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Preservation and Progress at the Virginia State Capitol

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Preservation and Progress at the Virginia State Capitol Preservation and Progress at the Virginia State Capitol by James E. Wootton Jefferson ultimately chose the Maison Carrée, a first--century Roman temple in Nîmes, as his model. Executive Director Capitol Square Completing his designs by the end of 1785, Jefferson Preservation Council also contracted with a noted French model--maker, Jean--Pierre Fouquet, to create a scale model of the Capitol with meticulous attention to each detail of the exterior. This exacting attention revealed an ulterior motive to Jefferson’s design. In a letter to his friend, James Madison, Jefferson asked, “But how is a taste in this beautiful art to be formed in our countrymen unless First--time visitors to the Virginia State Capitol often we avail ourselves of every occasion when public experience a sense of dejà-vu when they behold the buildings are to be erected, of presenting to them building that has overlooked downtown Richmond for models for their study and imitation?” more than two hundred years. The sense that “I’ve seen There can be no doubt that Jefferson intended his this before” is understandable. In designing the State design for the Capitol to be a model for American civic Capitol, Thomas Jefferson introduced the monumental architecture, and its effect was both immediate and Classical style to the modern world. Countless public widespread. With its prominence on the Richmond buildings, from capitols and courthouses to churches skyline, the Capitol appeared as a dominant feature in and city halls, have been adapted or inspired by this virtually all nineteenth--century depictions of the city. From 1862 until April 1865 the Capitol served as first example of a Classical temple being used as the statehouse both to the General Assembly of Virginia model for a modern building. and to the Congress of the Confederate States. During the Civil War the Capitol often appeared in both Union Jefferson was living in France on a diplomatic mission and Confederate newspapers, and its image was when he developed his plans for the Virginia State frequently reproduced on Confederate currency. Capitol. In 1780, as Governor of Virginia, Jefferson By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Virginia had persuaded the Virginia General Assembly to move General Assembly had severely outgrown the Capitol. the Capitol about 50 miles upstream along the James After sponsoring a design competition, the assembly River. The move was prompted by concerns that the agreed to a renovation that would maintain the existing Capitol at Williamsburg was vulnerable to Jefferson Capitol while adding a wing for each of the enemy assault in the midst of the Revolutionary War. two houses of the legislature. The wings would be Placing the Capitol on Shockoe Hill, a high bluff designed after the Capitol on a smaller scale, and they overlooking the James River at Richmond, would would be attached to it by enclosed corridors called provide a site both readily defensible and decidedly “hyphens.” In 1964 the hyphens were slightly prominent. enlarged, and the Capitol was outfitted with a new heating and cooling system. More recent Before he left for France, Jefferson decided to use a improvements have included an automation project Roman temple as the model for the new Capitol. completed in the fall of 1999. The chambers for the Where the ancient Romans built their temples to their house of delegates and the senate were outfitted with an gods, Jefferson’s Capitol would be a temple to civic upgraded sound system and technological government and civic architecture. With assistance infrastructure to support a network of computer from French draftsman, Charles--Louis Clérisseau, interfaces and electronic voting systems. Fall 2001 E JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LEGISLATIVE CLERKS AND SECRETARIES Page 1 A sixteen--acre park called Capitol Square surrounds Jean--Antione Houdon and the only statue for which the Capitol. Just to the northeast of the Capitol is the Washington ever posed. Virginia executive mansion, completed in 1813 and home of the governor and first family. It is the The council has identified several priorities it is now country’s oldest governor’s mansion in continuous use pursuing. Among the most pressing is the lack of a as a residence. Statues of such prominent Virginians as master landscape plan. Most people who visit or work Edgar Allan Poe and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson on Capitol Square readily admit that the square are also on Capitol Square. Other landmarks on the possesses a unique sense of place. Although a square include a monumental bronze equestrian statue dedicated grounds crew maintains Capitol Square of George Washington, completed in the 1850s, and the throughout the year, there is no guide to developing and three--story brick Bell Tower, completed in 1824. maintaining landscape features or such outdoor Whenever the general assembly meets, the bell in the furnishings as benches and light fixtures. In March Bell Tower tolls to ring in the session. 