Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Frank Watching Over the Capitol Restoration...he could use a little help too!

Click on the above heading for the live cam shot of the Idaho capitol restoration project and click again on the picture to enlarge it. Check it out in the early morning with the sun just coming up, light snow on the ground and show capped mountains in the distance. Of course this is old stuff to the Boise crowd. I do hope the Capitol Restoration Committee will include Frank's statue as a part of the project when they complete work on the surrounding areas and grounds. Maybe someone has inside information on that already? I have mentioned it to a few folks but need to get a letter going to the committee. Feel free to do the same, You can contact the committee by email by going to the website at http://www.capitolcommission.idaho.gov/commission/ and click on the link at the bottom of the page "Contact the Commission." The patina of the statue is in bad shape and needs to be cleaned and restored, the walkways are crumbling and landscaping needs to be updated. Bruce and Pat didn't even want to film a close-up of Frank's face when we did my segment for the production this past March. Hopefully the statue gets a bit of attention but I won't hold my breath considering the budget issues that have delayed the whole project. I do look forward to roaming the capitol building again, seeing the governor's portrait back up on the wall (of course I mean Governor Steunenberg) at Attorney General Wasden's office (pictured at right July 2005) and taking another look at my great-grandfather's desk...or desks as it may be since there are two that are essentially identical. Hopefully Frank will get a new shine for what I anticipate will be a grand re-opening celebration.
John

1 comment:

John T. Richards said...

We will see what kind of response I get back. I see one typo in my original email...I said grumbling instead of crumbling walkways. It's me that's doing the grumbling. jr
________________________________________
From: Becky Henke [mailto:Becky.Henke@adm.idaho.gov]
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 8:56 AM
To: Richards Family
Cc: Gary Daniel
Subject: RE: Idaho State Capitol Commission Feedback [http://capitolcommission.idaho.gov/restoration/grounds.html]

Mr. Richards:

I wanted to let you know that we did receive your e-mail and that I am researching who is responsible for maintenance of the Steunenberg statue. When I have more information, I will follow-up with you to answer your questions.

Thank you for your comments,
Becky

Becky Henke, Communications Assistant
Idaho Capitol Commission

Capitol Restoration Project
Division of Public Works
502 N. 4th Street
Boise, ID 83702
Phone: (208) 332-1970
Business Only Cell: (208) 908-3728
FAX: (208) 334-4031
________________________________________
From: Richards Family [mailto:richardsfam@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2008 6:38 PM
To: Gary Daniel
Cc: Becky Henke
Subject: Idaho State Capitol Commission Feedback [http://capitolcommission.idaho.gov/restoration/grounds.html]

I look forward to visiting Boise again and walking the capitol hallways when this project is completed.

Will the restoration include restoration/cleaning of the statue of Governor Steunenberg, repair of the grumbling walkways around the statue and perhaps additional landscaping in that area? The statue and surrounding area is in need of some attention in that regard. During the filming of IPTV's Assassination: Idaho's Trial of the Century, Bruce Reichert and Pat Metzler were reluctant to even film the statue up close because of all the staining to the patina. As an important part of the capitol grounds and Idaho history, I hope it too will be spruced up for what I anticipate will be an exciting grand re-opening ceremony.

Thank You,

John T. Richards