by Darren Thornberry

Our state capitol is bursting with wonderful architectural nuance, and some of it is not readily apparent as one wanders the halls or the grounds. In fact, I discovered the pediment statuary above the House chamber windows, on the building’s west side, completely by accident. I was standing out there in a crowd of people, waiting for a fancy jet fly-by that was due to happen, and it just caught my eye. It’s fascinating to me how much detail is there, despite the sculptor’s understanding that very few people would ever have a clear view of it. Squinting to see the shapes and forms, I wondered what they represented.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Derek Everett

Dr. Derek Everett, former capitol tour guide and author of “The Colorado State Capitol: History, Politics, Preservation,” provided the following information via email about the pediment and the accompanying photo.

What’s your favorite thing about the capitol building? Let us know on Twitter @LegiSource.

by Darren Thornberry

When the chambers of the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives were built in 1894, they were adorned with gold filigree stenciling over red and green paint, respectively, that was the work of Denver artist Manuel Hill. It’s hard to imagine now, but Hill’s beautiful work fell out of favor over the decades, and in 1954 the walls and ceilings of both chambers were covered in acoustic tiles in a décor scandal we now refer to as TileGate.

The tiles were removed in 2013 and tested for lead and asbestos as part of a multiyear project to restore both chambers to their “historic and regal condition,” as former House Speaker Frank McNulty told The Denver Post.

It was Speaker McNulty who unintentionally spearheaded the renovations. See, he wanted a tilted radiator in the House gallery fixed. And then, as it turned out, a peek behind the tiles wouldn’t hurt anything, either. After all, black and white photos of the stenciling had tantalized state architects, though no one knew what condition it was in. As the project commenced in 2013, and workers began peeling back the tiles, they were astonished by what they saw.

A photo of the original stenciling underneath the acoustic tiles in the Senate Chambers. Photo shared by Chief Clerk Marilyn Eddins.

Thus began a huge renovation, funded by the Senate and House budgets and also the state’s capitol construction fund, which included painstakingly recreating the ornate stenciling and restoring the chandeliers in both chambers. Speaker McNulty would ultimately pass the project baton to his successor as House Speaker, Mark Ferrandino.

On January 6th, more than a half century after it disappeared, the artistry hidden under those infamous acoustic tiles on the ceiling of the House of Representatives was again on display. That day, House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst officially declared the chamber open, and capitol staffers were invited to see not just the stenciled ceiling but also the restored chandelier in all its glory.

Many of us walked the planks and braved the ceiling coffer (officially the “lay light space”) in the weeks prior to the reveal, both in the House and the Senate. Who recalls wondering if the scaffolding would really keep you from falling into the Well? (This writer does.) Both the coffer’s flat glass surface and the skylight in the roof above date to the 1890s.

A view of the ceiling coffer in the House of Representatives Chamber prior to the reveal. Photo credit: Ashley Zimmerman

St. Louis Antique Lighting restored the immense House chandelier to its turn-of-the-20th-century glow. They recreated the top tiers and the top escutcheon plate based on photos and the original chandelier that is still in place in the Supreme Court Chambers. The Senate chandelier is due to be restored during the interim this year.

Here is an incredible time-lapse film of the House of Representatives restoration process, courtesy of Rocket House Pictures, LLC.

Replica “Edison” bulbs were installed at the perimeter and ceiling of the House in favor of the originals. Replacing the old cloth-wrapped wiring in the originals, to light them up once again, was simply one project too many.

During the ceiling restoration process, it was discovered that prior to the most recent stencil pattern found, there was an earlier set of stencils and paintings. In the House, there were shields, eagles, and Greek or Roman profiles. In the Senate, similar profiles were found, as well as what appears to be a portrait of President Lincoln on the back east wall and another portrait on the back west wall. The west side portrait could not be identified due to the glue dobs (to hold the tiles in place) that had been placed over the face on the eyes.

