Scaffolding goes up as Michigan Capitol dome preps for overdue restoration work

LANSING — Most visitors to the Michigan Capitol only see the iconic dome's artwork while standing far below in the rotunda, but a group of construction workers and art restorers soon will see the historic paintings and architecture from a much closer perspective.

The Capitol’s caretakers plan to do restoration work on the iconic dome for the first time in more than 30 years, a process they estimate will be complete sometime next summer.

But first, construction workers have to erect scaffolding that will reach more than 150 feet in height so they can work on the uppermost portions of the dome's interior.

The dome was last refurbished with the rest of the building in a $58 million project that was completed in 1992 — and wear is beginning to show. Paint is beginning to peal and crack, mainly from temperature changes, Barbra Thumudo, assistant director of the Michigan State Capitol Commission, said. Some sections haven’t been cleaned in years simply because they’re too difficult to reach safely.

The dome features several pieces of iconic artwork, including eight "allegories" — figures of women representing industries and values important to Michigan's society. The works were created by Italian painter Tommaso Juglaris, whose identity was lost for decades following the dome's original construction.

The $3 million project has been on the commission’s agenda for about seven years, but other projects took priority, she said, including installation of an entirely new electrical system and construction of Heritage Hall, a years-long project that wrapped up in 2022.

Since 2015, the Michigan Capitol Commission has overseen several restoration projects, including cleaning and repointing the sandstone blocks, replacing sandstone modillions, repairing interior plaster ceilings, repairing the portico columns, and repairing and repainting the exterior of the dome, among others.

Getting ready to do the work

Portions of the ground and first floors of the Capitol, for which construction began in 1873, are closed off to visitors as the dome work begins. The ground floor is filled with metal supports under the rotunda's glass floor. The first floor will serve as a base for the entire system and is filled with scaffolding.

Despite the need for the restoration, going ahead with the project was a tough decision, Thumudo said, because it makes the celebrated structure less accessible.

“It's the heart of the building. And so to take it away from people, even temporarily,” she said. "It's sad, but it's worth it in the end.”

Thumudo estimates the roughly 40-ton scaffolding will be installed by the end of July, and work on the dome will begin in August.

Historic items moved or secured

The historic structure, which cost a little more than $1.4 million when constructed more than a century ago, will not completely close to visitors, Thumudo said.

Display items on the first floor — including replica flags from Michigan’s Civil War units — have been removed and safely stored, Thumudo said. The process has also allowed staff to clean those display cases.

The other items in the rotunda — a collection of portraits of Michigan’s previous governors — will remain in place. She said moving them would put them at a greater risk for damage and they’ll simply be covered.

The Commission plans to install UV blocking film on the windows to further preserve artwork, a new fire suppression to replace the nearly 50-year-old network currently in place and new temperature and humidity sensors.

Thumudo has worked in the building for nearly 20 years, helping maintain its hand-painted surfaces, she said.

“Often — because you’re just working through the day to day — you don’t sit back and think about the impact,” she said. “But there is occasion when I'm home working in my flowerbeds, thinking — 30 years from now, somebody's going to say, ‘Barb was the one that was up there making sure that was being held to the standard that we had for the 140 years that the building's been in place.’”

Contact Sheldon Krause at skrause@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @sheldonjkrause.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Inside the Michigan Capitol's latest dome restoration