“Sparty” the Spartan, Michigan State University’s prolific mascot, has long been immortalized via a monument located on the university’s campus. While a symbol of pride for the school, the current statue is a bronze copy. No, this wasn’t part of an elaborate plot by rival Michigan but rather a move by MSU officials to preserve the original “Sparty.” Now safely located inside the stadium, Leonard D. Jungwirth’s 10.5 foot high terra cotta statue (the world’s largest freestanding ceramic figure) will no longer be vulnerable to paint attacks from the wolverine faithful.
The ninteen chandeliers in the Capitol in Lansing are one of a kind and designed especially for the building by Tiffany’s of New York. Weighing between eight and nine hundred pounds apiece they are composed of copper, iron, and pewter.
The Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile), which was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, began production in a small factory in Lansing. Although there were others that were founded prior to Oldsmobile, those have all gone out of business since then.