In the summer of 1878, workers began installing 976 pieces of glass into the new Capitol’s iron rotunda floor frame. According to newspaper reports, approximately 50 tiles could be installed in a day. Tradition says that these glass tiles—sometimes called illuminated tiles—were produced in Lancashire, England, by the London and Manchester Plate Glass Company.
The British Cast Plate Glass Company’s plant in Ravenhead.
An illustration showing the casting of glass at the British Plate Glass Company in Ravenhead.
The casting hall of the Ravenhead glass works in Lancashire, England.
(Click on photos to enlarge)
Illustration showing the various methods of 19th century glass making in Lancashire, England.
The British Cast Plate Glass Company’s plant in Ravenhead.
Image courtesy of Stephen Wainwright, Sutton Beauty and Heritage
An illustration showing the casting of glass at the British Plate Glass Company in Ravenhead.
Image courtesy of Stephen Wainwright, Sutton Beauty and Heritage
The casting hall of the Ravenhead glass works in Lancashire, England.
Image courtesy of Stephen Wainwright, Sutton Beauty and Heritage
Illustration showing the various methods of 19th century glass making in Lancashire, England.
Image courtesy of The British Plate Glass Factory, St. Helens, Lancashire, Welcome Collection
On January 18, 1931, a fire broke out in the east wing of the ground floor. Determined as “spontaneous combustion” at a cigar stand, the fire spread to the area underneath the glass floor. Well over half of the tiles were cracked and scorched from the heat of the blaze. The broken tiles were replaced with glass that was 3/8” thinner than the original glass. As a result, wooden shims were inserted between the glass and the iron frame.
The 1931 fire led to the replacement of a majority of the original glass floor tiles.
Survey work in 2024 uncovered a label underneath a thought-to-be original tile reading “Pressed Prism Plate Glass Co.”
Factory of the Pressed Prism Plate Glass Company near Morgantown, West Virginia.
(Click on photos to enlarge)
The 1930s tiles were thinner than the originals, thus wood shims were added to raise them to the correct level.
The 1931 fire led to the replacement of well over half of the glass floor tiles. No other photos of the fire are known to exist.
“Corridor of the Capitol Scorched…Burned in Night Blaze.” Lansing State Journal. January 19, 1931.
Survey work in 2024 uncovered a label underneath a previously thought to be original tile reading “Pressed Prism Plate Glass Co., Morgantown, West Virginia”
Factory of the Pressed Prism Plate Glass Company near Morgantown, West Virginia.
Image courtesy of West Virginia & Regional History Center.
Because the 1930s tiles were 3/8” thinner than the original 1” thick tiles, wood shims were added to raise them to the correct level.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, broken glass floor tiles were replaced with plastic (Lexan) inserts. During the Capitol's 1987–1992 restoration, those inserts and other damaged tiles were replaced. Drawings were sent to the University of Michigan's College of Creative Studies, where 47 glass replicas were cast. We now know, though, these replicas were likely modeled after the 1930s replacement tiles rather than the original 1879 tiles.
This architectural plan crafted by Wigen Tincknell Myer & Associates in 1990 identifies the 47 tiles to be replaced.
1991 photo of the College of Creative Arts glass studio where the 1991 glass tiles were produced.
The Christman Company managed the project to restore the glass floor and its iron framework.
(Click on photos to enlarge)
Tiles set to be replaced were traced on paper. This tracing was used to cut a plywood board to scale.
This architectural plan crafted by Wigen Tincknell Myer & Associates in 1990 identifies the 47 tiles to be replaced in 1991.
The British Cast Plate Glass Company’s plant in Ravenhead.
Image courtesy of Stephen Wainwright, Sutton Beauty and Heritage