With Capitol renovation in final stretch, state's crown jewel gleams again

Craftsmen are smoothing plaster into the cracks near the ceiling of the Governor's Reception Room, climbing a 15-rung ladder to reach the scaffolding.

Workers are moving enormous slabs of granite with a crane to rebuild the steps of the State Capitol.

Laborers are running power sanders over slabs of wood to shape the ends of a dais.

The $310 million Minnesota Capitol renovation project is heading into its final stretch, as the crews race to prepare the building for the first day of the legislative session in January. Even then, they will still be completing final repairs until the fall of 2017.

When the building reopens, Wayne Waslaski wants people to admire the newly exposed stonework and brighter colors of the paintings.

"What I really hope is for a wow factor," said Waslaski, planning director of the Department of Administration.

Minnesota's Capitol is undergoing its first reconstruction and renovation since opening in 1905. For nearly two years, the celebrated landmark designed by Cass Gilbert has been covered by scaffolding and a white wrap, as workers repair the roof, the exterior and much of the interior. The renovation has been so consuming that the building remains closed to tours and the public, reopening only briefly during the last legislative session.

At a time of often paralyzing political deadlock in St. Paul, restoring the State Capitol was a rare state expenditure to get enthusiastic and overwhelming bipartisan support from legislators. Even as costs have crept up from the original $270 million estimate, support has remained strong.

The state is planning a grand reopening in the fall of 2017, with the $400,000 price tag picked up by private donors.

A modest ceremony is planned for January as legislators return to St. Paul, with a caution that work will not be finished.

Much of the most substantial improvements are hard to see, like the replacement of plumbing and electrical systems and repairs of water damage. But nearly every square inch of the building is being improved, restored or repaired.

The project aims to bring the Capitol closer to its original appearance when it opened more than 100 years ago. A hallway leading to future Senate leaders' offices has been stripped of dingy carpeting, making way for the century-old brown and white tile. The Supreme Court chambers nearby feature much brighter, clearer images on their walls, as specialists have painstakingly revived the old Renaissance-style paintings.

"It really brings back the original composition and colors," said Brian Pease, the Minnesota Historical Society's site manager for the Capitol.

The paintings had become dirty and dark with varnish in recent decades, according to Pease. "You would see them as a brilliant or much bolder color than they were if you were here [before the renovation]," he said.

Similar improvements have been made to paintings in the old Senate chambers, where workers are now laying bright carpeting to replace the worn version.

In the Governor's Reception Room, a plastic sheet hangs from the door like a curtain and the area is in disarray, as workers plaster cracks near the ceiling gold-colored ceiling, maneuvering between ornamental rosettes that hold light bulbs.

The overhaul of the reception room is a part of the restoration that Curt Yoakum of the state Department of Administration considers especially important. The governor has traditionally held news conferences in the room and schoolchildren and tourists routinely pass through on visits to the statehouse.

"Restoring that room really brings back together and restores such a key public place in the Capitol," said Yoakum, assistant commissioner of communications and planning for the department.

Construction crews have also torn down the cinder block walls of the tunnel below the Capitol to reveal the original stonework, a move that also frees up more space.

On the third floor, workers have taken over 40,000 square feet of space once used for offices and meeting rooms and plan to dedicate it as public space, Pease said. The work also reveals skylights that had previously been covered, but had been prominently featured in the original building because the Capitol relied on natural light to supplement its electrical system.

When the building finally reopens, said Waslaski: "I hope there's a lot of looking around and people are in awe of that finished work."

Maya Rao • 651-925-5043