Capitol idea

When Bradley is asked about the importance of Olmsted's first drawing, she said it brought national prestige and attention to the project and made Utah part of the national movement of park planning that was going on at the time. "The reason we remember Olmsted is that he saw the bigger picture," she said. "The way the Capitol relates to Salt Lake City is all about site."

The Capitol is perfectly positioned at the top of State Street, she noted. But Olmsted was the first to say the Capitol should not be surrounded by buildings. If it had been, Bradley said, its importance as a symbol would have been diffused.

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Now it falls to a new group of architects to see the new plan gets built. Sean Onyon, with the Capitol Renovation Group, will oversee the efforts of numerous architects, including the landscaping efforts of the MGB+A architects.

An oval walkway surrounding the Capitol was originally Olmsted's idea, said Onyon. With Kletting, "it took on a little bit of a different configuration." And in this century's design, the oval is resurrected.

This week architect Jay Bollwinkel went to Oregon to look at some Yoshino cherry trees. It's important to buy 300 cherry trees right now, explained Onyon. The trees need to be shaped for a few years before they are planted along the oval path on Capitol Hill. There they will shade a walkway. In the spring their blossoms will offer a subtle reminder of the nation's Capitol. On winter nights, their branches will twinkle with lights.

The trees will be a buffer as well. They will delineate the formal Capitol grounds from the informal outer lawns, the places that seem to invite family picnics.

The trees will offer a security buffer as well. The new site plan takes into account the need to keep cars from getting too close to the Capitol. With rows of trees and walls and curbs, modern-day landscape architects have planned for the protection of the state's most important public building. These were details Kletting and Olmsted never had to worry about.

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If you go. . .

What: Capitol Discovery Day: learn more about the Capitol restoration plan, including plans for the grounds (this is your last chance to be inside the Capitol for four years).

Where: 300 N. State

When: Saturday, noon-4 p.m.

How much: free

Phone: 533-0858

Web: www.utahheritagefoundation.org or www.utahstatecapitol.utah.gov

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E-mail: susan@desnews.com