State capital plans changes for tourists

But Capitol staff are hoping to change that with some new construction projects, including additional tour rooms, a lunch room and more restrooms. They're also working on some extra perks for the Capitol's 300,000 visitors per year, including a small history center and a gift shop.

The space for these projects opened up this fall, when 23 House lawmakers moved from the Capitol to the new House Office Building across the street.

While some members of the House and Senate leadership will retain their ornate Capitol offices, most of the building's office space is now empty and awaiting more than $350,000 in renovations.

"This has been a long time in planning. I can't remember how long, but before the House Office Building ever went up," said Jerry Lawler, executive director of the Michigan Capitol Committee. The committee, made up of lawmakers and administrators, is responsible for determining the Capitol's uses.

On the first floor, a new tour orientation room, a room for media and two lunch rooms already have been added, Lawler said.

Capitol tour guide Chris Benson said the lunch rooms make a huge difference to the 3,000 school groups that visit each year.

"It will really take a lot of pressure off the state museum," said Benson, referring to the nearby Michigan Historical Center, which used to house the only lunch room in town. "Ninety-nine percent of these groups bring sack lunches, so it's a mess."

Also on the first floor, more restrooms and an expanded snack shop are expected to be complete by spring, Lawler said. Right now, lines form outside the restrooms when school groups take breaks, while the snack shop is little more than a narrow counter with a popcorn machine.

Workers also have begun transforming part of the basement into a new headquarters for Capitol security, Lawler said.

Lawler estimated that the history center and gift shop would need at least an additional $200,000 to get off the ground. The Legislature hasn't yet approved money for those projects; money for the current projects came from previous budgets.

Lawler said the history center might include historical documents as well as computers that would teach visitors about the history of the Capitol and about the legislative process.

As for the gift shop, Lawler said he's asking other states about the startup costs and labor involved. He's also asking for input from the Board of the Friends of the Capitol, the nonprofit group that played a key role in the $58 million restoration of the Capitol in 1992.

Lisa Daume, 35, who was visiting the Capitol for the first time last week along with her daughter's fourth-grade class, thinks a gift shop would be a hit.

"The kids went crazy in the shop at the museum," said Daume, of Monroe, who noted that her 9-year-old daughter Erin bought a book and a pencil at the Historical Center.

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