The Denver Art Museum brought in equipment used to look under paintings to help document the earlier stencils/paintings. State architect Lance Shepherd states that he believes the early stencils/paintings were installed just before legislators moved into the chambers and were meant to be temporary. Likely soon afterward, the stencils now seen in both chambers, and for which there is photographic documentation, were created.

The recreated stenciling on the ceiling is based on photographs of the original design. A water-based paint was used all those years ago, probably to save money, and most of the ceiling stenciling had been washed away prior to the installation of the acoustic tiles.

Our House of Representatives and Senate chambers surely are among the most beautiful working legislative spaces in the country, thanks to their restorers’ hard work and attention to detail. May we all work as diligently this session as they did during the interim!

Author’s Note: Thanks to Lance Shepherd, manager of design and construction programs for the DPA’s Office of the State Architect, for his invaluable contributions to this article.

by Melanie Pawlyszyn

How often have you sat in the Old Supreme Court Chambers and wondered, “Who are those people in the windows?” As it turns out, each window honors persons who played a significant role in the history of various ethnic and racial groups in Colorado.

The Heritage Windows on the north wall of the old Supreme Court chambers were a gift from the committee that organized the centennial celebration for Colorado in 1976 to honor four ethnic and racial groups – Hispanics, Native Americans, African Americans, and Chinese and Japanese. Members from each group designed the stained glass windows, and the Elysian Glass Company manufactured each window for about $6,000. The windows honoring the African American and Hispanic communities were presented to the state on January 7, 1977, and those honoring Native Americans and Chinese and Japanese communities were dedicated on February 18, 1977.

Hispanics

Don Miera y Pacheco (1721-1785), Father Francisco Atanasio Dominguez, and Father Silverstre Velez de Escalante
Dominguez and Escalante were Franciscan monks who led an expedition through the uncharted West in 1776. The expedition’s cartographer, Don Miera y Pacheco, is the dominant figure in the window. Pacheco drew up maps and kept a detailed diary of the Dominguez-Escalante expedition that started in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and traveled up through southwestern Colorado to the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and southwest to Monterey, California. The expedition explored more unknown territory than Daniel Boone or Lewis and Clark, though it never met its objective of finding a new route from Santa Fe to Monterey.

Carlotta Espinosa designed this window, located on the far left-hand side as you face into the Old Supreme Court Chambers.

Native Americans

Chief Jack House (1892-1971)
The upper half of the window honors Chief Jack House, the last hereditary chief of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe. In his over 30 years of leadership, Chief Jack House worked to secure essential water rights for his tribe, fought for the tribe’s right of self-determination, pushed for improvements of their living conditions, and lobbied for their causes. He helped establish the tribal council, the Ute Mountain Tribal Office, and the blueprints for the tribal constitution.

Norman Lansing of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe designed this portion of the window, located directly left of the center window.

Chief Buckskin Charlie (1840-1936)
The lower half of the window depicts Chief Buckskin Charlie, the last hereditary chief of the southern Ute tribe. Chief Buckskin Charlie, often called “Charlie Buck,” was known as a pacifist leader who mediated peaceful negotiations between the Native Americans of Colorado and the Native American Agency and arranged peace talks in Washington alongside his predecessor, Chief Ouray.

Before becoming chief of the southern Ute tribe in 1880, Charlie Buck was stationed with the Federal troops at Fort Junior and was honorably discharged. As a Ute chief, he carried out Ute traditions and ceremonies and introduced new methods of farming, education, and health care to his people.

Eugene Naranjo of the southern Ute tribe designed this portion of the window.

Alexander Hunt and Chief Ouray
The center window in the Chambers is not one of the Heritage Windows. It was a gift from a descendant of Alexander Hunt, the Fifth Territorial Governor of Colorado. Governor Hunt negotiated various peace treaties with Colorado’s Native American tribes, including the Ute Treaty of 1868 with Chief Ouray of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe. In the window, the two leaders share a peace pipe, a symbol of the efforts to establish peace between the white settlers of Colorado and the Native Americans.

