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install a bridge so the Capitol will be connected from
this library floor to the third floor of the building across
the street (Martin Luther King Jr. Drive). This bridge
connect will be finished by October of next year.”
“This renovation project is a framework for bringing
the Capitol and the legislative office building up to a
standard that will address the state’s needs for the next
50 years,” Pilgrim says. (The Georgia Building Authority
is overseeing the entire renovation.)
My tour came after the start of the phase two work
on the Capitol, built in the neoclassical, Renaissance
and Renaissance Revival style to look like the U.S. Capitol. As I was climbing stairs and walking on catwalks,
all the while avoiding workers, barriers, equipment and
literally miles of fiber cable, I was particularly struck at
the torn-up areas that revealed perfect looking wood
planks that were installed in 1888! It was incredible to
be looking down from the roof to the gutted House and
Senate chambers below where new desks and voting
equipment would be installed. It looked like a bomb
went off when seeing the bare walls and floors. I also
watched in amazement at a painter with a small brush
on a ladder who was painstakingly painting gold on
small wall and ceiling ornaments.
Interestingly, Shaw Floors— a Dalton-based company— manufactured the new carpet that is being installed in both the House and Senate chambers.
I was especially interested when Pilgrim reminded
me that there’s “an emphasis on historical accuracy
by the hiring of historical preservation architects and
a preservationist subcontractor. Several light studies
were conducted after restoring chandeliers from the
1900s to ensure that each bulb emits an appropriate glow. Even lighting and color schemes were fact
checked,” he said.
The state lawmakers’ desks are being refinished
and will all receive a new USB port before they return
next year. Their chairs have been replaced with replicas, but old chairs will be kept in storage and be made
available at the seat-holder’s request.
Bottom line: The new legislative office building
(a name hasn’t been assigned to it yet) is slated to be
finished by the end of 2026. Overall renovations are
expected to be finished by late 2027.
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Phil Kent is the publisher of James and James Magazine Online. He is also
a regular panelist on the Sunday Fox5Atlanta TV “Georgia Gang.”
