Renovation: History

What an extraordinary effort!

A short twelve years after the Kansas Territory was opened for settlement and five after Kansas statehood, the state legislators were admiring the architects' drawings for the new Capitol, at more than 300,000 square feet, one of the largest in the nation. House Bill 34, entitled "An Act Providing for the Erection of the Statehouse" was passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by the Governor on February 14, 1866. The architect whose drawings first inspired the creation of the bill was Edward Townsend Mix, a 35-year old architect from Milwaukee who studied in New York City. Cyrus Holliday of Topeka, Chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings had Mix create the drawings. Championed by the Governor, local Kansas architect John G. Haskell also drew up his concept of the Capitol and placed it before the Committee. The initial plan was to build only the east wing of what would be a much larger building. The east wing was to be followed by the west wing, then by the center dome and north/south wings. Eventually the Mix plan was changed substantially, and today the design for the east wing is viewed as being more that of Haskell than Mix.

One of the Committees first actions was to hire Haskell as the architect for the project and set forward a number of changes to the previously approved Mix plan. The design objectives directed by the Committee included concern for fire resistance, natural lighting of rooms, and that the wings be attached after the manner of the wings of the National Capitol. Haskell was also directed by the Committee to learn the latest techniques of heating and ventilation by taking a trip to the monumental buildings of the eastern United States, but to go no further than Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, the search for a suitable building stone reached a feverish pitch. Of concern were both the quality of stone and the ability to quarry and transport sufficient quantities for timely supply to the building. The appropriate Kansas limestone was found near Manhattan, but there was no railroad constructed to transport material to the building site. Instead, the building began with stone from a local Topeka quarry. This Topeka limestone did not harden sufficiently between quarrying and construction of walls. By the following spring, the frost cycles of winter had severely deteriorated the last stones to be quarried. A decision was made to substitute Junction City limestone for the Topeka stone and the deteriorated pieces were removed and replaced with the new stone. By early summer of 1867, the contractor complained that the delays in the delivery of the stone were keeping the work from being completed on time. Local masons from Topeka replaced the stone contractor who requested and was released from his contract, and the stonework of the Capitol progressed with greater speed. All stonework of the building was done on site, except the capitals for the columns, which were done by a firm in Chicago. Stone was shipped from Junction City to Chicago, carved there, and then returned to Topeka. Full capitals, such as for the porticos, cost $800 and the capitals for the pilasters were $400. Bonds, general appropriations, and proceeds from the sale of State land provided funding for the construction of the east wing. Until the west wing was built, the legislative hall was split in two to accommodate the House of Representatives and the Senate, and included eight rooms for the clerks and committees. In 1881, the House moved into the new west wing before it was fully completed. The legislative hall was redone as the Senate Chambers under the direction of architects Haskell and Wood.

The Kansas Governor and Legislature wanted the finest Capitol for their State. They felt the Kansas Statehouse should rival the National Capitol as well as any of the best capitols of the eastern states. In Kansas in the 1860s, many of the typical houses were crude shacks and soddies. Perhaps the people of Kansas saw in their Capitol an expression of their pride in Kansas and their hope for the future. As the west wing rose from the earth, and then the center section was filled, followed by the rotunda and capitol dome reaching skyward, they could see that their faith was well placed. Their Statehouse grew, as did their own homes and their communities.

Although it was formally called the Kansas Statehouse, it was truly the Peoples House, and became both the symbol of governance and democracy. The Italian Renaissance Revival of Roman building, with its Corinthian columns, symbolized democracy in 19th-century public architecture. Because of this, the style was selected for the US Capitol and most capitols of the other states in the union.

Numerous newspapers of the day praised the Italian Renaissance Revival style of the Statehouse for its sense of strength, its association with governance, and its tangible feeling of permanence. As they said, It is being built to last a thousand years.

Stewards of the Legacy

The last portion of the original building was designed by Kenneth McDonald of Louisville, KY, and completed in March, 1903; however, even then, the building was thought to be incomplete. In 1917, improvements were made to the east wing to match the quality of details and finishes of the rest of the building. Still, elements of the building remained unfinished, including the Statue of Ceres at the apex of the dome, bas-relief sculpture in the tympanums of the porticos, and the interior sculptures and other works of art. The Governor and the Legislature had almost completed the State's greatest architectural treasure. Now they had to maintain the State's treasure. In 1902, before the building was completed, preservation of the building materials began with stone repair. In 1917, the deterioration of the stone exterior of the east wing was addressed. The interior of the building remained in good condition until the beginning of the 1920s, when a need for more space caused the infill of portions of the corridors. As electrical lighting became less expensive and more common, changes to the interiors included the blocking of skylights and using electric-powered light to replace natural light. The interior was no longer painted with natural light as the architects had intended.

As the 1920's gave way to the 30's and 40's and beyond, the historical integrity of the interior fell victim to the great need for more office space, for higher levels of lighting, and for air-conditioned comfort. The relationship between the stewards and their building exhibited an ongoing struggle between the needs of the users and the preservation of the building. In many cases, decorative painting was painted over rather than being retouched. In other places, the decorative painting was submerged under a layer of plaster. Modernization of the mechanical systems changed beautifully proportioned spaces by adding dropped ceilings. The spectacular marble corridors of the upper floors became crowded with desks, filing cabinets, stored chairs, wastebaskets, copy and vending machines, and even workstations. The passageways of the basement became clogged with pipes, duct work and conduit. The windows were removed from the basement and filled in with concrete block, leaving it fit only for storage and a few isolated offices. Over the last decade and a half, much has been done to remove intrusions to the interior of the building, including projects such as removal of wall-mounted electric wiring. There is still much to be done to restore the historic integrity of the entire building. Fortunately, most intrusions can be reversed without loss of, or damage to, historic materials. The partial restoration of the Senate Chambers and Hall of Representatives illustrates the amazing transformation when historic elements regain their original finishes. Today's stewards of the Capitol are taking action to preserve the most important historic building in Kansas.

As individuals, none of us would take our grandfather's valued gold watch and pass it down to our grandson without first making sure that the metal was polished, the broken crystal replaced, and the internal workings were operating with the greatest efficiency possible. So be it with the Capitol.