Tom Craddick and the Golden Toilet

By Elise Hu for KVUE News

Inside the Texas State Capitol is a living space that's one of a kind. Texas has the only private residence inside a state capitol in the nation, and it's the home of the Speaker of the Texas House when the legislature is in session.

Since 2003, Speaker Tom Craddick and his wife Nadine have called it home.

"It's fun living here; it's unique," Craddick said in an interview with UT's Center for American History.

In Spring 2006, the Craddick's decided to renovate the apartment. ... Craddick raised more than $1 million from private donors to pay for the project. The fundraising drew critics.

"The people that are ponying up these large contributions are major commercial interests that have business in front of the state legislature," said Andrew Wheat, of Texans for Public Justice.