The lion statue at Skylight Studios in Woburn, where it will be refurbished. (Courtesy Skylight Studios)
BOSTON — For 113 years, a time capsule has been inside the head of the golden lion statue on top of the Old State House in Boston. The time capsule will be opened Thursday.
The lion and another statue, of a unicorn, both dating back to 1901, were removed from their perches for repairs last month.
According to a Boston Globe report from 1901, the time capsule was filled “many interesting contributions of the day” — including photographs and autographs from top government officials, a population map, a letter from reporters assigned to cover City Hall, old newspapers, and William McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt campaign buttons.
The lion and unicorn statues in their usual spot on the top of the Old State House. (kestrana/Flickr)
The Bostonian Society, the nonprofit that maintains the Old State House at the corner of State and Washington streets, is asking the public to suggest what should be left inside a new time capsule using the hashtag #lionandunicorn on social media.
Suggestions so far range from Fenway Park dirt, the new iPhone and a miniature version of the “Make Way for Ducklings” sculpture, to unpaid city parking tickets and Big Dig architectural renderings.
Brian LeMay, the president of the Bostonian Society, told WBUR the organization is already planning to include a Boston Marathon medal, as well as images and documents from the present day.
LaMay says no matter what else ends up going into the new time capsule, his organization has one requirement: “I think one thing we are going to do is make it a little bit easier to get the time capsule out then the one that is in there now,” he said.
According to an email from the Bostonian Society’s Heather Leet, a fiber optic camera was used to determine that the capsule is secured inside the lion’s head with copper bands.
Bob Shure, the artist tasked with refurbishing the statues, plans to first remove the lion’s crown and then remove the time capsule during a ceremony at his studio in Woburn.
We’ll have photos of the opened time capsule later today.