Lansing, the capital of Michigan

Detroit, the first capital

Detroit was the center of government in Michigan long before statehood. It became the capital of Michigan Territory in 1805, and when Michigan became a state in 1837 the legislature met there, in the former territorial courthouse. But Michigan’s first constitution kept the seat of government in Detroit only until 1847, when the legislature was to choose a permanent location.

A capital in the wilderness

When the time came, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Marshall and other towns all competed for the capital. Meanwhile a land speculator named James Seymour promoted a site in Lansing Township, in Ingham County, near the middle of the Lower Peninsula, where he owned land. On March 16, 1847, the governor signed the bill choosing it, even though no village yet stood there. Critics called the site a wilderness.

A wooden capitol was hastily built, and the legislature met there for the first time in January 1848. The settlement around it was first named Michigan, Michigan, before it was renamed Lansing.

The present Capitol

By the 1870s Michigan needed a permanent building. The state held a national design competition, and the winner was Elijah E. Myers of Springfield, Illinois, who titled his plan “Tuebor,” the Latin word for “I will defend” on the state coat of arms. The cornerstone was laid on October 2, 1873, and the building was dedicated on January 1, 1879, at a cost of $1,427,738.78. Myers went on to design the capitols of Texas and Colorado.

The Michigan State Capitol is a Renaissance Revival building that combines Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns beneath a cast-iron dome. Its most unusual feature is the floor of the rotunda, made of 976 pieces of glass laid starting in 1878, which lets visitors stand at the center of the building and look straight up into the dome. By tradition the glass was made in England.

Restored

Over the following century the Capitol was remodeled and crowded with offices. From 1987 to 1992 a $58 million restoration returned the interior to its original appearance, including its painted ceilings and walls, and in 1992 the Capitol was named a National Historic Landmark.

Lansing today

Lansing had about 114,000 residents in 2025. Detroit, with about 649,000, is the largest city in Michigan, and Grand Rapids is second. Lansing is also home to Michigan State University, in neighboring East Lansing.

Visiting

The Capitol offers free tours. See the Michigan State Capitol’s visitor page.