LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A popular room in Arkansas’ Capitol will temporarily close starting this summer for a renovation financed with a $1.2 million state grant.
Work on the Old Supreme Court Chamber is expected to begin July 1 after workers cover the carpet and assemble scaffolding, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
The Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council awarded $1.2 million to the Senate last month. The council awards funds for acquisition, management and stewardship of state-owned lands or the preservation of state-owned historic sites or structures. The Senate requested $1.4 million.
“Most applications do not receive full funding,” said Melissa Whitfield, spokeswoman for the Department of Arkansas Heritage. “Based on the funding, which for this year was $22.671 million, the council determined that the Senate could do their project with $1.2 million.”
The Senate will also use the funds to renovate three legislative committee rooms at a cost of about $660,000. The project with those rooms began last month and is expected to be finished by September or October.
“We spend a lot of money keeping the Capitol kind of looking fresh, and I don’t have any problem with it,” said Democratic Sen. Larry Teague, co-chairman of the Joint Budget Committee.
Cornwell said the aim is to finish work on the chamber by mid-November.
“What is going to last so long is the painting,” she said. “It is time-consuming to take the paint off without destroying the plaster.”
The chamber is one of the most-visited rooms in the Capitol in Little Rock, receiving thousands of visitors each year, Cornwell said. The Supreme Court relocated in 1958 to the Justice Building southwest of the Capitol.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
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