Moments in History Tour

This rolltop desk was purchased from the Chicago-based Kappes & Eggers Company in 1878. Its beautiful carved floral design tells us that it is of the Eastlake style, popular from about 1870-1900.

The desk's lockable rolltop, complete with a mail slot for letters recieved while the owner is away, hides a pigeonhole filing system. Faux drawers on its lower right side swing open to reveal a hidden vertical filing system for large ledgers. Clearly, this desk was created to be practical and functional.

Upon the death of a governor, they are often granted the honor of lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Such governors as Frank D. Fitzgerald in 1939, Chase S. Osborn in 1949, and George W. Romney in 1995, have lain in state here.

In one other notable instance, however, a governor who never saw this Capitol nor Lansing as the capital city, received such an honor. Michigan's first Governor Stevens T. Mason was disinterred from his crypt in Detroit's Capitol Park during park renovations in 2010. On October 26, 2010, nearly 170 years after his death, Gov. Mason laid in state under the stars for one ceremonious day, draped in a white governor's flag.

Compare this photo to your surroundings, you will recognize the Michigan Chandelier overhead, the elevator to the right, and entrance to the Governor's Receiving Hall in the background.

This photo gives us a glimpse into April 7, 1937, as strikers from Chrysler Automotive and Michigan local unions gathered outside Governor Frank Murphy's office. Inside the office were Gov. Murphy, CIO President John L. Lewis and UAW President Walter P. Reuther, negotiating with Chrysler mediators on labor representation for auto workers.

Negotiations ended in recognition of the United Automobile Workers of America as the collective bargaining agency of Chrysler employees. This photo was taken as the agreement was announced.

Beginning the 1930s, Capitol workers began building "overfloors" to meet space needs. These were often cramped attic-like spaces designed to meet the growing space needs in the Capitol. This practice carried well into the 1970s, nearly doubling the square footage in the building and its capacity. This solution saved a Capitol destined for demolition in the 1960s by packing as many people into offices under the dome as possible. For the most part, the overfloors were kept behind office walls and visitors may not have known what lied beyond the still-towering corridors. The notable public overfloor was located off the House Chamber Floor, as shown in the accompanying photo.

This overfloor created a vestibule to the House Floor with a desk for House Sergeants at Arms flanked by the still-present iron columns. The seal of the House of Representatives was painted on the front of the overfloor. Office space in the overfloor and adjacent overfloors was accessed by a door added to the north stair landing between the second and third floor.

This overfloor, and all others in the building, were removed during the award-winning 1987-1992 Capitol Restoration.

While a variety of guest speakers addressed the Legislature in the previous capitols, once the grand new State Capitol opened in 1879, it, too, became a site of major visits and speeches. The likes of presidents, vice presidents, abolitionists, suffragists, and generals have stood on this rostrum offering their strong thoughts on a vast range of topics.

Abolitionist Sojourner Truth addressed the Legislature in the second capitol in 1877. She again visited Lansing in June 1881. From this room, Truth spoke for an hour on the importance of Michigan's abolition of capital punishment.

On May 30, 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a ten-minute address to a joint session of the legislature to rousing cheers and applause from the officials in attendance. The Legislature even greeted Teddy with a rendition of "Michigan, My Michigan." The occasion of his visit was to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University).

Other major visitors to speak in this room include General Douglas MacArthur in 1952 and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968. Most of the major presidential candidates in 1968 visited Lansing, but Humphrey was the only to address the Legislature.

Perhaps best remembered by today's generation was the March 6, 1997, visit of President Bill Clinton. Joined by Governor John Engler and Speaker Curtis Hertel, President Clinton addressed a joint session of the Legislature on a half-day visit to Lansing. From the rostrum, Clinton looked up and noted Michigan and Arkansas, his home state, next to one another in the House's skylight ceiling.

On April 10, 1933, Michigan convened a "Repeal Convention" aimed at repealing the 18th Amendment, ending the prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcohol in the United States. Convention president pro-tempore Mary Eldridge Alger presided over the 99-1 vote in favor of repeal. Alger is shown in this photo being presented the gavel on the House rostrum by Lt. Governor Allen Stebbins after he called the convention to order. Michigan was the first state to ratify the 21st Amendment, repealing the 18th Amendment.

The Senate has its fair share of notable visitors as well. While on the campaign trail in 1968, Richard M. Nixon visited Governor George Romney in Lansing. Romney and Nixon held a special unprecedented press conference on the Senate floor on August 19, 1968.

Every four years the Michigan electors of the Electoral College gather in this room to certify the results of Michigan's presidential election. In December 1964, the Michigan Senate was mid-renovations and recarpeting when time came for this ceremonious event. The 1964 presidential election was a landslide victory for President Lyndon B. Johnson in Michigan. Shown in this photograph are Michigan's 21 electors casting their ballots for Johnson for President of the United States on the carpetless floor of the state Senate.

In this chamber such landmark cases as Ferguson v. Gies (1890) were heard, which set the civil rights precedent of equal treatment of the races in Michigan. This was superseded by the U.S. Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which made "separate but equal" precedent across the nation. William Webb Ferguson not only was successful in this case against Gies, but it led to his prominence and later election to the Michigan House of Representatives, where he served two terms as Michigan's first African American state legislator from 1893-1896. His portrait now hangs outside the chamber.

This photo offers a glimpse into the Supreme Court around 1909 when the court was made up of eight justices, which lasted from 1903 to 1969. During that period the original Saginaw-made walnut bench was expanded making room for the added seats on the high court. The Supreme Court left this chamber in 1970.