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Pa. Capitol's naked statuary undergo repairs, maintenance: Video

For more than a century, visitors have admired and snickered at the 27 naked figures that grace the state Capitol's main entrance.

On Wednesday, they received closer scrutiny than usual as workmen carefully cleaned and filled the cracks that routinely form in the Italian Carrara marble.

"Thanks for your hard work," shouted one passerby, after snapping photos of one of the workers crouched beneath a perfectly sculpted torso.

Jason Wilson, research historian for the Capitol Preservation Committee, said the state tries to address the cracks and other maintenance issues at least once every few years.

The statues that have become a fixture of the Pennsylvania Capitol were dedicated on Oct. 4, 1911.

"They're meant for a Mediterranean climate," he said. "Because of the freeze-thaw of our environment here, they need to undergo treatment."

Pennsylvania's harsh winters, Wilson said, leave cracks that could lead to more severe damage if left untended. The process is similar to that of road surfaces, where water expands upon freezing and leaves a larger void when it melts.

"If you don't fill them each year or every three years, ice gets in and causes them to swell and explode," he said. "You'd have arms and legs falling down."

This year's maintenance project cost $61,277 as part of a larger six-year $300,000 contract that also includes the Mexican-American War memorial.

Situated atop the pediments on either side of the Capitol's main entrance, the state originally paid sculptor George Grey Barnard $180,000 to create them. When adjusted for inflation, that would come to about $4.5 million today.

The pieces, known as "Life of Humanity," caused a stir upon their dedication due to the figures' nakedness. The furor resulted in the placement of fig leaf sheaths over their genitalia.

"When they were installed in 1911, the citizens of Harrisburg demanded that they be covered up," Wilson said, "which George Grey Barnard was not super happy about."

Over the intervening century, proposals to move the statues indoors have come and gone without much fanfare. More than two decades ago, they were taken down from their pediments as part of a massive restoration project in which they were taken apart and pieced back together.

"That's what the maintenance is preventing -- the need for a large-scale project," Wilson said.

This article was updated to include the cost of the maintenance project.