Washington, D.C., Capitol does first damage count after Jan. 6 assault

Washington’sArchitect of the Capitol(AOC), or the office in charge of maintaining the Capitol’s artistic and architectural assets, has released an initial report listing the damage that was done to the building’s assets during the assault on Congress last Jan. 6. Fortunately, the most important works do not seem to have been damaged, but still the damage on the minor heritage is quite extensive. Reporting the news is the New York Times.

The damage was mainly to the fixtures (broken glass, broken doors, shattered windows), but residues left behind by pepper spray, tear gas and fire extinguishers used by both the assailants and the law enforcement officers engaged in containing the assault were found on some statues and murals (no further details were specified: it is not known which works were affected). The works on which these residues were deposited will have to be carefully cleaned and preserved. A nineteenth-century marble bust depicting President Zachary Taylor was daubed, covered with a red, blood-like substance (The New York Times reports).

Outside the building, two 19th-century lampposts by architect Frederick Law Olmsted (Hartford, 1822 - Belmont, 1903) were broken. Also outside, graffiti was found on the western side of the Capitol.

“Based on our initial reconnaissance,” J. Brett Blanton, the Architect of the Capitol, announced in a memo, “most of the damage to the interior and exterior of the building is limited to broken glass, broken doors and graffiti. On the west side, teams identified graffiti near the Inaugural Stands and two broken Olmsted streetlights. There are also significant piles of garbage and debris. There are statues, wall paintings and historic benches that have suffered damage from accumulations of substances released by pepper spray, tear gas and fire extinguishers, which will require cleaning and conservation work.”

“As the mission of the Architect of the Capitol calls us to serve, preserve and inspire,” Blanton said, “it was very hard to see those scenes. Our staff showed exemplary professionalism during this very stressful time. Many of our employees worked through the night to clean up and begin fixing. Our teams have carefully begun to do damage counts on the historic building. AOC employees have already served during the Covid-19 pandemic, and now we must continue our mission in the days and months ahead to clean up and prepare the Capitol for the inauguration of the new president.”

Washington, D.C., Capitol does first damage count after Jan. 6 assault

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