Scaffolding used by workers repairing the Iowa Capitol's iconic dome is starting to come down, and new lights are being installed that will significantly change the way the building's exterior appears at night.

The $10 million dome renovation project began in April and the scaffolding has interfered with sightseers who wanted to get perfect photos of the Capitol building. But most of the platform should be down by Thanksgiving, and nearly all of the remaining temporary structure will be removed from the dome's southwest side in January, said Scott Richeal, project superintendent for Neumann Brothers, the general contractor.

However, a small amount of scaffolding will remain on the dome until the project is finished in June, Richeal said.

The new lighting is intended to highlight the outside of the Iowa Capitol. It's been donated by Musco Lighting of Oskaloosa, which supplies lighting equipment for sports stadiums around the world. Some of the new lighting is already in place, and it provides a more robust white appearance of the Capitol to people passing by in the evening.

“The building won’t be quite as orange. There is more natural light with maybe just a yellow tint to bring out the brownstone," said Mark Willemsen, the Iowa Legislature's facilities manager.

Meanwhile, the dome repair project is on schedule and is going well, Richeal said. The work was authorized by the Iowa Legislature last year to ensure the aging rounded structure can continue to serve Iowans in the future. Money for the work is coming from funds left over from state bond issues.

"The main focus of this project is to replace the brick in the inner main dome because moisture and condensation over the years had started to deteriorate that brick," Richeal said. "We are also doing some copper repairs and some gold gilding, and repainting and resealing all the windows, and replacing glass in the upper three levels."

Jody Brown, the project's carpenter foreman, said the dome work hasn't been too difficult, and the sight of Des Moines from the top of the Iowa Capitol has been terrific.

"It is wonderful up there. It is a good view all around the city," Brown said.

Facts about the Iowa Capitol

The Iowa Capitol was constructed between 1871 and 1886 in a modified and refined Renaissance style of architecture. The center dome is made of iron and brick and covered with real 23-carat gold. The dome rises 275 feet above the ground floor. Four smaller domes rise from the four corners of the Capitol.

Iowa became a state in 1846, and the first General Assembly recognized the capital should be farther west than Iowa City, according to an official state publication. Amid rivalries, Jasper County was chosen and then rejected. In 1854, the fifth General Assembly concluded the Capitol should be "within two miles of the Raccoon fork of the Des Moines River."

The exact spot was chosen when Wilson Alexander Scott gave the state 9.5 acres where the Iowa Capitol now stands. A temporary building was used for 30 years while the permanent structure was being built.