ST PAUL, Minn. — The State Capitol Rotunda chandelier is rarely lit, but it was turned on two days in a row Friday and Saturday in honor of Statehood Day.
Those who work in the Capitol building and visitors alike could be seen casting their eyes upward and grabbing their cameras and phone to capture the moment.
Some fun facts about the chandelier:
- It weighs one ton
- It's six feet in diameter
- Contains 40,000 crystal beads strung together
- Has 92 bulbs in a tiered candelabrum inside the main sphere
- Is suspended 142 feet above the Rotunda floor
- Was installed in 1905 just before the Capitol building opened
- Is typically only lit on May 11 for Statehood Day, for a governor's inauguration, if a governor's body is lying in state in the Rotunda and for some MN Historical Society special events.
- Has rarely been lowered since 1905 for cleanings and repairs