After a 3-year, $310 million restoration, the Minnesota‘s newly restored state Capitol opened on January 3 for the 2017 Legislative Session while construction continued in and around the building.
A Grand Opening Celebration will take place August 11-13, 2017.
The historic building — which originally cost $4.5 million — reopens to the public Tuesday after three years of construction and decades of planning. It’s the first major preservation effort since the Capitol opened in 1905.
After 100 years of service, the Capitol building had reached a critical deterioration point with a crumbling exterior, antiquated infrastructure, and inadequate life safety systems.
“We literally had the marble falling off the building,” Minnesota Department of Administration spokesman Curt Yoakum said.
The Capitol Restoration Project returned the Capitol to architect Cass Gilbert‘s original 1905 vision. There will be new and expanded space, for public use, tours and school educational programs.
See full article in The Daily Progress.
See Minnesota State Capitol Restoration Project website & photo credits.