In 1886, the Wyoming Territory hit a growth spurt. Gold rush boomtowns and the Union Pacific Railroad brought fortune-seekers from the east. To show the rest of the country Wyoming was worthy of statehood, Territorial Governor Frances E. Warren signed a bill to build a grand Capitol near the depot in downtown Cheyenne.
Constructed in the Renaissance Revival style with the finest materials—marble, cherry wood, ornate glass, and a 146-foot-tall spire and dome—and adorned with art depicting life in Wyoming, the new Capitol was the territory’s crown jewel. For the grand opening, shops closed; a time capsule was filled with territorial laws, the state seal, newspapers and photos; and folks gathered from across the state to celebrate.
Immediately thereafter, Wyoming made history. In 1889, it became a state and, half a century before the rest of the country, granted women the right to vote. “The Equality State” tradition continued for decades, allowing women to hold public office, paying women teachers equally and becoming the first state to elect a woman governor in 1924. These historic votes, cast in the Capitol Building, led to its listing on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and National Historic Landmark distinction
in 1987.
For more than a century, through struggles large and small, the state persevered and thrived while its hallmark building stood as a symbol to the Wyoming spirit. After 130 years and decades of deferred maintenance, the building began to show wear, too much to ignore. The dome and sandstone deteriorated, the plumbing disintegrated, and aging electrical wires hung loose inside the walls. The building strained with structural cracks, skylights leaked, and the lack of air conditioning and fire-prevention measures left occupants at risk. State officials faced a decision: completely restore the building or prepare to lose it for good.
The Capitol Square Project, the largest of its kind in Wyoming, was a top-to-bottom renovation to rehabilitate and restore the Capitol Building, replace and relocate the central utility plant, remodel and expand the extension between the Capitol and Herschler State Office Building, and remodel and expand the Herschler building. Constructed in 1981, the modernist Herschler State Office Building was a design of the time. Outdated and inefficient, it had wayfinding problems, lacked security, and possessed an underutilized atrium that carried sound and increased heating and cooling costs. The four-year Wyoming Capitol Square Project replaced outdated building systems, added critical life-safety infrastructure, and addressed public space needs while expanding and refurbishing office space.
Using construction practices modern and historic, HDR and its team restored the Capitol to its former grandeur with beautiful arches, ceilings, windows and woodwork, as well as incorporated modern building systems; universal accessibility; and space to create a cohesive, one-of-a-kind Capitol area.
The phased work minimized impacts to government operations and relocated Herschler building employees from one side to the other while construction occurred, and then back again. The team overcame missing as-built drawings, mitigated hazardous materials, conquered Wyoming’s harsh weather and flourished with painstaking detail.
Completed on budget and schedule in December 2019, the renovated Capitol Square stands as a testament to history and an example for the future.
STRUCTURAL CONCERNS
Although the Capitol underwent several upgrades and improvements, with two major expansions since its completion, this project marked its first comprehensive overhaul.
Prior to the project, the team knew poor soil underlaid the Capitol. It wasn’t compact enough and the building’s settlement required the team to design a micropile system to stabilize the structure. The underpinning process for the micropiles strengthened the existing foundation to support heavier loads than the building’s original design. This also allowed the team to pass utilities under the historic footings.
To install the new foundation system, the contractor drilled micropiles into the ground close to the wall—one inside the building and one outside—then connected them with a steel needle beam under the existing foundation. The contractor installed more than 600 micropiles, up to 33-feet deep, then filled them with grout. After setting, the team tested their strength. Excavating up to 6-feet below grade, the team installed the new structural components and MEP systems.
Above ground, the new MEP systems presented separate but significant challenges. Required to take out shear walls, the team verified the removals would not impact the building’s structural integrity. When possible, they used original chases. Within the brick and timber structure, they often had to channel to install utilities—using precise measurements to maintain building integrity. Rather than surface-mounting conduit on walls or building new walls to hide new ductwork, the team created channels in load-bearing brick walls to hide these items behind the walls’ plaster finish. Coordination again proved instrumental, as each conduit and duct was individually channeled. The team coordinated through BIM and then laid out the channels in the field before channeling into a wall.
PHOTOS: DAN SCHWALM, COURTESY HDR unless otherwise noted