Kansas Capitol grounds may have second Ad Astra statue soon in Topeka - The Topeka Capital-Journal

Have you ever wanted a selfie with the bronze statue of a Kansa warrior atop the Kansas Statehouse? Soon you may be able to snap that photo with a replica statue closer to the ground.

The second statue of Ad Astra is already made and has been sitting in storage in Salina since before the word "selfie" became part of English vocabulary. It's waiting to be placed on a pedestal that sits empty.

"The intent was always to finish the Ad Astra plaza as it was started 20 years ago," said Sen. Elaine Bowers, R-Concordia. "And on top of the pedestal is nothing, and the pedestal is waiting for the 8-foot statue."

The Capitol Preservation Committee is moving forward with completing the project after a Tuesday meeting and a subcommittee meeting earlier this month.

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Former Salina senator advocates for completing project

The 6-foot granite pedestal is already on the plaza southwest of the Statehouse. The 8-foot bronze replica of the dome sculpture would be mounted on top of the pedestal, surrounded by bronze plaques. Three of the plaques have already been cast, with 19 more needing to be done.

Former state Sen. Randall Hardy, R-Salina, has been an advocate for completing the project. He grew interested after walking through Capitol grounds and noticing the empty pedestal, which is surrounded by engraved bricks, some of which had names of his constituents in Salina.

"It was disturbing to me that we have a project on the Capitol grounds — which are magnificent — I mean, this is the seat of government for the state of Kansas and to have something that was unfinished bothered me and still nags at me," Hardy said.

Hardy said he believes the statue will be an attraction.

"The statue will be a magnet to draw people to the to that part of the Statehouse grounds," he said.

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Ad Astra faced difficulty

Ad Astra is named after the state's Ad Astra Per Aspera motto, meaning "to the stars through difficulties."

The Ad Astra statue had its own set of difficulties to go through before reaching for the stars from atop the dome.

It was originally commissioned in 1889, but the $7,000 price tag and controversy over choosing the Roman goddess of agriculture kept the project from proceeding. It wasn't until 1984 that lawmakers re-approved the project, with a design competition in 1988. The statue was installed in 2002.

But there apparently was difficulty raising enough private money. Legislative staff found historical society records indicating the ground-level replica was a fundraising mechanism for the bigger dome sculpture.

Committee members now express hesitancy about setting a precedent of donor names appearing on Statehouse monuments, stressing this one-time approval stems from past promises.

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The statue atop the capitol dome is 22 feet tall and was dedicated in 2002. The 8-foot replica has visited the Statehouse before, as seen in a Capital-Journal archive photo from 2002.

The original Ad Astra artist, Richard Bergen, died in April 2020 at age 95. His son, Rich Bergen, now awaits the chance to finish his father's work.

Earlier Ad Astra fundraising effort likely transferred into Kansas general fund

The statute authorizing the replica statue on Capitol grounds was first enacted in 1995. The statute also established a fund to collect donations because no taxpayer money is allowed to be spent on it.

But that fund no longer exists because the 2003 appropriations bill abolished the fund and likely transferred any money to the State General Fund.

New legislation is now needed to create a new fund for collecting donations and clarify legislative intent, officials said. Legislators asked to have a bill drafted before the next session starts in January.

In the meantime, Hardy has established an account at the Topeka Community Foundation to start collecting money. The fund has about $10,000.

Salina-based Bergen's Art LLC estimated it would cost nearly $160,000 to install the statue and border bricks with donor names that have already been made, plus create and install the plaques. Additional funds would likely be needed for other expenses.

"We do have a small bit of a start, but we have a long way to go," Bowers said, "but we're very confident that we can get there."

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2022-10-26 10:33:12Z
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