Senate Joint Resolution 76-32 authorized the installation of the window, which replaced a window portrait of Chief Justice Robert Wilbur Steele.

African Americans

Aunt Clara Brown (1800-1882)
Clara Brown was sold into slavery at the age of three and was married and gave birth to four children at age 18. She and her children were sold and separated in Kentucky. Brown was emancipated in 1856, after which she sought to find her children. She worked as a cook in St. Louis and then washed and cooked for 25 men to pay for her transport to Colorado in 1959, where the gold rush gave prospects of wealth.

Brown settled in Central City, where her home became a hospital, hotel, and refuge for all. She helped organize Methodist Sunday school classes at the First Methodist Church in Central City as well as in Georgetown and Denver and aided other African Americans in making their way to the West with the money she earned. She also worked in various ways to help the miners of Central City.

After saving up $10,000, Brown went back to Kentucky in 1866 to find her children. She found her daughters Margaret and Eliza Jane. She could not find her son Richard, and her third daughter Palina Ann had died at age three.

Vernon Rowlette designed this window, located directly right of the center window in the Chambers.

Chinese and Japanese

Chin Lin Sou (1837-1894)
The upper half of the window on the far right of the Chambers depicts Chin Lin Sou, a labor contractor responsible for bringing the first Chinese laborers to the United States for construction work. Chin Lin Sou, nicknamed “Willie Chin,” came to the United States from Canton, China, at age 22 to work on the Kansas Pacific Railroad. He supervised the work of Chinese laborers on the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads as well as over 300 Chinese miners in Gilpin County. Willie Chin was one of the founders of the Six Companies and the Chinese Trading and Insurance Companies, which sold supplies to his workers.

In 1870, Willie Chin became the first mayor of Denver’s Chinatown, Hop Alley, which was razed in 1950 and no longer exists. He helped his people get jobs and establish businesses and defended them against tremendous hostility, including the anti-Chinese riot in Denver on October 30, 1880.

Chen Ting-Shih designed the window.

Naoichi Hokazono (1873-1927)
The lower half of the window depicts Naoichi “Harry” Hokazono, a labor contractor who brought Japanese workers to build much of Colorado’s agriculture, mining, and construction industries. His first venture was to bring 70 Japanese laborers from Wyoming to cultivate sugar beets in Colorado. Eventually, he hired 2,000 men in agriculture, mining, and constructing dams and high-tension transmission lines.

Hokazono came to San Francisco from Kyushu, Japan, at age 11, and arrived in Colorado in 1898 at age 25. He served as president of the Japanese Association of Colorado, the Japanese Businessmen’s Association, and a printing company that published a Japanese-language newspaper.

The window was designed by Yuri Noda, a Denver resident who was born in Japan.

Information in this article can be found in “Memorials and Art In and Around the Colorado State Capitol” by the Colorado Legislative Council (June 1992) and “Our Colorado Immortals in Stained Glass” by Elaine Abrams Clearfield (June 1986).

by Darren Thornberry

It is said that Emily Griffith winks at passersby from her stained glass window outside the Old Supreme Court Chambers. Who knew the pensive lady in purple had a playful side!

Emily Griffith made indelible contributions to education in Colorado, founded the Opportunity School in downtown Denver, and is beloved to this day for her work with adult and low-income students. In acknowledgement, Senate Resolution 16 adopted during the 1974 session and Senate Resolution 12 adopted during the 1975 session honored Emily Griffith by dedicating a stained glass window portrait of her, which hung in the Senate until 1985.

It was decided that year to honor longtime Colorado legislator Ruth Stockton with a stained glass window in the Senate. To make space for it, a group of senators chose to move the Griffith window to its current location. In 2000, Mayor Wellington Webb honored Griffith with a posthumous Millennium Award, honoring individuals and organizations that have made significant and lasting contributions to the City of Denver since its founding.

