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Minnesota looks to 'party like it's 1905' for Capitol's reopening

April 16, 2016 at 10:14PM

The huge Capitol renovation will be unveiled to the public in a “grand celebration” planned for fall 2017. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Though legislators and Gov. Mark Dayton are slated to move back into the renovated State Capitol in January, state officials plan to celebrate the building's reopening on a grander scale later in the year.

While state officials say a modest welcome back event will take place in January, a larger celebration for the general public is slated for the fall after the finishing touches have been completed and construction cranes and scaffolding are removed.

The Capitol, designed by architect Cass Gilbert, was originally constructed in 1905 and is undergoing a massive, multimillion-dollar reconstruction that will transform the building. The work forced the relocation of some legislators, the governor and his staff, who moved into a temporary office across the Capitol campus.

Both chambers of the Legislature have recently approved measures to allow the Capitol Preservation Commission to devise a plan to celebrate the renovated building's reopening.

"We envision a grand celebration as we welcome the people back to the people's house … to celebrate and party like it's 1905," said Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City.

The need to renovate the aging Capitol has been one of the few issues that has generated nearly unanimous bipartisan support.

Urdahl sponsored the House version of the bill and is also a member of the Capitol Preservation Commission.

No dates or events have been finalized, but the preservation commission voted last week to create a 21-member committee to organize the celebration and raise the needed funds, which they estimate to be about $400,000. Dayton will appoint members of the committee.

Stone-carving competitions, a beer event at the Capitol's Rathskeller cafeteria, games on the upper mall, tours and an art exhibition are among the ideas floated by the commission to commemorate the reopening.

When legislators move back in for the start of the 2017 session, the four-year, $310 million renovation will be about 95 percent complete.

Up to 75 workers could remain on site to wrap up construction work after next year's session begins but would not disrupt occupied areas of the Capitol, officials said Thursday.

Dayton said last week that the public should be made aware of what work will be incomplete when the Capitol reopens.

"Everybody should know what we are going to encounter," he said. "We should know what work is left to be done and how consequential that's going to be. … Everybody's been through enough turmoil and chaos and disruption."

The restorations — which include repairs to crumbling stone, replacing marble and updates to outdated infrastructure inside, like plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems — to the 111-year-old building are intended to ensure the structure can be used for another 100 years.

The renovated Capitol is expected to contain 84 percent more public space, which will allow for a wider range of uses by visitors.

Other specifics, like choosing artwork, still need to be determined.

Christopher Aadland is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.