Photos: Minnesota State Capitol rises, 1896-1905

The Minnesota State Capitol has reopened following a multiyear, $310 million restoration.

If it feels a little familiar, that's because planners didn't want to tinker too much with history.

"When we started the project we broke the project down into zones," said Wayne Waslaski, who helped oversee the project. "Zone one space is the highest level of preservation. So you want those spaces to look exactly like they did in 1905 or as close as possible to what they looked like in 1905."

So what did it all look like back then?

Like this.

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