Though the year of her birth is disputed*, Emily Griffith was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the eldest of four children. By age 14, she was teaching in a sod schoolhouse in Broken Bow, Nebraska. She soon learned that many of her students’ immigrant parents could neither read nor write in English and didn’t know how to manage their money. These problems struck a chord in the young educator and led her to the idea of a school for adults with a flexible schedule and a wide variety of subjects. In 1895, the Griffith family moved to Denver, and Emily was hired by Denver Public Schools. She taught as both a substitute and full-time teacher and in 1904 became the Deputy State Superintendent of Schools, a position she held for six years.

In 1915, Griffith shared her hopes for a school with Denver Post writer Frances “Pinky” Wayne, who immediately began to write about it. Within a matter of months, the Denver Board of Education gave Griffith the condemned Longfellow School at 13th and Welton streets. The Opportunity School had a home, and Griffith was there to greet 1,400 students on opening day – Sept. 9, 1916. English, typing, and telegraphy were among the free classes available in those days when the school was open five days a week, 13 hours a day. Griffith was a caring educator, giving away food and money for the streetcar and visiting sick students.

The function of the school has changed to meet the needs of the public over the years. In World War I, the school trained soldiers and civilians alike. In World War II, for a time, it operated around the clock, training more than 24,000 people in defense work. These days, the renamed Emily Griffith Technical College serves 10,000 students, day and night, with programs ranging from Culinary Arts to Sheetmetal Worker Apprenticeship. The school has assisted more than 1.6 million students in reaching their educational goals since its inception.

Emily Griffith retired from Denver Public Schools in 1933. Tragically, she and her invalid sister, Florence, were found shot to death at their cabin in Pinecliffe, Co., in June 1947. An associate, Fred Lundy, who committed suicide a few weeks later, has long been suspected in their murders. Still, what really happened remains a mystery.

Griffith’s legacy of helping people, regardless of age, race, or education level, is honored by the 150 instructors who work at her school today. In addition to being commemorated in stained glass, Griffith is seen in the “Women’s Gold” tapestry, which honors 19 pioneering Colorado women, on the Capitol’s first floor.

* “Our Colorado Immortals in Stained Glass” by Elaine Abrams Clearfield lists Griffith’s birth year as 1880, Emilygriffith.edu states she was born “in the 1860s,” and Historycolorado.org shows her birth year as 1868.

by Ashley Zimmerman

As with many old, historical buildings, a number of ghost stories haunt the Colorado state capitol. Officially, there are no ghosts to be found in the building. However, those of us who have smelled an odd perfume, seen an odd figure, or heard an odd hoof beat know better. In honor of Halloween, we present to you a few of the most notable ghosts that unofficially haunt our halls.

The Bloody Espinosas

Perhaps the most well-known story of the capitol, this tale begins in 1863. Back then, the Colorado settlement was four years young, and the Gold Rush had brought a curious crowd to the territory. Denver was less a big city and more a town full of tents and temporary occupants hoping to make it rich. A few smaller mining towns were popping up throughout the state as gold was discovered, including Breckenridge, Colorado City, and Black Hawk, but these developments upset many people who already lived in the area. Two brothers from New Mexico, Felipe and Vivian Espinosa, were especially irate at the pioneers moving onto their land in the San Luis Valley and, for the better part of 1863, were intent on killing as many of the new residents as they could. Numbers of the murdered vary, but it’s believed they killed between a dozen and 30 people in just a few months.

Accounts of how the brothers’ bloody careers ended differ, but eventually the brothers were killed, likely by a volunteer group of citizens from Park County. Their heads were brought to the capitol to collect the bounty set by the governor, but the governor refused to pay and no one knew what to do with the heads. They were first kept in the Treasurer’s Office in the capitol building but were later moved to the sub-basement beneath the capitol. Eventually, the heads were destroyed in the furnace.