2000 the council sponsored a one--day landscape workshop led by Charles Birnbaum of the National Park Service’s Historic Landscape Initiative. The With such a long and distinctive history, the Virginia workshop focused on those elements of the landscape State Capitol is a natural destination for visitors to that make Capitol Square distinctive and showed how Richmond. It is impressive that the general assembly relatively small changes can, over time, negatively continues to meet at this site more than two hundred affect the appearance of the square. Termed years after it first convened its 1788 session in the “degradation by increment,” these changes remove still--unfinished building. Maintaining the balance character--defining features and replace them with between a public historic site and a working Capitol is more generic forms. The landscape workshop led to an ever--evolving, ever--demanding challenge. In 1999 the creation of a request for proposals to develop a the general assembly created the Capitol Square master landscape plan. Working with the Department Preservation Council, a fourteen--person body that of General Services, the council is now in the midst of includes the clerks of the house and senate; the raising funds to implement the proposal. The Garden secretary of administration; and individuals Club of Virginia gave the landscape initiative a major representing historic, architectural, landscape, boost in July with its pledge of $25,000 for developing gardening, and cultural organizations from throughout the landscape plan. the state. The full council meets quarterly, and individual committees meet as needed. Two historic buildings on Capitol Square merit the council’s concern and action. The former state finance In June 2000 the council hired an executive director to building, constructed at the turn of the last century in coordinate its work and to be a daily presence on the Classical style, has been unoccupied for over a Capitol Square. The director’s responsibilities vary decade. Although some funds have been used for roof from administration and fundraising to writing and repair and stabilization, budget disputes have brought lecturing on the history of Capitol Square. The director at least a temporary end to plans for a full renovation of works closely with the clerk of the house, the clerk of the building. Nearby, the building that once housed the the senate, the Department of General Services, and the Virginia State Library also remains vacant. This curator for the state art collection. The clerks have been Art--Deco building was completed in 1940 as a WPA instrumental in developing a consistently high level of project. Although still in stable condition, it is care and conservation for the state’s art collection increasingly being used as a storage area and is without housed in the Capitol. The curator works closely with a plan of action. Many people, including members of professional conservators to maintain the long--term the council, envision this building as a future visitors conservation of such treasures as the Houdon statue, a center and exhibit area welcoming people to Capitol life--size marble statue of George Washington by Square. Page 2 E JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LEGISLATIVE CLERKS AND SECRETARIES Fall 2001 The other buildings and statues on Capitol Square are vulnerable to the influences of age and weathering. Continuing maintenance concerns include the staining of exterior surfaces by acid rain and mold growth, keeping gutters and leaders clear so rain water is directed away from structures, and repairing areas where a coating or mortar begins to show deterioration. Sometimes a treatment that was once desirable becomes less so over time. When the group of statues surrounding the bronze equestrian statue of Washington was cleaned in the late 1980s, each statue was sealed with synthetic shellac considered to be state of the art. Twenty years later conservators gave estimates for new work to stabilize the weathering surfaces of the statues. The old solution was considered less desirable than the proposed regular application of a pigmented wax, a less--permanent but decidedly less--intrusive solution. Whether dealing with buildings, statues, or landscapes, no solution will ever be maintenance--free. The answer lies in recognizing and implementing the specific maintenance treatment that best fits the needs of each specific site. Virginia’s Capitol Square is many things: A landmark of American architecture, the seat of Virginia’s state government, official residence of Virginia’s governor, home to some of the state’s and the nation’s great art treasures, a public park, a gathering spot for rallies, and the site of many historic triumphs and tragedies. With its many identities and associations, Capitol Square remains a site unique in American political, social, and architectural history; and it sets the stage for charting the state’s future throughout the 21st century and beyond.
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