Coming to an end

Statuary Hall and the restored barrel vaulted ceiling

Senate Lounge
Senate Chamber

Goernor's Office

The dome from the central rotunda.

The central rotunda

The building exterior

A new meeting room in the new underground wings.

The new underground wings

As most of you know I have been working on the restoration of the Idaho State Capitol Building for most of the time we have lived in Boise. After 120 million dollars, and about 15,000 hours my project is quickly coming to an end. The Grand Opening, which was last week, lasted three days. The final day of the grand opening festivities was for the public, and after all the speeches ended the public was allowed to stream into the building. The building has been empty for almost three years, and it was great to finally see it alive and full of energy.

We saved as many of the historic elements off the building as was feasible, and I think that the original Architects would have been pleased. The beauty of the building had been slowing covered over the years as spaces were remodeled. We found lots of old memorabilia, and artifacts hidden deep in the walls and attic spaces. We also completely replaced the mechanical, plumbing, electronic, and technology systems which were badly outdated and inefficient. The amount of money the tax payers will save with these updated systems is immeasurable.

In about a month I will start on a new project. I'm not sure what that will be yet, but I'm sure it will be vastly different from this one.