TOPEKA ( KSNT ) – Kansas’ historic capitol building and home of the State Legislature is on a ticking timer as it slowly, inevitably, starts to change color.

The Kansas Statehouse is an iconic symbol of the Sunflower State. Standing tall in Topeka’s downtown area, it hearkens back to the earliest days of the state when settlers were passing through in covered wagons and the nation was still recovering from the impact of the Civil War.

Construction on the grand building began in 1866 and wouldn’t be finished until decades later in 1903, according to the National park Service ( NPS ). The Kansas Statehouse later found a spot on the National Register of Historic Places ( NRHP ) in 1971 due to its important historic value.

People visiting the Capital City today, along with younger residents, are familiar with the new copper dome and roof of the statehouse while older residents may recall the green coloration it had prior to significant renovation work completed in 2014. Despite the new look of the statehouse and all the work put into it during the $332 million renovation process , the dome and roof are not immune to the impact of time. Similar to other historic landmarks made of copper, such as the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the statehouse’s dome and roof will also, eventually, turn green.

“That green patina is a protection coating that forms naturally,” Kelley said. “The copper starts out a bright shiny penny copper and then slowly turns to a bronze, a natural darker bronze appearance.”

Kelley said he expects the new copper dome and roof to adopt the green patina in 30 or more years. He said the original copper dome and roof of the statehouse changed to the green patina in a shorter amount of time as the metal oxidized faster due to the presence of coal-fired steam plants which were common at the time.

“When copper is used for architecture, detailing, it will typically change its appearance through time,” Kelley said. “That kind of transition is gonna happen here but it’s going to happen a lot slower here than it did historically.”

Darren Wade, an employee of the Kansas Historical Society ( KSHS ) who works inside the statehouse, said the air is much cleaner now than it was in the early 1900s. He said people back then would burn coal to heat their homes and businesses which would, in turn, speed up the process of the copper changing to the green color.

“If you think about the turn of the century, everybody had a coal chute,” Wade said. “There wasn’t the furnaces like we have today.”

Wade said he believes the current copper look of the dome will last for around 35-50 years before turning green. He said the restoration job completed on the statehouse was worth both the wait and the investment.

“They [the restoration team] did it right and this building will still be standing here for generations to come,” Wade said.

Kelley said Treanor took steps during the renovation work to ensure the new dome’s lifespan was increased. One step they took was to take into account how the weather and temperature will cause the copper to expand and contract over the years.

“Back when we replaced the dome, it served over 120 years of service life on our statehouse, that’s pretty incredible,” Kelley said. “It’s a fabulous material to use [copper], as long as the detailing is done correctly.”

Wade invites anyone who wants to visit the Kansas Statehouse to do so and maybe join one of the tour groups that happen almost daily inside the building. You may also find some trinkets at the store inside the Kansas Statehouse made from the old copper dome for sale.

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