Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1905-09-26
RESTORING THE RoTUNDA.
Great improvements Being Made on
The Capitol Building at
Washington.

Washington.
The interior of the rotunda of the
capitol is being restored so that long
before congress reassembles it will
look as it did nearly half century
ago before the inside was sn,eared
with blue-gray paint and rendered nm.
attractive to the artistic eye. TIE in
side of the rotunda undeniably needed
cleaning and furnishing up, but it
was rather serious question what
should be done with it. There had
teen various suggestions, one for
mosaic floor and others for mural
decorations, so that it should rival the
congressional library across the plaza.
But after considering everything SUI
,perintendent Woods decided simply to
restore it, and the work which is now
alomst completed seems to amply JUS
tify the decision, says the Washington
Star.
The work began at the great allie
gorical picture in the roof. That was
thoroughly cleaned and then the in
terror of the dome was painted. This
was work of several weeks and the
PAINTERS did stunts druing that time
that would have ranked with high
t:apeze work in circus. There was
not stick of inferior scaffolding put
up for the job, but the iron plates of
which the interior of the dome is
built were losened in places, ropes
dropped through the openings and the
swinging scaffolds from which the
painters worked were launched out in
midair from the balconies around the
upper part of the rotunda. The paint
ers then drew themselves up to the
inside shell of the dome and worked
as far as they could reach, after which
the swinging scaffolds were let down
and move to a fresh spot.
But when it came to treating the in.
terror of the rotunda from the great
Brumidi frieze down it was a different
proposition and one calling for the
chemist rather than the painter. Prob
ably many people of the present gen.
Grafton do not know that the capitol
was originally built of the old Auuia
creek sandstone, and one that it was
an artictic sin ever to cover with paint.
All the interior of the rotunda is built
of this stone that is now soft gray
white, just the tint to harmonic with
the dark marble f1oCr when the latter
is cleaned, as it will be when the work
is done.
All around the interior are stone
carvings. wreaths and garlands on the
walls and high reliefs over the doors
representing scenes frlm the colonial
days and the early history of the
country. These carvings, covered as
! they have been for years with heavy
coats of paint of uncertain color, have
looked like cheap plaster casts and
the whole effect of the interior -Aas
been that of a makeshit.t structure
rther than of solid stone.
When it was decided to 60 back tC
'he Old stone foundation the problem
ho
many rencvators and paint removers
of different sorts were tried. Finally
however Mr. Woods tried lime, slack
ed with potash, and this did the tricl
without iniuring the stone. The rea
character of the stone carvings only
began to show as the paint was gottel
Off They came out l.. shap outline
and proved to be really wonderful,
fine work for this country at the be
ginning of the century. 1t was found
also, that some sections # the ston
work had been destroyed when ga
pipes were run through the capito
and these blemishes had to be remove
and the whole work restored But tn
result is very satisfying and the intel
ior of the rotunda this winter wi
look like what ii is. solid and al
tistic piece of work and not a painte
q sham.
s There is. however, some excuse fc
9 the apparent vandalism Of paintin
}. the interior, II one will only conside
= tbs conditions with which the hons,