The all-male gang in the Capitol Rotunda will soon go coed. The now famous suffragists' statue, subject of intense congressional bickering over the past year or so, is scheduled to be moved to the second-floor Rotunda by Nov. 19.
The statue of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony will join busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other distinguished U.S. leaders in the hall designed to honor American heroes - and now, heroines.The statue has been in the crypt of the Capitol for years, off to one side along with exhibitions of early pictures and models of the Capitol. Congress wrestled with the issue of moving the statue for months, only to get bogged down when some GOP members objected to the government paying for the move. That issue was settled when a private group raised the $75,000 necessary.
The Architect of the Capitol has been working with a rigging company on how to move the enormous structure, which weighs about eight tons. First, the base of the statue, which is marble, will be replaced with a lighter metal alloy. Eventually, the metal will be covered with marble so that the statue's look remains the same.
By Nov. 12, the rigging firm will begin the three-day moving process by building a wooden floor through the Capitol on the first floor, along the lines that the statue will be taken to the outside.
Planners are still unsure whether a door will have to be removed to get the statue outside. Once outside, it will be lifted by cranes to the second floor and wheeled in on wooden floor protectings to the Rotunda.
No decision has been made as to the statue's place in the Rotunda, or whether something already there will be moved to make room for the three women, who were the leading forces in the fight to win the vote for women. A ceremony celebrating the new placement will be held Nov. 19.