Supporting History

A Capitol Idea: Improving Safety Features in Colorado’s Statehouse

After its completion in 1903, the Colorado State Capitol—a Classical Revival monument to civil government—exemplified cutting-edge design principles and construction technology. However, at the time of its construction, architects and engineers did not fully understand fire hazards associated with structures of its type. One hundred years later, a lack of modern life safety features jeopardizes our state’s most treasured architectural landmark—and its occupants.

While it may seem shocking that such an important building does not currently meet today’s life safety codes, put into historical perspective, it is not so surprising. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, modern fire safety was not yet understood when it came to multi-story open spaces such as the capitol’s central dome and rotunda.

“At the turn of the century, structures like the dome were not built with enclosed stair towers for emergency evacuation,” explains James Stratis, preservation projects manager for the State Historical Fund. “If a fire were to start in this area, it would create a chimney-like effect. And without an enclosed escape route, people would be left more vulnerable to the dangers of smoke inhalation, which is the largest cause of fire-related death.”

On any given school day, the urgency to upgrade the capitol’s life safety systems becomes even more apparent to those watching hundreds of children explore the rooms beneath the building’s signature 250-foot gold-leaf dome. Despite the vigilant efforts taken by the state’s maintenance staff to minimize fire hazards and protect the capitol’s estimated 50,000 annual visitors, human measures alone are not sufficient means to prevent injury to inhabitants and to the building itself if a fire occurred.

So far we have been lucky. But that has not been the case for everyone. Over the last century, one-fifth of our nation’s state capitols—including statehouses in Kentucky, Iowa, Oregon, Missouri, North Dakota, West Virginia, Illinois, Texas, New York, and Idaho—were either destroyed or severely damaged by fire.

To ensure that this type of tragedy will not happen to our capitol—arguably the most important historic building in Colorado—the State Historical Fund (SHF) is pleased to announce its recent $2,296,106 grant award to continue the State Capitol Life Safety Upgrade Project. Without SHF’s support, the five-year, five-phase project wouldn’t happen, and this irreplaceable resource, its materials, its contents, and its occupants, would remain at risk. Groups such as Historic Denver, Inc., Colorado Preservation, Inc., and other preservation organizations shared SHF’s concern and sent strong letters of support for the project.

During the first phase of the project, custom-cut marble will be imported from Italy for the new stair towers in order to closely match the capitol’s historic wainscot made from Beulah Red Marble. The original distinctive rose marble has not been available since it was completely mined out of a quarry in southwest Colorado during the late 1800s. Over the next four phases, one staircase will be added per year in each of the building’s four quadrants, extending from the second floor to the basement where two new escape routes will exit to the north and south of the west side of the building. After this work—including a Historic Structure Assessment—is complete, SHF will continue to support preservation-related projects at the capitol.

SHF’s involvement in the state capitol project will also provide guidance to ensure that these life safety upgrades do not compromise the building’s historic integrity. “Integrating modern safety features into a historic building often happens in an ad hoc manner, which can damage its original character,” explains Stratis. “With the right attention to detail, however, modern upgrades can still be achieved, while maintaining the strength of the building’s historic integrity.”

For example, new additions, like the enclosed stair towers, should pass what Stratis calls the “squint test.” “Modern upgrades can be made to blend with the original architecture by keeping the same scale and form. However, the details should be simplified to allow new and old structural components to coexist while remaining distinguishable from each other.”

With nearly $2.3 million from SHF to get started, our historic state capitol building will once again shine—like its golden dome—as a beacon of modern safety standards and quality construction.

BY JENNIFER COOK, State Historical Fund Public Relations Advisor