| Oregon Pioneer | |
|---|---|
 The sculpture in 2007 | |
 | |
| Artist | Ulric Ellerhusen |
| Year | 1938 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Bronze,gold leaf |
| Dimensions | 6.7 m (22 ft) |
| Location | Salem, Oregon, United States |
| Coordinates | 44°56′18″N123°01′49″W / 44.938466°N 123.030374°W /44.938466; -123.030374 |
Oregon Pioneer, also known asGold Man,[1] is an eight-and-a-half tonbronze sculpture withgold leaf finish that sits atop theOregon State Capitol inSalem, Oregon,United States. Created byUlric Ellerhusen, the statue is a 22 ft (7 m)-tall hollowsculpture. The gilded piece was installed atop the building in 1938 when a new capitol was built.
The "brawny woodsman", asTime magazine called it, was built inNew Jersey by sculptor Ulric Ellerhusen.[2][3] While under construction, Ellerhusen had a large door built in order to allow him to move thestatue outdoors to view how it would look in natural lighting.[2] It was finished in 1938 and shipped toOregon for installation on top of the new capitol building.[2] The previous capitol building had burned in 1935. Shipped to Oregon via thePanama Canal, the statue then traveled by rail to Salem, and then by truck to the capitol.[2] Installation began on September 17, 1938, when the pioneer was hoisted to the top of the building as the installation took several days and was briefly delayed in order for the contractor to find heavier duty equipment to lift the heavy statue.[4]
Although the rotunda of the capitol that the statue rests upon was damaged in the1993 Scotts Mills earthquake, the statue itself was unharmed even though it did shift.[5] The Oregon Pioneer statue has been finished with a new layer ofgold leaf four times in its history. First in 1939 and again in 1958 by Bob Fulton, then in 1984 by John Edwards and Roy Darby. Then in September 2000, it was re-gilded for the fourth time by Lee Littlewood, Peter McKearnan and Nancy Comstock.[2] The 1984 re-gilding of the statue was funded by Oregon school children through a penny drive. The fundraising effort raised over $37,000.
In January 2001 the Capitol stopped lighting the pioneer at night. This was to save energy during theWestern Energy Crisis.[6] Then in April 2002solar panels were installed on the building to power thefloodlights that illuminate the statue at night. These panels generate an average of 7.8 kilowatts and were the first solar panels ever installed on a state capitol. The 850-square-foot (79 m2) array cost $60,000 and was purchased byPortland General Electric using a special ratepayer financed fund dedicated to purchasing fromrenewable energy sources.[7] As the solar array produces twice as much power as is needed, the additional energy is sent to thepower grid and is enough to power roughly one home for eight months out of the year.[8]
The statue sits 140 feet (43 m) above the ground on top of the Capitol'srotunda.[9] It can be reached by a 121-stepspiral staircase that starts on the building's fourth floor.[9] The pioneer is 22 feet (6.7 m) tall and sits on a 23-foot (7.0 m) tall marble base.[2] The head measures six feet ten inches in circumference.[10] Hollow inside, thebronze artwork weighs 8.5 short tons (7.7 t) with agold leaf finish.[11] The gold leaf is23K gold and must be refurbished every so often due to physical abrasion from dust (and scratches from bird claws).[2]
The pioneer depicted holds a splittingaxe in his right hand with the blade end facing the ground.[12] In the other hand is atarp, as according to the artist the pioneer was planning on building a shelter.[12] The pioneer also has a beard and looks to the west while facing north.[12] The capitol conducts tours that include trips to the base of the statue.[13]
