Capitol's gold charioteer coming down for a facelift

The gold charioteer at the state Capitol
The gold charioteer at the state Capitol.
MPR Photo/Hart Van Denburg/File

The gold charioteer on the top of the State Capitol is coming down this week.

The Minnesota Department of Administration says it's removing the figure to repair corrosion on the statue's base.

A crane will be set up on Tuesday morning to remove the charioteer and lower it to the ground. The corrosion will be repaired and the gold statue will be re-gilded. It's expected to take three months, and is part of a much broader renovation project that is underway at the State Capitol.

The governor's office, the state attorney general's office, legislative offices and others have been moved from the Capitol as a part of a 272 million dollar renovation. The entire project is expected to take roughly three years.

The golden statue, placed on the Capitol in 1906, was last removed from the building in 1994 for a complete restoration and gilding.

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