State Capitol chandelier likely down for a year

Complicating the repairs to the chandelier is its distinction as one of the heaviest capitol lighting fixtures in the nation.

By DAVID A. LIEB

The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Repairs to a massive antique brass chandelier in Missouri's Capitol could take more than year to complete, though its damage from a fall does not appear as severe as some initially feared.

The president of a company that specializes in capitol lighting fixtures surveyed the fallen chandelier Monday as workers began preparing for the difficult task of disassembling the 4,500-pound chandelier so it can be removed from the Capitol.

The chandelier had been lowered for maintenance -- which, ironically, was intended to safeguard it from falling -- when it slipped and fell the remaining five feet to the floor of the Capitol Rotunda on Friday night. No one was injured.

Examining the shattered glass again Monday, state facilities director Dave Mosby said it probably would be more than a year before the repaired chandelier could be raised to the Capitol dome. His first goal was to get it removed from the floor before an annual concert scheduled for mid-December.

Gary Behm, president and owner St. Louis Antique Lighting Co., said his firm could not even begin the repairs until March, partly because of the time-intensive process of documenting each piece of the chandelier, and partly because the company already is working on lighting fixtures for capitols in Kansas, Illinois and Iowa.

Complicating the repairs to Missouri's chandelier is its distinction as one of the heaviest capitol lighting fixtures in the nation, Behm said.

Although some of the glass broke, Behm said the full extent of the damage won't be clear until the chandelier can be raised from the floor. But from his initial inspection, the damage doesn't appear as bad as he had expected.

"If you use the analogy of a car accident, this was a fender-bender and not a crash, where the frame gets bent and everything like that," Behm said.

Mosby said the state had a $61,000 contract for the chandelier's initial maintenance work, which included replacing its cables and mechanical winch system.

The repairs resulting from Friday's accident should be covered by the contractor's insurance, Mosby said. Neither Mosby nor Behm could provide a cost estimate, "but it's going to be a lot more expensive than that" $61,000 original contract, Mosby said.

The chandelier's maintenance work was prompted by an accident in late 2003, when a 600-pound brass chandelier dropped nearly 50 feet in the Senate chamber, smashing an antique mahogany bench in front of the dais. No one was injured, but that led to inspections of all the Capitol's chandeliers. That repair cost about $15,000.