State Officials Try to Find Missing Capitol Furniture

ST. PAUL (AP) - Architect Cass Gilbert didn't just design the Minnesota Capitol. He also designed much of the furniture he wanted inside it.

But many of those items have gone missing over the last century. Now, as a $309 million restoration moves toward completion in 2017, state officials are trying to find them.

Gilbert designed many of the Capitol's 1,600 original pieces. Some pieces are in storage, but almost half are missing, including four roll-top desks designed for the governor's suite of offices.

Brian Pease is the Minnesota Historical Society's site manager at the Capitol. He says that over time, many pieces were sold, discarded or moved. The restoration project is an opportunity to bring as much of the historic furniture as possible back to the Capitol.