Soon, there will be a new look to the state Capitol grounds in Bismarck.
If you drive by, you’ll see a lot of construction going on. And here’s why: The new state laboratory building in the northeast part of the grounds is nearly finished.
Work has also begun on a new “military gallery” near the Heritage Center. Soon, there will be some upgrades to the Governor’s residence, in terms of the driveway and fencing, bring done for security.
Gone is the old Water Commission building, torn down because of — irony — water issues. It seems that when the building was built, to be the first campus of Bismarck Junior College (now BSC), it was built over an underground river.
There will still be a lot of “green space” on the grounds.
But it reminds me of when the Judicial Wing was built on the east side of the Capitol. I remember the discussions: Should the state Supreme Court move into the old Liberty Memorial Building (which is the state Library site), or should it have some modern quarters? The latter was chosen.
When the J-wing opened, a few of us Capitol reporters decided to ask the long-serving Secretary of State, Ben Meier, to take a tour of the facility with us. Meier hated it. And he was not shy about giving us his opinion on it.
And there may be people who think these new buildings are ruining the aesthetics of the Capitol grounds. But Legislators and some state officials had complained for years about the office rent paid to house some of the state workers. The J-wing also has Legislative hearing rooms, and houses the Department of Health and Human Services.
And the Legislature may also be looking for more space — for the Legislative Council (the research arm of the Legislature), as well as meeting space. But legislators do not have separate offices (except for the leadership). Instead, legislators have their desks in the chambers, and that’s all. It’s part of the charm of a “citizen legislature.”