Restoration experts renovate the floor of the Georgia Senate chambers. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Lawmakers may be gone, but work is still being accomplished underneath Georgia’s Gold Dome this summer. With legislators away, architects have started to give both the House and Senate chambers a makeover.
Construction is also underway across the street, where a new legislative office is being built to house lawmaker offices and committee rooms. Both projects are a part of a $392 million renovation plan the Georgia General Assembly approved last year.
The Gold Dome has been a symbol of the state since its construction in 1889. Renovation plans are designed to preserve this history while simultaneously celebrating a new chapter.
“It’s a place of history as well as a place of government, and so the building itself should reflect that,” said Timothy Crimmins, co-author of “Democracy Restored: A History of the Georgia State Capitol.”
When the state Capitol was initially constructed, there was a strict $1 million dollar budget and a requirement that Georgia materials should be utilized when possible. Financial restraints made it difficult to locally source some construction materials. This led to Indiana limestone being used for the exterior of the Capitol and European carpets being imported for interior chambers.
The current renovation of the Capitol is being done in the same spirit. Backed by a $83 million restoration budget for the historic Capitol building alone, the project has already incorporated local materials from floor to ceiling.
Shaw Floors, a Dalton-based company, made the new carpet being installed in both the House and Senate chambers. Long dubbed the “Carpet Capital of the World,” Dalton is known for producing between 85 to 90% of U.S. carpet, according to state Rep. Kasey Carpenter, a Republican who represents Dalton.
“It’s a sense of pride obviously for northwest Georgia to make sure that we have a place in the Capitol,” Carpenter said.
Dalton isn’t the only city that has found a place to shine at the Capitol. Dahlonega gold was used last year when Georgia’s iconic dome was regilded during initial renovation stages.
While a lot of change has happened at the Capitol since 1889, Gerald Pilgrim, the Georgia Building Authority chief of staff who is overseeing renovations, said he hopes that by the end of the project, the Capitol will look and feel a lot like its early days.
To bring this vision back to life, Pilgrim and his team have emphasized historical accuracy by hiring historical preservation architects and a preservationist subtractor. Together, even small details like lighting and color schemes have been fact checked. Numerous light studies were conducted after restoring chandeliers from the 1900s to ensure that each bulb emits an appropriate glow.
Lawmakers’ desks are currently being refinished and will all receive a new USB port before returning to the Capitol. Chairs have been replaced with replicas, but old chairs will be kept in storage and be made available by seat-holder’s request.
Skybridge debate lingers
Construction at the new legislative office building has progressed and is on track to be finished by the end of next year.
“At the (Coverdell building) the offices were very small and cramped,” Pilgrim said. “Everybody’s (new) office is going to be the same size. They’re all going to be 226 square feet, which is about double what they currently have, and all (offices) have a window view of either the Capitol or downtown Atlanta, there’s not an obstructed view in the building.”
The eight-story building will also feature a skybridge meant to create an accessible way to move between the new offices on Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SW and the Capitol building.
Constructing a bridge or tunnel has been a decades-long conversation at the statehouse. Crimmins said an earlier proposal to add a bridge from the Capitol to the current legislative office across Mitchell Street was ultimately rejected. Officials instead reduced traffic with street closures.
When conversations about a skybridge reemerged, the idea was met with concerns from preservationists. Pilgrim said the Georgia Building Authority considered alternatives before deciding that the skybridge was the best option.
“We looked at doing a tunnel with the cost being about four times more expensive,” Pilgrim said. “But more importantly, the tunnel was not going to improve accessibility.”
To address preservationists’ concerns, Pilgrim said the skybridge will bear its own weight and won’t require any demolition. This allows the bridge to be easily removed in future years if the project does not prove to be as successful as anticipated. Construction will use similar materials that match the Capitol’s existing aesthetic and include arches that mimic the building’s renaissance style architecture.
David Mitchell, executive director of the Atlanta Preservation Center, has been a vocal opponent of the skybridge. Comparing it to a “bizarre umbilical cord,” he argues that claims of improved accessibility are ironic considering the limited public awareness and outreach about renovations.
“You’re telling me you’re spending $10 million for something to be used for four months, if even,” Mitchell said, referring to the skybridge. “It’s not like it’s being used 12 months out of the year, and is helping multiple handicapped accessible people. We’re not talking about something like an ADA compliance, we’re talking about during the session when the greatest usage of this will take place.”
Despite continued debate over the skybridge, construction was approved in June when the Atlanta City Council signed over the air rights that will allow the bridge to be built next year.
Original library will be restored
If entering the Capitol from the skybridge, pedestrians will be welcomed through a soon-to-be-restored state library that was part of the original Capitol. The two-story library will bring a variety of books back to the statehouse and offer additional meeting spaces for public affairs.
The library was converted into office space around 1910 and was completely eliminated by 1950, according to Pilgrim. After the restoration, the current offices and copy room occupying the space will relocate to the first floor. An observation space is planned to give visitors a chance to watch the restoration process.
“We’ll have Plexiglas partitions in there so when school groups come in and tour, they’re going to see the artisans in there doing the work,” Pilgrim said.
Renovations and new construction are all on track to be completed by the end of 2027. The three-year project is not expected to interfere with next year’s legislative session.
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This post was originally authored and published by Amber Roldan from Georgia Recorder via RSS Feed. Join today to get your news feed on Nationwide Report®.
