Capitol Dome gets a facelift

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Capitol Dome facade and Texas House of Representatives chambers ceiling is being restored and spruced up for the first time in 20 years.

To get to the top of the Texas State Capitol's striking pink dome, you take the elevator to the upper levels. Then up even further via a winding staircase.

Then finally, the whole city of Austin seems to open up as you step gingerly onto thousands of wooden planks and jointed metal pipes supporting thousands of pounds of boots and equipment 6 long hot days a week.

It's the modern stuff of restoration that allows the old to become new again.

"The scope of this project was not to create a new Capitol, but to preserve the old Capitol," said Project Manager Dave Stauch.

Stauch and his crew of 80 have been working for the past two months on 13 levels of the Capitol. From the iconic pink dome to the ceiling of the Texas House gallery, he hopes to be finished with the $3.5 million dollar project in time to decorate for Christmas.

There's an inner and outer dome supported by a steel structure. The painting process itself involves striping, priming and repainting so that it can last for 25 years in the harsh Texas elements without a touch up.

Famous tough Texas granite is the stuff of legends. And another legend? That the Capitol Dome built in 1885 is made of it.

The dome is mainly cast iron and sheet metal. And whatever you do, don't argue with a Texan about just which state in the union boasts the tallest capitol building. The biggest is in Texas. Period! (Even if it really is in... Louisiana.)

"It used to be. It's gone down now. We're still the tallest," jokes Stauch.

The inside of the House gallery will also get a makeover.

The beautification and restoration of the original 19th century moulding starts in separate quadrants at the top. The people who restore these building say no matter how many times they come back to restore it, there is always something new that can be learned.

"Part of the restoration when we did it in the 90's, we had to bring people out of retirement and teach them how to do decorative plastered ornaments which isn't done anymore. So we had to have the old people teach the young people how to do that work," he said.

And some of that work came with a handful of surprises.

"Part of the process to stripping paint, you may find that the ornamentation comes off with it. This paint over time has built up quite a bit, so that's some of what you see," he said.

The State Preservation Board says the capitol building is being restored all of the time on a smaller scale, and if nothing else it's a labor of love and of Texas pride.