Old State House statue could include time capsule – WHDH

BOSTON (WHDH) –
Two historic statues are going to get a major facelift, but not before creating some buzz.

The famed Golden Lion and Silver Unicorn statues have graced the corners of the building since 1901. Crews worked Sunday take own two historic statues at the old State House so they can get ready for renovations.

Construction crews used a crane to gently remove the large copper statues, lowering them to the ground, and into wooden crates. Their next stop is a restoration studio in Woburn for an extensive facelift.

However, one of the statues is getting a lot of attention.

“We have stories from 1901 from the Globe at the time that a time capsule was put in the head of lion and a list of contents,” said Heather Leet from the Bostonian Society.

Experts are going to use a small camera to explore the hollow statue and if the capsule is indeed inside, they will carefully open up the seams and remove it.

Leet says if the legend is true, then they expect to find all sorts of letters, pictures and documents from local politicians and prominent Bostonians of days past. This mystery is providing plenty of excitement around the historic site.    

“To pass something through time for that many years and make new discoveries would be awesome,” said Boston resident Cassie Epstein.

Others are more skeptical.

“I don’t think so. It just sounds a little too good to be true, but we’ll see,” said another resident.

The project is expected to take 6-8 weeks. It’s part of a $375,000 revitalization plan that also includes restoring the famed balcony and the west facade.

Leet said they plan on putting a time capsule back inside the lion’s head whether they find one or not, so they are asking for suggestions on what they should put inside. It’ll be opened in another 100 years.

Leave a Reply