Will Capitol site add a $70M building?

The House and Senate chambers and their public galleries in the Capitol will remain structurally as before. Architects found the original paint colors while remodeling, and the House main colors will be yellow and green, with the Senate blue and gold. Both the House and Senate chambers will have specially woven carpets, incorporating the respective color schemes.

East and west Senate chamber walls were removed, spreading the chamber into old hallways, allowing more space.

Both chambers will get new voting boards, and the old Senate boards will not be on the chamber floor as before. Senators will see the vote, as well as bills and amendments, via the laptop computers on their desks. There will be just one vote-tally board, up in the Senate gallery for visitors to see.

The House lounge, located behind the chambers but off limits to the public, will retain the two fireplaces that were reopened in a 1990s remodeling.

The Senate lounge had an original fireplace, as well. But when the walls were stripped, the old fireplace, oddly enough, turned out to be sitting in the middle of the long room. That would have been unsightly and restrictive, so it was not reopened.

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