Michigan's magnificent Capitol building, modeled after the U.S. Capitol in Washington, was completed in 1879 after six years of construction. The result was such a success that architect Elijah Myers went on to design capitols in Texas, Idaho and Colorado. A man looks at a 1911 Olsmobile at the R.E. Olds Museum in Lansing, Mich., May 26, 1999. The museum celebrates the contributions of Lansing native Ransom Eli Olds who built the very first Oldsmobile in 1897. The building was completely restored in the late 1980s and has won the highest award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for its painstaking and accurate renovation.
Hallways glow with Victorian-era corals and teals, gold leaf and delicately decorated plaster.
Brass stags preen on elaborate chandeliers. Visitors can tour the Capitol six days a week, with tours including stops in the visitors' galleries of the House and Senate. Lawmakers are generally in session for about eight months throughout the year, with floor sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The complex, completed in 1989, features the Michigan Historical Museum, the State Archives and the state library. The library is the nation's second-largest state library, with 27 miles of shelves.