Glass Floor Preservation
The Glass Floor
In the summer of 1878, workers began installing 976 pieces of glass into the new Capitol’s iron rotunda floor frame. According to newspaper reports, approximately 50 tiles could be installed in a day. Tradition says that these glass tiles—sometimes called illuminated tiles—were produced in Lancashire, England, by the London and Manchester Plate GlassCompany.
The British Cast Plate Glass Company's plant in Ravenhead.
An illustration showing the casting of glass at the British Cast Plate Glass Company in Ravenhead.
The casting hall of the Ravenhead glass works
Illustration showing the various methods of 19th century glass making in Lancashire, England.
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The contract for the glass for the rotunda floor was awarded to the London and Manchester Plate Glass Company in 1875.
Architect Elijah E. Myers original drawing of the first-floor rotunda shows a simplified version of the glass floor design.
Other Glass Floors
Glass tile floors were not uncommon in the post-Civil War period. Architect E.E. Myers called for glass floors in several of his large buildings, including the State Capitol in Austin, Texas and Old City Hall in Richmond, Virginia. In a pre-electric era, glass floor tiles, laylights, door lights, transom windows, and interior windows amplified the distribution of both natural and man-made lighting.
The G.A.R. Rotunda at the Chicago Cultural Center features a set of 9 glass floor sections underneath a stunning dome. Lucid Glass of Rhode Island were responsible for restoring these glass panels.
The rotunda of Old City Hall in Richmond, Virginia features an illuminated glass floor. This is perhaps because the building was designed by Michigan’s architect, Elijah E. Myers.
The People's Rotunda
Despite the surprising strength of the 1” tiles, the glass floor has not gone without damage over its lifetime. The floor’s prominent location in the building has historically made it a popular place for gatherings, and then – as now – items like tools, music stands, or tables were likely dropped or knocked over, damaging the tiles. Unfortunately, there is no record of individual tile replacements that have taken place; however, large-scale replacements were documented.
Two members of the Lansing Council of Veterans Organizationact as Honor Guard on the glass floor at a memorial for President John F.Kennedy in November 1963.
A replica of the American Liberty Bell stood on display on the glass floor from 1950-1968, when it was removed to ground floor of the Capitol until 1991. Weighing 2,800 pounds, the Bell stood as a testament to the strength of the glass below it.
In June 1987, a freshly restored 26-star United States flag was displayed on the glass floor to honor Michigan’s Sesquicentennial Celebration.
Serving as one of the best historical images of the glass floor, this c. 1920 photo also highlights Michigan’s Civil War battle flag collection.
1931-1932 Replacement
The biggest single replacement of glass floor tiles took place in the 1930s, following the 1931 fire in the ground floor’s east wing and rotunda. Hundreds of tiles cracked from the heat of the blaze, and smoke sifted up through the gaps and into the rotunda. The broken tiles were replaced with glass that was slightly thinner than the original – about 5/8”. As a result, wooden shims were inserted between the glass and the iron frame. The other significant replacement effort occurred during the Capitol’s 1987-1992 restoration.
On January 18, 1931, a fire broke out in the east wing ofthe ground floor. Determined as “spontaneous combustion” at a cigar stand, thefire spread to the area underneath the glass floor and resulted in a nearlyfull replacement of the floor’s tiles.
Survey work in 2024 uncovered a label underneath a previously thought “original” tile reading “Pressed Prism Plate Glass Co. Morgantown, W. VA.”
Factory of The Pressed Prism Plate Glass Company near Morgantown, West Virginia.
This 1920s product catalog for the Pressed Prism Plate Glass Company states that they specialize in "Imperial Prism Sidewalk Glass."
It was also discovered during the 2024 survey that the 1930s tiles from West Virginia were thinner than the original English tiles by 3/8”, so wood shims had been added underneath the tiles to raise them to the correct level.
1990-1991 Restoration
During the first half of 1991, 46 of the glass floor tiles were replaced. The tiles that needed replacement were first traced on paper.Then a plywood board was cut to scale. The boards were then sent to the College of Creative Studies at the University of Michigan, where a team led by AlbertYoung cast new plate-glass tiles to match the majority of the existing tiles.We now know, though, that the majority of the tiles at that time were not original, but from the 1930s replacement.
1991 photo of the glass studio at the College of Creative Arts where the 1991 glass floor tiles were produced.
This architectural plan crafted by Wigen, Tincknell, Meyer & Associates in 1990 details the 46 tiles to be replaced, as well as where work would be done on the iron framework.
Project Objectives
The rotunda is considered a level one historic preservation zone, meaning it is an area that is highly visible, has been restored to a high level of authenticity, and contains original materials and decoration.Present-day preservation of this space began with the 2023-2024 restoration of the decorative paint in the dome and rotunda and will continue with the restoration of the glass floor to its intended appearance.
The glass floor as seen from the 3rd floor of the rotunda. The floor is designed to create an optical illusion, tricking the eye into seeing an inverted dome.
Project Overview
This undertaking began with a thorough survey of the tiles, led by Executive Director Rob Blackshaw, to identify which ones are original,which were replaced in the 1930s, and which were replaced during the 1987-1992restoration. This diagram denotes the findings of the survey and identifies thetiles that will be replaced in the current project.
The survey led to several surprising discoveries, includingthe knowledge that over two-thirds of the tiles had been replaced at some pointin the past. It also provided a hint as to the previous glass company used – alabel found on one tile read, “Pressed Prism Plate Glass… W. VA.” Pressed PrismPlate Glass Company was founded in 1902 in Morgantown, West Virginia, meaningthat any tiles containing their name had to have been replacements from theearly 20th century, likely following the 1931 fire.
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Blue = 1879
Sand = 1931
Green = 1991
Glass Supplier
A key factor in making this project possible was finding the right contractors for the job - a team that could not only recreate the glass tiles to match the originals, but that would also understand the importance of the project. After seeing the mock-ups of their glass tiles, Capitol staff chose Lucid Glass Studio of Providence, RI, for the job. Once the tiles have been created, Lansing Glass Company will install them in the rotunda.
Installation Process & Progress Updates
The next step involves cutting 685 new glass tiles, which will replace any non-original or damaged pieces in the floor. The new tiles will be installed in five stages, with only one fifth of the glass floor closed off at a time. This allows for the first-floor rotunda to remain open to visitors for the entirety of the year-long undertaking – an important consideration for the Capitol Commission.