Dome sweet dome: Repairs to Iowa's golden landmark delayed

Good news for Des Moines' skygazers and tourists taking snapshots — at least for a little while longer.

The Iowa Capitol's historic golden dome, a landmark that had been targeted for repairs starting two months ago, will be fully visible throughout this fall and the winter months.

The Iowa Legislature approved a $9.99 million state appropriation last session to pay for a major restoration project on the crumbling dome that is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete. During that time, the dome will be shrouded in scaffolding. 

But architects are still working on detailed drawings and specifications to allow for competitive bidding on the project, which means repair work won't start until spring, said Mark Willemssen, an Iowa Legislature facilities manager. Lawmakers had previously expected the work to begin in August, after the National Governors Association held its summer meeting in Des Moines. But he said additional planning was needed because earlier research had only measured the extent of the repairs repaired.

"It probably will be a little while before any construction happens in the building or up on the dome there," Willemssen told The Des Moines Register. A contract for repairs will be awarded around January, and repair crews will set up scaffolding a few months later, he added.

"We will work with the winning contractor, getting materials ordered, and see what the weather is like," Willemssen added.  

Lawmakers have been told the dome suffers from failing joints and cracks in the mortar, which are compounded by moisture problems. Extensive tuck-pointing work is needed, although the dome will not need to be regilded with gold leaf.

State Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, who chairs an Iowa Senate budget subcommittee that oversees infrastructure spending, said Friday that at this point the project is out of the hands of state lawmakers.

"My hope is that there won’t be ... further complications as a result of this delay," McCoy said.

The Iowa Capitol was constructed between 1871 and 1886 in a modified and refined Renaissance style of architecture. The center dome is made of iron and brick and covered with real 23-carat gold. The dome rises 275 feet above the ground floor. Four smaller domes of simple design rise from the four corners of the Capitol. Money for the dome repairs is coming from funds left over from bond issues.

Iowa became a state in 1846, and the first General Assembly recognized the capital should be farther west than Iowa City, according to an official state publication. Amid rivalries, Jasper County was chosen and then rejected. In 1854, the fifth General Assembly concluded the Capitol should be "within two miles of the Raccoon fork of the Des Moines River."

The exact spot was chosen when Wilson Alexander Scott gave the state 9.5 acres where the Iowa Capitol now stands. A temporary building was used for 30 years while the permanent structure was being built.