Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse
The Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse, located at 15 Kellogg Boulevard West in Saint Paul, Ramsey County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota is a twenty-story Art Deco skyscraper completed in 1932. Built during the Great Depression era of high unemployment and falling prices, the four million dollar budget for the building was underspent, and the quality of materials and craftsmanship were higher than initially envisioned. The exterior consists of smooth Indiana limestone in the Art Deco style known as "American Perpendicular", designed by Thomas Ellerbe & Company of Saint Paul and Holabird & Root of Chicago and inspired by Finnish architect, Eliel Saarinen. The vertical rows of windows are linked by plain, flat, black spandrels. Above the Fourth Street entrance and flanking the Kellogg Boulevard entrance are relief sculptures carved by Lee Lawrie.
Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse | |
Location | 15 Kellogg Boulevard West, Saint Paul, Minnesota |
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Coordinates | 44°56′38.5″N 93°05′37.1″W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1932[1] |
Architect | Thomas Ellerbe & Company and Holabird & Root |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
NRHP reference No. | 83000940[2][3] |
Added to NRHP | February 11, 1983 |
The interior design in the "Zigzag Moderne" style drew its inspiration from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, which promoted soft ornamentation and sensuous curves. In Memorial Hall the white marble floor contrasts with three-story black marble piers leading to a gold-leaf ceiling. At the end of the hall is the 60-ton, 38 feet (11.6 m) white onyx Indian God of Peace by Carl Milles (later renamed Vision of Peace[4]). Other features include woodwork fashioned out of twenty-three different species of wood and uses five different types of imported marble. Murals were painted by John W. Norton while the six bronze elevator doors were made by Albert Stewart.[1][5]
References
- "Ramsey County Courthouse". Minnesota Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- "National Register of Historic Places". ww.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. 2007-11-07.
- "St. Paul City Hall-Ramsey County Courthouse". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
- "St. Paul City Hall & Ramsey County Courthouse, 15 West Kellogg Boulevard, Saint Paul, Ramsey County, MN". Historic American Buildings Survey. Library of Congress. September 9, 1981. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
External links
- Media related to Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse at Wikimedia Commons
- "The Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse". City of Saint Paul. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
- St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia