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Amanda Butterfield reportingWhile construction crews have been taking the Utah State Capitol apart, they've been digging up some interesting discoveries.
Unexpected artifacts left behind, from when the capitol was first built in 1914.
Charles Shepard, Capitol Restoration Group: "These were the old shoes that were found."
For almost a century these shoes have been tucked away, hidden inside the walls of the capitol.
Charles Shepard, Capitol Restoration Group:"I don't know if someone went home barefoot that day or what."
Discovered only when the restoration project began.
Charles Shepard, Capitol Restoration Group: "Every time we've dug in the building there's been something good to find."
Though the artifacts found on the land and inside building don't have any monetary value, they're nice nuggets of Utah’s history.
Charles Shepard, Capitol Restoration Group: “A dollar-75 to Shelby Larson.”
Old checks from Desert National Bank, found behind shelving dated from the 1920's.
Or a chunk of concrete layered with pages of the Herald Republican from 1915, advertising hair ointments and men’s suits, starting at only 15 dollars.
Charles Shepard, Capitol Restoration Group: “I guess this would be the refreshment box!”
Old bottles, and Fisher beer cans, an old Utah brewery that seemed to be a favorite among the workers back then.
Also found, a favorite among workers now: A mummified rat found clinging to a pipe behind a wall.
Charles Shepard, Capitol Restoration Group: “Somebody called him Mister Stiffy.”
Shepard has shelves full of serendipitous finds: original light fixtures, decorative plasters, sections of stenciled wall canvases -- all clues helping Shepard and the other architects preserve the capital during this renovation.
Charles Shepard, Capitol Restoration Group: "They're really important for the project. Trying to understand what built, designed, built, reasons built how it was."
Both when the capitol was first built, and renovated ten years later, the original painters also left behind their mark.
Charles Shepard, Capitol Restoration Group: "The Durn brothers signed their names, 1915, 1925 when they were doing it again."
Though Shepard says none of his crew plans to leave their shoes behind when all this is completed , there may be some other names etched next to the Durn brothers, hidden for the next 100 years.
All of the artifacts will be preserved and displayed on the main floor of the capitol, when it's completed in 2007.
