Friends of the Vermont State House - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Origins and mission

The Friends of the Vermont State House is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the restoration, conservation, and interpretation of Vermont's historic State House

Vermont State House

The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier, is the state capitol of Vermont and the seat of the Vermont General Assembly. The current Greek Revival structure is the third building on the same site to be used as the State House...

, the seat of the U.S. state of Vermont's

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

legislative branch of government. The organization works closely with the Vermont General Assembly

Vermont General Assembly

The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the U.S. state of Vermont. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself...

, the Curator of State Buildings, the Office of the Sergeant at Arms, and other government officials to maintain the historic and symbolic dignity of the building. Membership is open to all, and the organization is self-governing.

Mission statement

The Friends of the Vermont State House describes it mission as "a non-profit corporation dedicated to the fulfillment of the Capitol building's full potential as the structure of first importance to Vermont. To accomplish this, the Friends focus on conservation and restoration of the Capitol's historic integrity and promotion of public appreciation of the building and its collections. We work in close cooperation with the Legislature and government officials to ensure that the historic and symbolic dignity of the building continues to enhance the vital continuing function it fills."

Restoration guided by scholarship

In the early 1980s the Friends commissioned a master plan for the long term restoration of the building. Research was undertaken using historic documents, photographs, stereoscope views, drawings and plans for the 1859 building. The Friends funded a curator and tour guide coordinator, both positions the state government came to realize deserved state funding. The master plan examined the whole building through its history, giving consideration to the range of period styles various rooms had undergone over time. Much of the initial work was towards negating the results of a 1970 renovation that paid little attention to historic scholarship. As the plan emerged, a complex schedule based on the building's heavy use during the legislative session needed to be negotiated. Over the course of twenty years, a dramatic transformation has occurred. The two main legislative chambers have been restored to their 1859 appearance. Period furniture upholstered in a vinyl product in the 1970s were restored using authentic silk satin, silk velvet and horsehair fabrics. Complex period carpeting was rewoven and installed, chandeliers and sconces were restored, and new drapery based on old photographs were recreated and hung. Today the Vermont State House shines, the New York Times has described it as being "like a Fabergé egg." Whereas the taxpayers may finance large ticket items like new carpeting and restoration of plaster, the Friends help acquire special pieces with a history associated with the State House. Recently the Friends acquired a c. 1858 bronze desk lamp with the sculptor Hiram Powers

Hiram Powers

Hiram Powers was an American neoclassical sculptor.-Biography:The son of a farmer, Powers was born in Woodstock, Vermont, on the July 29, 1805. In 1818 his father moved to Ohio, about six miles from Cincinnati, where the son attended school for about a year, staying meanwhile with his brother, a...

' figure of the Greek Slave cast in ormolu

Ormolu

Ormolu is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-karat gold in a mercury amalgam to an object of bronze. The mercury is driven off in a kiln...

. The Friends are currently working on a new book documenting the history of the State House.

Funding

The Friends of the Vermont State House have raised and spent well over a million dollars on the building's restoration. Funding comes from membership, individual contributions, sale of books and items in the their gift shop "Under the Dome," and through special events, many held in the State House. The Friends receive major funding from Cabot Creamery Cooperative

Cabot Creamery

The Cabot Creamery Cooperative is an American dairy agricultural marketing cooperative, wholly owned by the Agri-Mark Cooperative.Originally started as Cabot Farmers Cooperative Creamery in 1919 by farmers in Cabot, Vermont, it was taken over by the Agri-Mark Cooperative in 1992...

, National Life Group

National Life Insurance Company

National Life Insurance Company was chartered on November 13, 1848 “upon the principle of mutual participation in the funds or profits” of the company. As such, the National Life of Vermont was a mutual company even though that fact was not apparent from its name...

, The Preservation Trust of Vermont

The Preservation Trust of Vermont

The Preservation Trust of Vermont, founded in 1980, is a nonprofit, charitable, organization designed to preserve and protect the architectural heritage of the U.S. state of Vermont. The Trust provides assistance to individuals, groups, and other organizations, involved in the historic preservation...

, and Rock of Ages Corporation

Rock of Ages Corporation

Rock of Ages Corporation is a granite quarrying and finishing company located in Graniteville, Vermont. It was founded in 1885. The company was one of the cemetery-related businesses profiled in the 2005 PBS documentary A Cemetery Special....

Interpretation

Through special events, and lectures, but more often through on-site interpretation by volunteer tour guides, the Friends help tourists, local residents, and sometimes even members of the General Assembly better know and appreciate the State House. The Friends have brought historic preservation architects, artisans and crafts people, historians, musicians, and writers to the State House for public events. Volunteer tour guides take groups through the State House and show the real life workings of Vermont's seat of government.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.