Statehouse Stone Swept Under Rug?

TOPEKA, Kan. – Some modern renovations usually involved tearing out old flooring and replacing it with stone, but recent work at the state capitol here revealed an installation nobody knew about.
The Associated Press reported that, as part of an 11-year, $162 million overall of the Kansas Statehouse, workers removed carpet behind the state senate chamber in the building’s east wing and began working on the old glue. What they found underneath was marble.
When work began in 2000, it marked the first thorough renovation of the Statehouse in more than 80 years. A hodgepodge of projects in the intervening years obscured the original installations and designs of the building.
The Kansas Statehouse itself was a build-as-you-go project, with separate wings constructed before the connecting central building took shape. The building took 37 years to complete, with the final bill totaled at $3.2 million in 1903.
During the current renovation, workers also found walled-in wooden French doors connecting rooms, among other hidden treasures. Work still needs to be done on the building’s west wing, which may reveal more unknown items.
The new effort will bring back the building to 1917-era appearances, including the found-and-refurbished marble. And that pleases State Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt.
“It’s historically accurate, and Kansans paid for it 100 years ago,” he said. “It’s silly to have it covered up, so no one could enjoy it.”