DENVER—The 99-year-old gilded dome on the Colorado state Capitol is corroded and decaying, and Gov. Bill Ritter is asking lawmakers for $12 million for repairs.
“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.
The basic structure of the dome is cast-iron plates held together with bolts, and after nearly a century of Colorado winters, some are corroding. Last year, a chunk of cast iron broke away from the exterior and fell to a stairwell below.
The restoration plan targets the iron plates, along with gutters and downspouts, foundation walls, wooden window frames and broken skylights.
The 24-karat gilded sections are dimpled from Colorado’s frequent and fierce hailstorms but are otherwise intact and are low on the state’s priorities.
If lawmakers approve the money, restoration could begin in 2008. The work is projected to take two years.
Shepherd said once preservationists and architects get a closer look at the damage, the estimated repair bill could run higher than the $12 million Ritter is requesting.
Lawmakers are already questioning how the state will come up with the money.
“We have other pressing needs,” said Rep. Alice Borodkin, D-Denver. “I want the governor to show me the money.”
Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said the repairs can’t be postponed because the dome is becoming a serious safety hazard.
“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.”
About 300 people a day climb the 99 steps into the dome to take in the sweeping views of the Front Range. The dome closed for security reasons after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington and did not reopen until February of this year.
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Information from: Rocky Mountain News,