Since then, it’s been said that the heads of the Espinosa brothers can be seen floating through the building after dark. And if you’ve ever heard the sound of horses galloping up and down the main staircase, well, that’s just the Bloody Espinosas…looking for their heads!

The Victorian Apparition

On the third floor of the capitol building, rumor has it that you can see the ghostly visage of a woman wearing Victorian-era garments. She appears out of a mist near the entrance to the senate chambers and then floats off to either side of the chamber before disappearing.

The Woman in a Long Dress

A female spirit, appearing in a long, turn-of-the-century dress, is said to wander the steam tunnels beneath the capitol, as well as the capitol building and all the buildings connected to the tunnels in the Capitol Hill area. She’s been seen reading over the shoulders of employees in each of the buildings.

The Mysterious Tunnels

Certainly the steam tunnels under the capitol building lend themselves to spooky stories and an overall heightened awareness. In addition to The Woman in a Long Dress, there have been reports of odd cold spells, during which keys, ID badges, and other items are pulled away from the body of the owner and lifted into the air by an unseen force.

General Spookiness

While the above stories illustrate a few of the known spirits, there are still a few more spooky happenings in the capitol building that don’t have a known explanation:

• In the early hours before business gets going, and in the late hours well after business is done for the day, it’s said that the temperature in many areas of the capitol suddenly drops and a vintage, rose-scented perfume permeates the air before disappearing without a trace as the temperature returns to normal.
• When business is done for the day, voices, conversations, and footsteps can be heard in and around empty meeting rooms and offices.

For more information on the eerie and unexplained happenings under the Dome, visit Colorado Central’s two-part story on the Espinosa brothers here and here, as well as the New York Times archival report on the brothers, and “Colorado Legends and Lore: The Phantom Fiddler, Snow Snakes, and Other Tales” by Stephanie Waters.

by Ashley Zimmerman

It’s a common sight in the capitol every year or so – school kids gleefully working with legislators to learn how a bill becomes a law and to make their own impact on the state by presenting a bill to designate a state symbol. This tradition goes back more than 100 years, to when the white and lavender Columbine flower became the state flower of Colorado. (more…)

by Ashley Zimmerman

His face appears on a stained glass window in the dome of the Colorado capitol. He arrived in Colorado in the summer of 1861, delivered mail on snowshoes throughout the mountain range, and delivered nearly daily sermons in gold rush towns. In 1885, the Colorado Senate welcomed him as the first Senate Chaplain. His name was John L. Dyer. (more…)

by Nate Carr

Most of us appreciate getting a few pointers every now and then. With the start of a new legislative session, you might find it interesting to learn some of the advice given to your predecessors 111 years ago in the Colorado Legislative Manual – 1901 edition:

1)    Avoid personalities in debates.

2)    Do not crowd through too many bills.

3)    Watch your bills and keep pushing them forward at all times.

4)    Read section 40 of article V of the state constitution.

5)    Be as regular as possible in attendance. It is the watchful and attentive member who advances legislation.

6)    Endeavor to be present at roll call at the morning session and listen to the reading of the journal, that action on your measures and your own movements be correctly recorded. If the journal as read is in error, ask to have it corrected.

7)    After your measure has been considered in committee of the whole, ask the clerk to permit you to see that all amendments and alterations are properly incorporated into your measure.

8)    On the last day of session, have all surplus stationary and supplies in your desk or committee room collected and turned over to the secretary of state, for use at the next session. This is both law and practical economy.

9)    The legislative session closes at midnight on the ninetieth day. It has sometimes been the practice to stop the clock, and proceed with business beyond that hour, but this can be prevented by simply entering a protest for record on the journal.

Words of wisdom written long ago can be as useful now, in many respects, as they were back then. Although stopping the clock to proceed with business beyond the constitutionally mandated time for sine die probably would not be tolerated today.