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Contact: Ryan Kazmirzack [email protected] 517-763-5254
On the sixth level of the state Capitol building in Lansing, there's a secret door with a ladder hidden behind it...
Michigan's Capitol was modeled after the national Capitol in Washington, D.C., and just like that iconic building, Michigan's Capitol has two domes, one nested inside the other. There's an exterior dome made of cast iron, and a smaller interior dome that forms the ceiling of the building's central rotunda.
Anyone is free to wander the first five levels of the state Capitol building (the ground floor plus the first four rings of the rotunda), but the sixth level is off limits to the public. It's there, above the paintings of the muses, that you'll find the secret door.
Sliding the door up reveals a ship ladder sandwiched between the exterior and interior domes; climbing this ladder leads to the highest and final ring of the rotunda. This is the oculus — the opening at the top that was once essential for building airflow. At this point, it's now obvious that you are standing inside the curved exterior dome that defines Lansing's skyline, and there are windows looking in all directions to check out the view. Then there's still a spiral staircase and another ship ladder to climb to get to the lantern room, which is situated above the dome and just below the 267-foot-high finial.
Offering Michigan Capitol dome tours as a paid tourist attraction could raise money for the state that can be used to help defray building maintenance costs and fund historic preservation.
Getting to the top involves climbing ladders and maneuvering through some tight spaces, but it is not difficult.
The public was allowed to climb up there on their own until 1951, when the fire marshal shut down access following the fire in the Cass Office Building (now called the Elliott-Larsen building). Despite the fire marshal's orders, the prohibition was only loosely enforced for the next six decades. Until at least as recently as 2014, lawmakers and the governor's office could still request tours and bring guests up there. The Michigan State Capitol Commission voted to effectively end all tours in 2015.
The decision to stop offering tours was not prompted by an injury or damage to the building. In fact, the Capitol Commission could not produce a single record of any injury or damage to the building in response to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the information. Thousands of people climbed to the top of the dome for more than 135 years without a single documented incident. Dome tours are safe.
The building is stone construction plus there's a fire suppression system, so it's unlikely that an inferno would trap people in the dome without time to escape. (Fire resistance is the main reason the Capitol was built out of stone, after all.) But it would be easy to stage emergency fire escape rope ladders at strategic locations, just in case, and tours would be led by trained guides, further lowering the risk.
In addition to seeing the dome itself, tours used to show the attic over the House and Senate chambers. (There's a catwalk to move among the etched glass panels that decorate the chambers' ceilings. There's also a skylight overhead through which the Capitol dome looms large — a perfect photo opportunity.) Weather permitting, tours also went outside onto the Capitol's roof for a close-up look at the dome's exterior.
The math is compelling. If just 5,000 people take the tour each year at $60 each, that's $300,000 to put toward Capitol maintenance and historic preservation (assuming tours are led by volunteer docents, less if using paid tour guides). And sure, that's decimal dust in terms of the overall state budget, but that's still enough to put a hefty dent in the Capitol's annual maintenance expenses. Or, that's money that can be earmarked specifically for preservation work.
It's an innovative way of funding government that also allows more people to experience our state's history.
The Logistics: Start-up costs are negligible, meaning dome tours can be initially offered as a limited engagement and only continued if justified by demand. All that is needed is a simple website with a booking/ payment system, guides, and an emergency escape plan.
Taking people in groups of seven (six guests plus one guide) could easily accommodate 60 guests per day. Operating on weekends only, tours could accommodate as many as 6,240 guest per year.
Scarcity is a factor when setting price since demand will likely outstrip available tour slots. Dome tours are a unique, adventurous, fun thing to do that involves a secret door, hidden ladder, limited access, and a scenic viewpoint from up high.
If you like this idea, check out my plan for Mackinac Bridge tower tours: www.mitowertours.com
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