This story is part of Mornings in Michigan, our series about morning moments from across our state.
Whenever the Michigan Capitol in Lansing is open for business, it’s open to the public.
During the school year, busloads of students pour in each morning to tour the building and learn about state government. But many Michigan residents have never been inside.
State Capitol Assistant Director Barb Thumudo hopes a major restoration project in the most photographed space in the building will help change that.
"It is a living museum. We are full of art, and we want people to come here and be proud of what we have for our state Capitol."State Capitol Assistant Director Barb Thumudo
"It's so common to hear people say, 'Oh, I've lived in Lansing my whole life. I've never even come into the Capitol.' There's something that presents the idea that there's a barrier," Thumudo said. "We're trying to reverse that idea. It is a living museum. We are full of art, and we want people to come here and be proud of what we have for our state capitol."
The capitol has nine acres — yes, acres — of decorative painting.
“Literally almost everything in the building that you see has been painted by an artist or a craftsman,” Thumudo said.
A rare view of the rotunda
There are plenty of places in the Capitol that make people turn their heads, but the most popular spot makes people crane their necks to see the bright artistry that rises all the way up the inside of the Capitol rotunda.
But right now, the view is mostly metal and plywood while the rotunda is being restored. What is normally an open, soaring space is filled from floor to ceiling with a massive, multi-story, circular scaffold that goes up 160 feet.
Since last summer, crews have been arriving to work here early in the morning. Long before sunrise on a mid-January day, Thumudo guided us up the scaffold staircase to see the work up close.
"The rotunda and the dome is an area, obviously, that we can't get access to very often," Thumudo said. "I would say about once every 30 to 50 years this space has been scaffolded."
The last Capitol restoration was finished in 1992 and the building was then named a National Historic Landmark. The current Capitol is the third one in state history and was officially dedicated in 1879. Elijah Myers was the architect.
"It kind of put him on the map. He had done other courthouses and public buildings, but this was his first capitol. He went on to do Texas' Capitol and Colorado's Capitol as well," said Thumudo.
Fine details everywhere
Myers designed the exterior and interior and he liked details.
Thumudo gave us a partial list of the touches that are on display, including gold leaf, decorative plaster work, stippling on the plaster, and decorative festoons — or swags — highlighted with gold leaf.
We stopped at one level of the rotunda where the base color for the walls is a warm yellow. There are raised rectangular columns every ten feet or so called pilasters and on each of those is an ornate pink stencil. That’s what Beate Brühl was working on. She’s part of the team from John Canning and Company, the same firm the state hired for the last restoration. Brühl was here for that job, too.
"I would have to go in and strip off the paint, find the original patterns. Then I would trace everything and then make the tracing into a repeatable design," she said.
The setup today is a lot different than it was 30 years ago.
"I have a photo of myself back then, the only the proof that I was here, and they just had a ladder straight up and down. We didn't have an interior staircase. I have a picture of myself up on the seventh floor with a ladder that goes straight, straight down."
Julie Cravens is another member of the crew. She lives in Saline, Mich. and has been doing this kind of work for about 30 years. Cravens says people often imagine restoration crews lying on their backs to paint, but they’re much more likely to be standing, stretching, and tilting their heads back.
"I can't even do ceilings anymore. I had a cadaver bone put in my neck because I slipped a disc. And then in 2020, I had a titanium plate put on my neck," Craven said. "But obviously, I love what I'm doing. I'm still here doing it."
Meet the Muses
In between the stenciling on the columns are eight oil paintings best known as the Muses. The canvases are currently sealed away behind plastic sheeting and blue painter's tape, but Thumudo peeled back the protective covering on one so we could take a peek.
Italian artist Tommaso Juglaris painted the Muses in Boston in 1886.
"The allegories represent art, agriculture, law, science, justice, industry, shipping and commerce, and education," Thumudo said.
Here are some fun facts we learned during our trip to the Capitol.
Those oil paintings of the Muses? They’re all the wrong length for their places in the rotunda.
"Somebody didn't take very good measurements and so when they were painted, they were came up just a bit short," Thumudo said.
Short by six inches, so there’s some extra paint added along the bottom of each canvas to cover the gaps.
Another fun fact: the rotunda is made of tin.
Thumudo gave us special dispensation to tap our knuckles against the wall. The sound was a metallic ping-ping-ping. Tin was one of the inexpensive materials used to keep construction costs down.
One more fun fact: Not everything in the Capitol is as it appears.
"They had the artists come in the 1880s and do the campaign to make it look more elaborate than it actually was — or more expensive," Thumudo said.
The Capitol’s striking interior columns? Cast iron painted to look like Tennessee marble. The luxurious woodwork? Michigan pine hand-painted to mimic English walnut.
The oculus
To finish our up-close tour of the Michigan Capitol rotunda, we kept climbing the scaffold all the way to the top. I was nearly ducking my head under a space that’s normally viewed from more than 100 feet below.
"We call this the oculus. It's essentially the eye of the dome," Thumudo told us. "It is an upside down bowl suspended from the ceiling above us, and you have a starry sky scene."
Thumudo and the preservation team spent hours researching and experimenting to make sure the paint they’ll use for the beloved blue of the oculus is historically accurate and in line with people’s expectations.
"The oculus was intended to inspire. When we give tours to the school kids, we always say, 'Reach for the stars.' When the kids come in or even adults, we have them lay on the glass floor and you're looking straight up into this oculus at these gold and silver-leafed stars. And it is inspiring. It's beautiful."
Thumudo says the scaffold will come down in May with the restoration ahead of schedule and under budget. Then she hopes people will come to see it. The Michigan Capitol is open to the public Monday through Friday. There are also free, guided tours available.
Stop by and be sure to look up.
