Our next stop after Indianapolis was Lansing Michigan, our last capitol tour for several months. (After Lansing we head to Hillman, Michigan where we will be for 4 ½ months if all goes according to plan.) We definitely felt the weather cool down as we headed north. It’s nice in a way, because the more northerly we travel, the more we are able to experience an extended Spring season, as we come upon the new wildflower blooms and the greening of trees all over again. We arrived in Lansing on Sunday, May 10th, toured on the 11th, and left for Hillman on the 12th.
The Lansing metropolitan area includes three medical schools, two nursing schools, two law schools, including the nation’s largest law school, and a Big Ten Conference university (Michigan State), in addition to being the state capital. The exterior of the capitol building itself wasn’t all that impressive, but inside it was very beautiful. There were not many exhibits nor artifacts for viewing, but the architecture was prominent and detailed, hard for the eye to take it all in at a casual glance. Like so many capitol buildings, in order to really appreciate the level of detail in the various architectures, you must stand in one place for a while and slowly scan your surroundings. Although not all capitol buildings have rotundas and interior domes, I am always glad when they do, because the interior domes are usually the highlight of the structure and architectural design. I was not disappointed this time! The rotunda rose 160 feet to an opening at the top of the inner dome called the oculus, or eye of the dome, which provided a glimpse into the vastness of the universe, represented by a starry sky. Directly beneath the dome is the glass floor of the rotunda made of 976 blocks of glass. The higher into the dome you get, the more the floor appears to fall in an optical illusion creating an upside down dome effect. It was fun to look at this and see the changing perspective from each floor.
The pictures are of the exterior of the capitol; the starry dome (interior); the glass floor; and a beautiful church across the street from the capitol.
The Lansing metropolitan area includes three medical schools, two nursing schools, two law schools, including the nation’s largest law school, and a Big Ten Conference university (Michigan State), in addition to being the state capital. The exterior of the capitol building itself wasn’t all that impressive, but inside it was very beautiful. There were not many exhibits nor artifacts for viewing, but the architecture was prominent and detailed, hard for the eye to take it all in at a casual glance. Like so many capitol buildings, in order to really appreciate the level of detail in the various architectures, you must stand in one place for a while and slowly scan your surroundings. Although not all capitol buildings have rotundas and interior domes, I am always glad when they do, because the interior domes are usually the highlight of the structure and architectural design. I was not disappointed this time! The rotunda rose 160 feet to an opening at the top of the inner dome called the oculus, or eye of the dome, which provided a glimpse into the vastness of the universe, represented by a starry sky. Directly beneath the dome is the glass floor of the rotunda made of 976 blocks of glass. The higher into the dome you get, the more the floor appears to fall in an optical illusion creating an upside down dome effect. It was fun to look at this and see the changing perspective from each floor.
The pictures are of the exterior of the capitol; the starry dome (interior); the glass floor; and a beautiful church across the street from the capitol.
Our touring will more localized as we spend our summer in Hillman. I’m looking forward to settling down for a while and exploring this part of the state and country.
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