Ad Astra (Kansas Statehouse statue)

Topeka, Kansas, United States

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Ad Astra is a hollow-cast silicon bronze statue, 22 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 4,420 pounds, by Kansas sculptor Richard Bergen; the Kansas Historical Society calls it a Kansa warrior. It was placed atop the dome of the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, secured in place on October 10, 2002 and dedicated on November 4, 2002. The Kansas Historical Society says the warrior faces the North Star; the title comes from the state motto, Ad astra per aspera. At a 2024 plaza dedication, Kaw Nation chair Kimberly Jenkins called the warrior a symbol of how strong the Kaw people were and still are.

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Ad Astra (Kansas Statehouse statue)

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Site-level location · 39.0481° N, 95.6780° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

The figure on top of the Kansas State Capitol dome took more than a century to arrive.

According to the Kansas Historical Society, a commission began planning the dome's finishing details in 1889, and a winning design, a bronze Ceres, was never cast. A casting proposal in 1901 drew public objections over its cost and the choice of a pagan goddess, and the project stalled. In 1984 the legislature funded a new statue and barred a god or goddess. A design competition in late 1988 was won by sculptor Richard Bergen, whose bronze sculpture of a Kansa warrior was chosen.

The statue, named Ad Astra, was cast in June 2002 after a long wait. It is 22 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 4,420 pounds. Before installation it toured 35 Kansas cities, covering about 3,000 miles. A 450-foot crane lifted it, and it was secured in place on October 10, 2002. The dedication on November 4, 2002 was presided over by Governor Bill Graves, and the society says members of four American Indian tribes, including the Kaw (Kansa) Nation, prayed and sang blessings.

The title comes from the state motto, "Ad astra per aspera", which translates as "to the stars through difficulties". The Kansas Historical Society's online tour says the warrior faces the North Star, "a symbol of finding one's way."

In October 2024 a plaza honouring contributors to the project was dedicated at the Statehouse. WIBW quotes Kaw Nation chair Kimberly Jenkins as saying, "This warrior to me is a symbol of how strong our people were and still are."

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A bronze figure on the Kansas State Capitol dome in Topeka, visible from the Capitol grounds and surrounding downtown.

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The statue is on the exterior of the Capitol dome and is viewable from outside; close access to the dome is not part of the sourced facts. Capitol visiting arrangements were not researched here.

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39 km away

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