We started our Lansing walk in the Michigan Historical Museum and quickly arrived at the State Capitol building. The State Capitol was designed by Elijah Meyers in 1872. Myers has designed more state capitols than any other architect (he also designed capitols for Texas and Colorado). Meyers' design, with its lofty central dome and balanced wings, became a model for most statehouses built in America during the "Golden Age" of capitol construction after the Civil War. Due to a limited budget, the interior surfaces were hand painted to look like marble and walnut, and it is hard to tell they are faux.
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| The Rotunda: The oculus, or "eye" of the dome provides a glimpse into the vastness of the universe, represented by a starry sky |
I got a really nice 20-page booklet about the Capitol, which was helpful during our self-guided tour of the building. The inside of the building is spectacular. The floor underneath the rotunda is made of glass and from the basement we looked up and saw schoolchildren lying on the glass floor as they gazed up 160 feet to the rotunda. The rotunda is decorated with hand-painted muses representing art, agriculture, law, science, justice, industry, commerce and education. The House and Senate Chambers were also quite beautiful. They featured coffered ceilings with hand-etched glass panes picturing the coats of arms of all 50 states.
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| One of the "Michigan Chandeliers" |
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| Close-up of the elk and shield design |
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| Along the Grand River |
Our walk also took us past Lansing Community College and Thomas M. Cooley Law School. (We also passed the Cooley Law School Stadium, home of the Lansing Lugnuts. How many law schools have their own stadium?) We walked through Old Town and followed the River Trail along the Grand River until we came to the Lansing City Market.
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| The Board of Water and Light Building |
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| Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame |
Walk Route: A-
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| Cooley Gardens |
Walk Documentation: A-
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