DENVER — Colorado turns 150 in 2026.
And there is a debate about what to do with a piece of her youth ahead of that milestone birthday.
“So, let’s talk about the proposal to display the Colorado Constitution,” former Democratic State Sen. Lois Court said to start the Capital Building Advisory Committee on Friday.
On the agenda was a proposal to display the Colorado Constitution at the State Capitol, a discussion that has been going on since at least 2019.
“Because of lighting conditions and security issues, the Capitol as a location for displaying the original Constitution, maybe isn’t the best choice,” said committee member and History Colorado CEO Dawn DiPrince. “A really fantastic copy of the original Constitution could be on display.”
The committee is trying to figure out how the Constitution could be on display and what that would entail.
“True accessibility would be digitizing the pages of the Constitution,” DiPrince said.
“As I am remembering now, nothing in this building is easy,” Court said.
“The Capitol is a challenging place to bring the Constitution,” Jason Hanson, History Colorado’s Chief Creative Officer, said in an interview with Next with Kyle Clark.
Hanson answered questions during the committee hearing.
“It has been at History Colorado since 2017,” Hanson told the committee.
There are three versions of the Colorado Constitution.
The large English version is on loan from the State Archives at History Colorado. There are two others on display at El Pueblo History Museum in Pueblo. They are smaller and transcribed in Spanish and German.
The original English version is under glass in a temperature and humidity controlled dim room at History Colorado.
“We did not feel that it was a strong option to display the original Constitution in the state Capitol,” Hanson told the committee.
“How we can do this that is both respectful of the document and accessible to the public,” Court asked during the committee hearing.
Hanson and DiPrince detailed other options, including a digital display or a facsimile copy.
“We estimated at about $20,000, based on kiosks that History Colorado has previously built,” Hanson told the committee about a digital display cost.
The U.S. Constitution is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and a similar setup in Colorado would likely be cost prohibitive.
“Millions of dollars,” Hanson said. “It is in a state-of-the-art case, in a room heavily guarded and locked away from natural light.
The committee made no decisions on Friday. Instead, Hanson will research the options and provide the committee choices, with a goal to have whatever choice made by 2026.
“2026 is the 150th birthday of our beloved state, and of course, the 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence,” DiPrince said. “This could be a really good target date to think about ways in which we would want to illuminate this original Constitution.”
“It is the sesquicentennial of Colorado, the semi-quincentennial of the United States, so it is the sesqui-semiquincentennial here in Colorado. It’s never too early to start for something that big,” Hanson said.
Other stories by Marshall Zelinger:
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Full Episodes of Next with Kyle Clark