ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES)
Capitol Media Services had a story Monday about last-minute efforts to secure a little bit of funding toward a huge remodeling of the state Capitol complex. The goal is to replace the House and Senate buildings, and possible the nine-story executive tower, by the 2012 centennial celebration of statehood.
I recoil at the idea that Arizona can afford to spend $100 million to $500 million to give better offices to the Legislature and perhaps the governor and the secretary of state. But I worked as a Tribune reporter at the state Capitol for almost four years. And I can say that Arizonans should be embarrassed by what is supposed to be the centerpiece of their state government.
The House and Senate buildings, built in 1960, are ugly, giant concrete boxes that appear intended to fend off a foreign military assault rather than be home to the noble governance of a democratic republic. Even worse, the designers of those two buildings made almost no effort to blend them with the original Capitol, a statuesque structure built in 1900 similar to other Western capitols from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Finally, the House and Senate buildings simply are dysfunctional. The House endures a serious lack of office space that disrupts the public’s ability to meet lawmakers and to watch them in action. The Senate suffers from plumbing problems that result in pipes bursting from time to time, causing real damage that must be repaired over and over.
The executive tower, which opened in 1974, is more attractive from my point of view (which lacks any architectural training) and still is quite functional. But many people believe that building doesn’t match the original Capitol either, in design or in scope because of its domineering height.
In January, Utah rededicated its state capitol after a four-year, $200 million remodeling project that restored its original beauty while adding 200,000 square feet of office space.
I don’t know what the answer is for Arizona. But don’t we deserve to be as proud of our state Capitol as our northern neighbors are of theirs?
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Aren’t we in a recession right now? And do we really think that new offices and building will help our state Gov’t make decisions that won’t put us in debt (the state can’t even fund the traditional 4th of July celebrations). We need to think about more important things than the states buildings..