‘Best cat ever’: Commission approves project honoring Cameron, Nebraska’s ‘Capitol Cat’

LINCOLN — The Nebraska State Capitol’s longtime unofficial feline mascot will soon have a statue outside the building after a governing commission approved the idea Thursday.

The Nebraska Capitol Environs Commission, which oversees development, sculptures and public art in the cardinal directions of the Capitol, voted 6-0 to allow the proposal to move forward. One commissioner was absent. 

The statue would honor 11-year-old Cameron the “Capitol Cat,” a tabby who for nearly a decade regularly trotted to the Capitol and greeted his own sort of constituents.

In May, Cameron and his owner, Dianna McGinnis, moved into assisted living, and Cameron retired from his public duties.

“This is so much better than what we started with,” state Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward, a leader in designing the project, told the commission. “I feel like we’ve landed where it needs to be.”

An evolving project

Commissioner Dave Landis, a Lincoln state senator from 1979-2007, and other commissioners praised the proposal’s evolution, which now came with formal renderings from Olsson, an engineering and design firm, rather than AI mockups.

“This seems to be very much like what a cat owner would do,” said Landis, noting how the public could sit and enjoy the green space next to Cameron.

The final proposal calls for a life-size bronze statue of Cameron on the south side of the Capitol atop granite slabs. Those rectangular pieces were originally curbs on streets near the Capitol building and have been safely stored ever since the City of Lincoln put in concrete curbs.

“It really pulls it together, and I’m really, really excited about that piece of it,” Hughes said.

A plaque honoring Cameron and the values he brought to the Capitol, such as bringing together Nebraskans and officials who might have just disagreed vehemently during debate, will be installed on the ground in front of his statue.

‘An awesome viewscape’

Benjamin Victor, an Idaho-based sculptor, is poised to sculpt Cameron’s bronze statue, assuming enough private funds are raised. As of Thursday morning, more than $6,500 had been collected. No public dollars will be used to create or maintain the project. 

Other sculptures by Victor are displayed in the Capitol Environs District, including bronze statues for Ponca Chief Standing Bear and Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte on Lincoln Mall north of the Capitol. Victor has also sculpted four statues in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, including the Chief Standing Bear statue for Nebraska.

Supporters had originally proposed a more monument-style tribute to Cameron, a statue on a limestone pedestal in homage to the Capitol building. Then the idea moved toward a more formal bench with Cameron. The project landed instead on a green space, which Olsson will spruce up in the immediate vicinity of the sculpture while also refurbishing an accessibility ramp. 

Hughes said the corner will serve as a focal point for fourth graders visiting the Capitol from across the state.

“It’s an awesome viewscape for photos because you’re far enough away from the Capitol that you can kind of capture the whole structure behind you,” Hughes said.

Designers will take into consideration final commissioner comments, including how to put together the granite slabs to be more uniform and how to prevent wayward skateboarders.

“I’d hate to see him clobbered by a skateboarder,” said Commission Chair Kile Johnson.

‘Best cat ever’

Speaking in support of the project was Octavia, a 9-year-old from Lincoln who attended the commission meeting with her mom, Shannon Hampson, brother Kingstin and three other children from Wild Child Daycare, which Hampson runs in Lincoln.

When someone feels down or upset, Octavia said, they can go to the statue, pet Cameron and be OK.

“Every person I know really wants a statue of him,” Octavia told the commission. “Did you know that he has been at the Capitol for 10 years? He’s the best cat ever.”

An unexpected fire alarm went off after Octavia spoke. Rather than delay the vote, commissioners abruptly ended public comment and gave unanimous final approval.

In a prewritten letter of support, Kingstin, 12, said he felt the statue was important so future generations will know about Cameron and how important he was to Lincoln. Kingstin said many historical figures have statues, “so why don’t we have a statue of Cameron?”

“I thought he was so special I made a trading card for him with some help,” Kingstin wrote. The daycare created trading cards to learn more about the Legislature and state senators, too.

Cameron’s ongoing lesson

After the meeting, Hampson said the daycare visits the Capitol quite often and that Cameron gave the kids a chance to learn more, not just through senators. In one exchange, when kids asked a lawmaker their favorite part about the Capitol, one senator said Cameron, and Hampson said it became a “fun little scavenger hunt” to find Cameron in each future visit.

“Even when two parties weren’t in agreement on something, that was a moment that they could be in agreement and find something that they both liked, and it could be that meeting point,” Hampson said. 

“I think that’s a very important lesson in life that even when you don’t agree with someone, you can still find something that you agree on. And so it’s just kind of that continuation of what we want when we come to the capital.”

With the final vote Thursday, designers need no further approval, but former state Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln, who helped Hughes, said the group would probably continue to update the commission as the project moves ahead.