Michigan Capitol’s $40 million Heritage Hall opens

(The Center Square) – A new $40 million underground welcome facility called “Heritage Hall” opened today in the west side of the Michigan Capitol to host events, teach about state government, and preserve nearly 150-year-old artifacts.

Rob Blackshaw, executive director of the Michigan State Capitol Commission, said the 40,000 square-foot space aims to to draw meetings away from the Capitol’s first floor to preserve its 143-year-old decorated surfaces and plaster, as well as teach about state government.

“It is a welcoming space,” Blackshaw said in a phone interview. “It does allow for more tours to come without feeling overwhelmed or overbooked. So that is the hope: to increase the percentage of tours that come.”

About 300,000 people visit the Capitol annually, of which about 200,000 are third- and fourth-graders.

The extra room aims to ease congestion and serve as a multi-venue meeting space including committee meetings and catered events with better acoustics for busy days.

“There could be two-to-three venues, two-to-three meetings happening at the same time on the first floor, and it does get congested,” Blackshaw said.

He said the new space should have better acoustics than the Capitol’s first floor.

“When you’re up on the first floor, it does sound like you’re in a cave when you’re trying to talk to someone else,” Blackshaw said. “Down in Heritage Hall, it’s more spread out. The meeting rooms will be … more acoustically fit so you can actually understand what people are saying to you.”

Buses can drop off kids at a circle drive on the north side. Then guided tours will start through Heritage Hall for a brief orientation, and then other educational opportunities prior to entering the Capitol building.

Blackshaw said a conservation laboratory allows visitors to watch through a glass as state workers conserve Michigan’s civil war battle flags. The new building will allow the preservation of artifacts dating back to 1879.

Before this building, Blackshaw said the Commission would send away some decorative portraits to be cleaned, which risked breaking brittle frames. But now, this new building will allow those artifacts to be cleaned on site, which is more cost-effective and safer for the artifacts.

The Capitol’s initial construction started in 1872, seven years after the Civil War concluded.

In 2018, the state Legislature under Republican House Speaker Lee Chatfield appropriated $40 million for the new building, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.

“There are educational opportunities not only on Michigan’s history artifacts, but also how we take care of those artifacts,” Blackshaw said.

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square