Minnesota Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Minnesota Building
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The Minnesota Building
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 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Location | 46 East 4th Street Saint Paul, Minnesota |
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| Built | 1929 |
| Architect | Charles A. Hausler |
| Architectural style | Art Deco/Moderne |
| NRHP reference No. | 09000408 |
| Added to NRHP | June 10, 2009 |
The Minnesota Building is a historic office building in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on June 10, 2009. This building is special because its design showed a shift from older, classical styles to the newer Art Deco and Moderne styles. It was first planned in a traditional way, but as it was built, it became more modern.
Contents
Building Design and Features
The Minnesota Building is a thirteen-story office tower. It stands at the corner of East 4th Street and Cedar Street in downtown St. Paul. The building is made of strong reinforced concrete. It has a smooth, polished outside made of Indiana Limestone.
Outside Look
The main parts of the building face the streets to the north and west. At street level, there are main entrance areas. These are next to large display windows for shops. Above these, from the second to the thirteenth floor, are tall window sections. These sections are separated by limestone pillars, called piers.
The East Fourth Street side of the building is balanced. The main entrance is in the middle, with display windows on each side. On the Cedar Street side, there is a second entrance. It has three display windows on either side. Both main sides of the building are covered with polished pink and gray marble at the bottom.
Entrance Details
Just above each opening, there is a narrow band of colorful, decorative tiles. The main entrance is set back a bit. It has two sets of shiny brass doors. These doors are next to wrought iron and glass display cases. Above the doors, a metal sign reads "MINNESOTA BUILDING."
Above this sign are five large transom windows. The building's address, "46," is painted in gold on the middle window. The top of the entrance area is framed with decorative, cream-colored terra cotta. This material also covers the ceiling of the entrance. The entrance also has two large brass wall lanterns. Above the entrance, there is a stone carving of the Seal of Minnesota. Two stylized eagles face inward on either side of the seal.
The second entrance is similar but smaller. It has a shorter transom window above the doors and smaller wall lanterns. The tall openings for people walking by have decorative terra cotta scrollwork at the top. One opening at the street corner also has a recessed shop entrance.
Upper Floors
The two entrances are highlighted by side piers. Two piers directly above them are decorated with raised stone shafts. These shafts have floral designs halfway up the third story. A fancy terra cotta band separates the second and third stories. Simple raised stone bands are found between the eleventh and twelfth stories.
This building does not have a cornice, which is a decorative molding at the top. It was one of the first buildings in the area to be built without one. Above the twelfth story, there is a blind frieze of checkered stonework. This ends in a jagged crown formed by the piers rising above the parapet in stepped, zigzag finials. The flat panels between the windows, called spandrels, have a geometric pattern. They are even with the piers, spreading the checkered design across the whole front. The upper floors originally had double-hung windows. These were changed to metal-clad windows in 1974.
Other Sides and Additions
The other sides of the building, facing east and south, have similar windows. However, they have concrete bands between floors and brick between the windows. These sides also have "MINNESOTA BLDG." painted in large block letters. This is between the twelfth and thirteenth window rows. The windows on the upper floors of the south side were changed later. This was done to give better views of the Mississippi River. The building has a flat roof and an iron fire escape on the south side. It is connected to the Saint Paul Skyway System through a nearby building.
The building was first built with twelve stories. The thirteenth story was started as soon as the building was finished in 1929. It was completed in 1930. This added story is covered in the same limestone. It also repeats the window pattern. The new roof did not have the same jagged crown that was part of the thirteenth story's design.
History of the Minnesota Building
Saint Paul, the state capital, was very busy and growing in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many buildings were constructed downtown during that time. Building slowed down in downtown St. Paul in the early 1920s. Before the Minnesota Building, no tall office building had been built in the city since World War I.
Building Construction
A group of developers wanted to create more businesses downtown. They came up with the idea for the Minnesota Building. The Lincoln Hold and Development Company bought the land in 1928 and cleared it. Charles A. Hausler, an architect from St. Paul, designed the building. Construction began in 1929 by the Fleisher-Greg Construction Company.
The building was finished on November 1, 1929. It cost about $970,000. It was mainly designed for fancy office spaces. The architect, Charles A. Hausler, moved into the building's extra penthouse floor when it was finished in 1930. The building has about 9,400 square meters (101,000 square feet) of space inside.
The Architect, Charles A. Hausler
Charles A. Hausler was born in St. Paul in 1879. He learned his trade in Chicago with a famous architect named Louis Sullivan. He came back to Minnesota and became a licensed architect in 1908. He was named St. Paul's first City Architect in 1914. He served five terms before leaving in 1923. He then served eight terms in the Minnesota Senate.
While he was City Architect, he wrote the city's first building rules in 1921. He also designed many city buildings. These included Beaux-Arts style Carnegie libraries, which are now on the National Register of Historic Places. He returned to private work while in the Minnesota Senate. During that time, he designed the Minnesota Building, which was his biggest project.
Modern Use
By the late 1990s, the building was not as popular for offices. This was because businesses wanted more modern spaces. So, the building started to be used less. As early as 2003, there were plans to change the building into homes. It would also have some shops at street level. Sand Companies bought the building in spring 2006. In January 2010, they started work to turn it into 137 rental homes. This included some affordable units. It also has about 930 square meters (10,000 square feet) of space for shops and offices.
Why the Minnesota Building is Important
The Minnesota Building was the first Art Deco building in downtown St. Paul. It was first designed in a traditional style. However, it became more modern as it was being built. Its design shows a change from older Classical architecture to the Art Deco and Moderne styles. These styles became very popular in downtown Saint Paul from the late 1920s to the early 1940s.
After the Minnesota Building, several other important Art Deco buildings were built in downtown St. Paul. These include the Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse, the Saint Paul Women's City Club, the Salvation Army Headquarters, and the First National Bank Building. Experts have called the building's style "mild art deco" with features that are "very urbane," meaning sophisticated and city-like.
See also
In Spanish: Minnesota Building para niños
