The Chief William Shelton Story Pole was removed from the Capitol Campus greenhouse and transported to a climate-controlled storage facility in Kent on July 17.

The story pole was stored in the Capitol greenhouse since its removal on November 3, 2010. Removal of the 73-year old artwork from its location on the Capitol grounds was deemed necessary because of excessive internal moisture and associated extensive wood rot, which severely compromised its stability and created a serious public safety concern. The pole was cut into seven sections, in 8- to 10-foot lengths, during removal due to its fragility and weight. At that time, the cut sections weighed from 1400 to 3200 pounds.

After the removal, Enterprise Services convened an informal consultative group of tribal representatives, carvers, conservators and museum professionals that advised the history of the story pole should be documented, its pieces should be stored together in an environmentally controlled facility, and an ideal future solution would be conservation for indoor display in a Capitol Campus location.

Partnering with the Burke Museum, Enterprise Services commissioned documentation of the history, artistry and cultural heritage of the pole. The research concluded that the story pole is an innovative artistic effort by an important Native American leader to preserve Salish culture and communicate it to a broad non-native audience. Chief Shelton's artistic style influenced many contemporary carvers.

While potential locations are still being explored, conservation experts are developing recommendations and rough cost estimates to restore the pole for indoor display.

View the photo set of the relocation on Flickr.