Photos: Inside the state Capitol renovation

Scaffolding in the Senate chamber
Wayne Waslaski of the Department of Administration stands in the Senate chamber, where scaffolding is in place during work on murals high above.
Brian Bakst | MPR News

Exactly eight months from today, Minnesota lawmakers and the public will be invited back into a refurbished state Capitol.

 Two art conservationists work on a mural.
Two art conservationists work on a mural inside the Minnesota Senate chamber during a massive building restoration.
Brian Bakst | MPR News

Hundreds of construction workers and fine art conservationists are giving the 110-year-old building a top-to-bottom make over. And they can see the beginning of the end of the project.

Reporter Brian Bakst went beyond the plywood barriers and scaled some ladders under the guide of Wayne Waslaski, who has kept close tabs on the project for the Department of Administration.

The tour started near the rotunda, where interior scaffolding that reached 120 feet high inside the grand Capitol dome is starting to come down this week.

Correction (May 3, 2016): Wayne Waslaski's name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.

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