A public celebration to mark the end of a four-year-long restoration project at the Minnesota State Capitol has been set for August -- although much of the building will be open for business at the start of the new year.
The official marking of the project's completion will be held from Aug. 11 to 13, and will feature a series of events to commemorate the building's history and the improvements made during the $310 million renovation process. According to the Department of Administration, the celebration will be the first time for members of the public to see all of the restoration.
The Capitol will officially open -- at least part of it -- on Jan. 3 for the start of the legislative session, but work will continue in and around the building. Crews will be repairing the roof, patching plaster, installing light fixtures, removing temporary parking lots and finishing new landscaping. Sections of the ground and third floors will remain closed while that work is going on, and there will not be roof access to the sculpture.
"The Grand Re-Opening is an opportunity to say thank you to those who made the restoration possible - the people of Minnesota and the talented workers," administration commissioner Matthew Massman said in a news release. "We will celebrate building that has been restored to serve the state for another century and is reflective of the Minnesota of today."
