Michigan's Capitol

I had a downtown meeting yesterday afternoon, so I took along my camera and shot a few photographs of the Capitol Complex. Michigan's government is scattered all over the state, and I work in a rural office complex, but the heart of everything is here--anchored on one end by the Capitol Building, and on the other by the Hall of Justice. Between those large buildings are a bunch of quite substantial office buildings.

My personal favorite of the massive government buildings in downtown Lansing. The nearer half of this building houses the Michigan History Museum and the department called HAL (History, Arts, and Libraries); the distant half is the absolutely delightful Library of Michigan.

Downtown Lansing, Michigan. From the same location as this picture of Michigan's State Capitol ....

Gave my pocket camera to my brother yesterday afternoon, so this turned out to be the last photo I took with the Cybershot. Not bad, I think. I'd just left the Lansing ballyard and was walking down Michigan Avenue. That's the State Capitol at the end of the road, of course. There's something good about leaving the ballpark and seeing that dome in the distance. The tall building's Boji Tower; the large building down the sidewalk on the right is Lansing Center, an exhibition hall. Bye, camera. I'll miss y'.

My notes tell me I processed this using Photoshop Elements, though right at the moment I can't figure out how. This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366/2012 project discussion here .

Before becoming a civil servant I worked for several years as an occasionally-paid Democratic Party staffer. In that role I organized a campaign event for Dick Austin in 1974. This building was renamed to honor Richard Austin in 2006. Prior to that it was called the Treasury Building. Secretary Austin was my boss for more than half of my state government career--not directly, of course, but our department reported to Michigan's Secretary of State, not to Michigan's Governor. But even before that Austin was an inspiration. Here's the original of the photo I posted to 366 Snaps last February 21. Last year I put a frame around it to soften the sharp-edged image. There's something about the downtown government complex that annoys me--these forty-some-year-old buildings still look more like architect's drawings than places designed for workers. ========== By late February I'd gotten pretty comfortable using the phone as a camera. A doctor's appointment had me downtown on this date, so I arrived a bit early and spent an hour shooting pictures. And remembering my first days in Lansing . Most of the photographs turned out well. ========== This photograph is an alternate version from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 23 Title of " roll :" Downtown Lansing Other photos taken on 2/21/2012: I set up an eBay auction, and used the D300 to shoot a dozen pictures to support it.

I am not particularly enamoured of this building's exterior; it's really just a gilded box. The Capitol's interior, however, is simply wonderful , and the dome is quite attractive. On January 1, 1979, the centennial of this building was celebrated under the dome. I participated in that celebration as a member of Lansing's Da Capo Singers. Someday I'll have to find a way to explain about Da Capo; it's a good story....

There are six large office buildings between Michigan's Capitol and the Hall of Justice, but they're arranged so that you cannot easily see all at once. In this photo: The Van Wagoner Building. Murray Van Wagoner was Michigan's governor in the early 1940s. The building houses the Transportation Department, which he championed. The Hannah Building. John Hannah was president of Michigan State University for 28 years. This building houses the Education Department, of course. It was originally called The South Tower, though it's not particularly tall. Stevens T. Mason Building. Mason was the governor of Michigan Territory, and first governor of the State of Michigan. This Equals That would dominate this photograph if it had not been removed. I was never a fan of the sculpture, but the State's treatment of the piece was disgraceful.