Capital front entrance "'Michigan is derived from the Native American word 'Michigama', meaning 'large lake'" (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)

Michigan's State Capitol building, designed by architect Elijah Myers & dedicated on January 1, 1879. "The building's style, incorporating motifs from classical Greek and Roman architecture, is often termed Renaissance Revival or Neoclassical. Columns in the classical orders - Doric, Ionic and Corinthian - grace the exterior and interior. A four-story entrance pavilion is flanked by balanced wings housing the legislative chambers, and high above it all floats a distinctive, graceful cast iron dome." (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.) Restoration: 1989 - 1992

A beautiful representation of the "Renaissance Revival, or Neoclassic architecture that is represented by Michigan's capital building.

This is Michigan's 3rd Capitol Building. On July 1, 1805, Detroit was named the capital of the territory of Michigan. "Michigan was admitted into the union in 1837 with Detroit selected as its first capitol city. A territorial courthouse was pressed into service as the first capitol building." (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)

The location of the capitol city was changed to Lansing in 1847. The building now standing: "Elijah E Myers (1830? - 1909) was virtually unknown until he won a national competition in 1871 to design Michigan's third statehouse. His design, chosen over 20 others, was judged the only one capable of being built within its advertised budget of 1.2 million dollars while at the same time producing a handsome, fireproof building grand enough to meet the needs of a young and growing state." (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)

The rotunda, taken from the third floor balcony. As I do have a slight fear of heights, I had to really want this photo to lean over the rail, camera securely strapped to my neck. "The rotunda was designed with one purpose in mind: to awe and inspire. As you gaze into the starry sky high above, you feel that all the endless possibilities it represents is just within your grasp." (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)

The railing circling the rotunda The Gallery of Governors where portraits of former Michigan governors line the rotunda are on the 2nd & 3rd floors. "By tradition, governors pay for their own portraits, which are presented to the state after the governor leaves office. The portraits are arranged in chronological order, with the newest portraits on the second floor and the older ones on the third floor. There is only room in the Gallery for 14 portraits, so, when a new one is added, the oldest is moved to another location in the building." (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)

During the restoration (1989 - 1992) over nine acres of hand-painted surfaces were carefully restored to look exactly as they did originally.

The rotunda railing from the 2nd floor. In the cases circling the rotunda, are 160 replicas of historic battle flags carried by Michigan regiments during the Civil War (1861-1865) "Michigan contributed more than 90,000 volunteers to the struggle to save the Union and abolish slavery, a number which represents more than half of the military-age males in the state at the time. Among the banners in these cases was one carried by the First Michigan Sharpshooters. It was the first Union flag raised over Petersburg, the South's last stronghold, signaling that - after four long and agonizing years - the war was almost over." (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)

The House of Representatives Chamber, taken from the third floor viewing gallery.

"The House of Representatives Chamber, with 110 members, is the larger of the two chambers. Each representative is elected to a two-year term from a district of about 90,000 constituents. Each member sits at an assigned desk, with Democrats traditionally sitting on the left of the chamber as you face the rostrum and Republicans on the right. The presiding officer is gthe Speaker of the House, a representative elected to his position by fellow members." (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)

The ceilings in both the House and Senate Chambers have been restored. "Original panes of ruby-and-white hand etched glass were lost years ago, replaced in the House by plastic and in the Senate by plywood." (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)

"Replicas now feature the coats of arms of all 50 states, as well as Victorian designs and Michigan themes." (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)

The Senate Chambers

This is the glass floor of the rotunda, taken from the 3rd floor balcony. A tour by grade school children, was going on while I was there. View the large version of this photo and look at each child and what they are doing. I found it quite interesting. "The floor of the rotunda, which consists of 976 pieces of glass, each about 5/8 inch thick. The floor is 44 1/2 feet in diameter. It's design creates an optical illusion: seen from above it appears that the center of the floor sinks to form a bowl. Lit from below, the Capitol's famous glass floor is one of the most beautiful and memorable sights in the building. (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)

This picture of the rotunda was taken as I laid on my back on the glass floor. I used my widest lens, 18 mm but between the smaller than film sensor on my Nikon D90 & just plain not having the right lens to get it all, this is all I could get. "The rotunda rises 160 feet to an opening at the top of the inner dome Called the 'oculus', or 'eye' of the dome, it provides a glimpse into the vastness of the universe, represented by a starry sky." (Taken, from"Your State Capitol", booklet.)