INTERIOR / HONOR

Iowa State Capitol – Interior Rehabilitation, Des Moines, IA

Firm: :RDG Planning & Design, Des Moines, IA
Photographer: Farshid Assassi

Much time and effort was put into researching historical design solutions and evidence of original finishes, so it was possible to restore the interior appearance to the appropriate time periods, while following the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards of Rehabilitation. 

A fire in 1904 damaged portions of the building that allows the restoration in these areas to be restored to the 1904 appearance.  Areas that survived the fire in 1904 maintain the original scheme and become a point of explanation and interpretation by the tour guides of the building.

The interior was restored to the 1884 or 1904 appearance.  The public spaces in the rest of the building had undergone a major redecoration campaign in that year, the design by noted artist Elmer Garnsey.  The 24 scagliola columns had been crudely painted over since then, but initial investigation revealed that most of the original surface remained intact.