"Capitol Copper Collection"
History
The "Capitol Copper Collection"
was created from copper that was once part of the roof of the
Iowa State Capitol. This copper is over 100 years old. In 1983,
exterior restoration work began on the State Capitol Building
in Des Moines. The cause was the crumbling blue stone that adorned
the base of the roof. In order to remove and replace the stone,
the copper roof needed to be taken off to expose the stone.
Over a hundred years ago, when the Capitol
Building was constructed, the method for sealing the copper roof
was to melt lead and place it in the seams. Tar was also used
to seal some of the roof. Now that the roof had been taken apart,
the trick was to reseal it. In this regard, a copper roof is
just like a big piece of plumbing: once heat is added to one
section to reseal it, typically another section breaks loose.
The difficulty of resealing as well as the concern about lead
poisoning prompted the decision to replace the old roof with
new copper and modern seaming techniques.
As the copper was being removed, the original
copper was being taken to the scrap yard. Since Bob knew the
crew and contractor working on the Capitol, Bob offered to buy
the metal directly from the contractor. This was a win-win for
both the contractor and Bob. The contractor received more money
from selling the copper to Bob than he would have received for
salvaging the copper at the scrap yard and Bob had some big pieces
of copper for his art work.
Bob likens the copper to buying beef on
the hoof, "it is not all useful meat." Not all the
copper is usable, with the lead and tar, but there is enough
to make some wonderful pieces of art to be enjoyed by many. A
significant added value to this copper art work is the historical
perspective. It gives the art collector the opportunity to hold
and own a piece of Iowa History.
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