There's time to see Shasta's revamped county display before it makes Sacramento its home

It’s been six years since work started on updating the terribly dated Shasta County display in the state Capitol in Sacramento.

The new display was finished in 2021 amid a global pandemic. Then it was announced the Capitol Annex, where the county displays sit, would be undergoing a $500 million replacement project, further delaying the official premier of the new Shasta County Capitol display.

The price tag for the annex project has exceeded $1 billion dollars and work has been delayed by lawsuits and other issues, per news reports.

Moreover, Randi Slaughter, who spearheaded the community-funded project to get the new Shasta County display built, said there is no guarantee that county displays will be showcased in the new Capitol Annex.

“I’ve never gotten a specific answer from somebody at the Capitol, yes these displays are going to be back in the annex,” she recently told me. “Our hope is these displays do go back in the Capitol because each county has worked really hard on them.”

In the interim, the Shasta County Capital Display can be seen at The Art Hunger Project gallery inside the I.O.O.F Hall in downtown Redding.

“I have been working with Viva Downtown and the Art Hunger Project who have graciously agreed to host the display until its next destination to the Shasta Historical Society building,” Slaughter said. “The Shasta Historical Society and I met and felt they would be an excellent temporary host to the display. They, too, have their own renovations they are working through, which is how Viva Downtown and I proposed the I.O.O.F Hall for a short period of time.”

Slaughter is excited that the display will be downtown, but she also hopes it will find its way to Sacramento one day so it can be showcased to a larger audience.

“With everything happening in our downtown, we see so many visitors coming to see us. It’s just really an opportunity, with First Friday bringing in a lot of people there. So we are just proud to display it for the local folks and those visitors,” she said.

David Benda covers business , development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on X, formerly Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: There's time to see Shasta's revamped county display before it makes Sacramento its home