Missouri Capitol’s Roman Goddess Statue Removed for Repairs

A statue of the Roman goddess of agriculture that topped Missouri's Capitol building has been removed for the first time in nearly a century for maintenance.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that construction crews used a massive crane to take down the statue of Ceres on Thursday.

The 10-foot-four bronze statue weighs about one ton.

Thursday's removal marks the first time the statue has touched the ground since it was installed in October 1924. It will be gone for about a year for maintenance.

The Missouri Capitol Commission picked the goddess more than a century ago to adorn the Capitol because of the state's agricultural heritage. The Missouri statue depicts Ceres holding a bundle of grain.