Costly repairs ahead for WA Capitol after vandalism. Rug alone could be $960,000

Late last year, an intruder broke into the state Capitol building and vandalized multiple historical artifacts, causing various damage.

Now the state is offering the clearest picture yet of the cost of repairs.

The incident was discussed Thursday during a joint meeting of the State Capitol and Capitol Campus Design Advisory committees. Objects damaged during the break-in Oct. 5 include a more-than-century-old piano and bronze busts that were knocked off their bases.

Jo Aiken, chief operating officer for the Department of Enterprise Services, said at Thursday’s meeting that $250,000 has been appropriated to finish repairs related to the vandalism.

Some in-progress fixes include, according to an accompanying slideshow:

• $5,550 for the smoke-damaged Blüthner piano
• $5,500 for the Martin Luther King Jr. bronze bust and wood pedestal
• $5,500 for the George Washington bronze bust and wood pedestal
• $4,200 for the chipped, scorched marble stairs and floors
• $0 for a beyond-repair, non-historic piano bench, which is being replaced from storage

Those committed funds total $20,750, meaning $229,250 in available funds remain.

The committees were also presented with a dozen choices to mend the State Reception Room’s 25.5-by-55.5-foot original Mohawk wool rug that suffered fire and smoke damage.

The least costly option would reshape the rug to 20 feet by 40 feet for $37,000. The most expensive — $958,600 — would repair the rug as close as possible to the original with a hand-knotted loop pile; that price includes shipping the existing rug at an estimated $240,000, per the slideshow.

Repairs would require sending the rug to New York, the only place with a large enough loom, Aiken said.

One mid-priced rug possibility costing $190,100 is listed on the table as “replace with high quality Stark hand-tufted loop pile (made in India),” though that dollar amount doesn’t include the cost of tariffs, tax or handling of the new rug.

Lt. Gov. Denny Heck noted Thursday that the state Capitol building, which was completed in 1928, is coming up on its 100th anniversary. This “temple to democracy” will be around for hundreds more years to come, he said.

“We shouldn’t be cheap in our recommendation about how it is that we keep the beauty of this Capitol building to the optimum level,” Heck said, “especially in the year of our nation’s semi-quincentennial, in advance of the building’s centennial.”

Aside from the rug, the State Reception Room’s original teak floor faces discoloration. Options include leaving it be, or mending only the scorched section for some $8,950 — though Aiken said “that would be like polishing one spot on your hood on a very dirty, aged car.”

A third choice: refinishing the entire floor for $22,850.

There are also different approaches to soothing some singed original mohair drapery: leaving it as is or pursuing repairs priced at either $16,000 or $29,000.

Aiken said that insurance adjusters are expected to come out at the end of the month, which could mean that some of these repair costs would be covered.

Next steps for the pending repairs will come July 23, when the committees determine which recommendations to forward to those responsible for appropriating funds in the state budgets.

Prosecutors charged the 29-year-old man accused of the break-in with second-degree burglary and third-degree malicious mischief, and he was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation, according to court records. His case is pending, and he has a competency hearing scheduled next month, court records show.

Simone Carter

The Olympian

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