The Hawaii State Capitol was commissioned by Governor John A. Burns and built in the late 1960's, officially opening on March 15, 1969. During construction, a worker fell to his death while working on the capitol roof structure. As you can see, the architectural design opens to the elements, with the interior roofline curving up and braced by concrete slabs. The blue mosaic tiles create a seamless transvision between building and sky.The concrete slabs were guided into the struts of the roofline using a crane with guide wires. Sheets of plexi-glass served as placeholders before the slabs were installed. One day, a construction worker, who did not secure his safety harness properly, was struck by one of the guide wires that was set in motion by a gust of wind. He fell to his death landing on the floor of the rotunda. After his publicized death, people started to sneak onto the capitol site curious about the new building, so security guards began patroling the floors at night. Several security guards began to report the same odd sound from the top floor - the sound of creped-sole boots crunching on plexi-glass above them. When they looked up, no one was there.
The contractor held a Hawaiian blessing on the site, and no further incidents were reported.
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