened it last March. An estimated 300 people daily climb 99 steps to tour the structure.

"A lot of people come back who remember touring it as kid, and now they're bringing their kids," said Theresa Holst, supervisor of dome tours. "I know people will ask why it cost so much money to fix. It's important. People come from all over the world to look up to the dome. It just takes your breath away."

Gilded history

Some facts about Colorado's most recognizable building:

* Henry C. Brown, a developer who also built the historic Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver, donated the land on which the Capitol sits in 1867.

* Brown unsuccessfully sued the state to reclaim the site, bounded by Colfax Avenue and Grant, 14th and Lincoln streets, because it took nearly two decades before ground was broken for the statehouse.

* Construction of the building began in 1884. The completion date of the Capitol is recorded as 1908, when the 24-karat gold leaf was placed on the 42-foot-diameter dome.

* The double-drum dome structure rises to a height of 270 feet and is primarily formed out of cast-iron pieces that are bolted and screwed together.

* The outer dome has cast iron sections overlaid with gold leaf between the granite gray vertical ribs.

* The dome has been gilded with gold leaf four times: 1908, 1950, 1980 and 1991.

* The gold leaf comes on rolls of wax-like paper. It is carefully laid on the dome's surface with craftsmen using soft brushes. Then it's polished with tiny cotton balls.

Comments

  • November 24, 2007

    10:08 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Larrydcr writes:

    I would ask Representative Buescher to show me where the state was absolved from funding the capital needs of state buildings by the ballot issue that created the State Historic Fund. Every dollar that is spent on the Capital is a dollar that is not sent to Colorado communities to be used for the purposes envisioned by the voters. Similarly, the State Historic Fund was not intended to be a source for the Historical Society's operating expenses.

  • November 27, 2007

    6:04 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    pappy writes:

    I must be missing the point here.

    This is our STATE CAPITOL, and it is falling into disrepair (as in apart). I don't understand why we have allowed it to get into this condition, much less why there should be an issue whether we spend the money to repair it.

    Maybe I am just too proud of our state, and it's historical Governmental buildings. Maybe I think the Capitol Building is at least as important as an Opera hall refurbishment just approved for Denver.

    After all, if my rough calculations are correct, the funding would utilize $4 of my taxes for the year.

    Or, perhaps I just miss the point.

  • November 28, 2007

    4:28 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Theoldguy writes:

    Pappy you missed the point. You've been getting fleeced for years now they want to get to the lint at the bottom of your pockets.
    I just got a call from the Thompson group looking for a hand out. I wished them well and said that I'd help after I saw some changes in government. I've lived in a political Fantasyland since Kennedy. Now I have an attitude.

  • December 2, 2007

    1:59 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    mak writes:

    The STate Historical Fund and the Historical Society need serious overhauling. No one has any real oversite of them and the millions they spend and grant. Although they are supposedly under the department of Education, no one there is tasked with oversight, much less enforcement. We know of a State Historical Society employee who basically does nothing and yet collects a lovely salary and full benefits every year. Remember these are the same brilliant people who decided they'd run out a successful private family owned operation of the Georgetown Loop and essentially has slaughtered it's reputation and feasibility -some professionals have even gone so far as to question the safety of their operation. What happpened to the millions of dollars Gov Owens got from the Historical Society to repair the Capitol Building? Back to the original statement "The STate Historical Fund and the Historical Society need serious overhauling."

  • December 2, 2007

    6:46 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Brockage writes:

    Need money? They'll probably go for yet another Ref C.-- Of course they could cut some programs; that would be a nice change of pace.