Goddess of Liberty Gets a Scrub Up

On top of classic-styled domes on state houses all across the country, the Goddess of Liberty looks out over our land from sea to shining sea. This lovely example is from the capital of Texas! CAPITOL From goddess to asbestos, a 10-month overhaul for dome Officials announce project to repaint, repair and refurbish. By Mike Ward AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Saturday, December 12, 2009 The Texas Capitol's granite-hued lid is about to get a makeover. State officials announced Friday that a project to repaint and repair the landmark dome is to begin in late February or March, with the top-knot being surrounded with scaffolding for the better part of 10 months. Also to get cleaned: the Goddess of Liberty statue atop the dome, though officials said it will be polished in place, not removed. Its removal in the 1980s became somewhat of a state embarrassment after workers had trouble getting it back in place. "This will be a significant maintenance project ... the first since the dome was painted in 1992 during the restoration of the Capitol," said John Sneed, executive director of the State Preservation Board, which oversees the 1888 statehouse. Lee Baker, the preservation board's facilities director, said the work will start at the goddess and move downward to the base of the dome. The project is expected to be complete by December 2010. While the dome looks from a distance like it is built of the same pinkish granite as the statehouse, it is actually inner and outer shells of galvanized sheet metal and cast iron pillars supported by the load-bearing stone and brick walls of the Capitol. It has been painted to match the building's granite color since the Capitol was opened, except for a short period in the early 1920s when it was painted white. Texans protested and the granite color was quickly brought back. As part of the maintenance project, Sneed said rusted places on the dome, deteriorated wood around some of the 179 windows and leaks will be repaired. Waterproofing will be added in some areas, and some remaining asbestos will be removed, he said. The dome will be covered with scaffolding for much of the project, just as it was when the Capitol restoration was under way. In addition, plaster repairs and painting will be done inside the dome, officials said. Sneed said the work is being paid for with funds generated by Capitol parking fees, gift shop revenues and concession fees paid from the Capitol Grill cafeteria. Once complete, Sneed said, the dome shouldn't need another paint job for 25 years.

The Goddess of Liberty - Texas Style

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(Photo: Columbia, Goddess of Liberty, is shown atop the Capitol Dome on Wednesday, April 14, 2004, in Austin.
HARRY CABLUCK: AP File)

March 29, 2008, 7:46PM
Tex-Arcana: What's the history of the goddess?

Statue atop Capitol is not the original, but her purpose is

By PEGGY FIKAC
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — She's not exactly pretty, she was in danger of falling to pieces once, and when Texans decided to replace her, they had such a tough time that they called in the National Guard from a nearby state.

But the lady with the exaggerated facial features atop the Texas Capitol is a goddess, nonetheless.

The Goddess of Liberty, to be exact.

The original zinc statue was designed by Texas State Capitol Architect E.E. Meyers of Detroit, likely inspired by publicity about the construction of the Statue of Liberty and by the Statue of Freedom placed on the U.S. Capitol, according to the State Preservation Board.

Nearly 16 feet tall and weighing 2,000 pounds, she was hoisted atop the Texas Capitol in four pieces in 1888.

Workers put her together on top of the dome with screws.

When extensive cracking was noticed nearly 100 years later, the State Preservation Board decided to replace the original (now safely at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum) with an aluminum duplicate.

Easier said than done.

A Texas National Guard helicopter got her down safely, although The Associated Press noted a moment of drama when a line snapped:

"The harness dropped, and the spectators gasped."

Hoisting the lighter (at 1,100 pounds) replacement back onto her anchor pole was another matter.

After repeated attempts to thread the statue's bottom opening onto the pole failed, Texas called on the Mississippi National Guard for help — a story line so irresistible that the New York Times and Washington Post documented it.

The Post's story began, "This has not been the best of years in the Southwest, and in times like these, when life goes bad for awhile, people tend to look for symbols and omens."

The Mississippi National Guard contingent, with a helicopter better suited for the accurate aim required of the mission than those available to Texas, put the new goddess in place.

Then-Capitol architect Roy Graham told the New York Times that the help didn't hurt his pride at all: "I'd take a Louisiana shrimp boat if it would work."

One sign that Texas pride is undiminished, notes the State Preservation Board, is that the statue, likely modeled after Pallas Athena, maintains her title of goddess (unlike, say, the Statue of Liberty).

"Texas is the second-largest state in size," board staff said in speculating on the reason, "but not in the minds of Texans."