St. Paul, Minnesota possesses many wonderful architectural
landmarks. During the last two decades
of the 19th century, a number of prominent architects working in the
city embraced the Richardsonian Romanesque style for some of the most
distinctive buildings ever constructed in St. Paul. The heavy and solid Romanesque style, with
its illusions to the past, provided a sense of tradition and permanence in the
new “western cities” of the United States, such as St. Paul. In this article, the first of several to
explore how H. H. Richardson’s Romanesque style was embraced and interpreted by
others in St. Paul, we will explore one college building and several commercial
buildings, all of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Old Main, Macalester College
1600 Grand Avenue
Macalester College was founded in 1874 by Rev. Dr. Edward Duffield Neill
as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian liberal arts college. It opened in 1885 with just over 50 students. It was at that time that architect William H.
Willcox was commissioned to design the first new structure for the
college. Completed in 1887, the
building, now known as “Old Main,” embraced the Richardsonian Romanesque style
with its heavy base and porte cochere of rusticated stone and arched windows of
various sizes and groupings set into the brick walls above. Willcox had
practiced in Chicago throughout the 1870s and arrived in St. Paul in 1882,
designing numerous structures during his decade there. The college remains one of the top-rated
liberal arts colleges in the United States, and alumni include Reader’s Digest founder DeWitt Wallace,
vice president Walter Mondale, and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Great Northern Building
281 E. Kellogg Street
This substantial seven-story brick structure was built in 1887 to house
the corporate offices of the Great Northern Railroad, by its president, James
J. Hill. The architect, James Brodie,
was the in-house architect for the company, and later served as construction
superintendent for Hill’s massive residence on St. Paul’s exclusive Summit
Avenue.
The most distinctive feature of
the building is its massive and heavy rusticated stone entrance arch; the same
stone forms the base around the entire building. In contrast, delicate foliate carvings decorate the arch and engaged side columns (see image at top of article). Large arched windows at the first floor level
are referenced with the smaller and simpler arched windows at the upper three
levels. Recently converted to residential
use, the original brick barrel-vaulted ceilings have been left exposed in the
units.
Walsh Building
189-191 E. Seventh Street
This modest three-story commercial building constructed of rich red
brick with stone trim in 1888, derives its prominence from the generous arched
windows at the second level, in groupings of two and three. The cornice is embellished with a detailed
brick parapet wall above, and a slender turret at the corner. The architect, Edward Bassford, was a native
of Maine who arrived in St. Paul in 1866, and by the 1870s was the busiest
architect in the city. He designed
numerous houses, schools, as well as commercial buildings such as the
Walsh. His office employed several
architects who went on to prominent careers of their own, including Cass
Gilbert, who later designed three state capitol buildings (including
Minnesota), and the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.
Merchants National Bank
366 Jackson Street
This building, another design by Edward Bassford was opened in 1892 to
house the Merchants National Bank. The
striking rusticated sandstone exterior features window openings of different
sizes and designs at each level, resulting in a richly ornamented surface. Large two story windows at the lower levels
illuminated the banking room, while the paired windows on the third and fourth
levels show the location of the offices.
Polished columns at these floors embellish the windows, which are set
beneath a high detailed cornice and parapet, all executed in the same
stone. The building was restored in
recent years by David A. Brooks and is now known as the Brooks Building.
Saint Paul Building
6 W. Fifth Street
This eight-story office building of Lake Superior sandstone occupies a
prominent corner at Fifth and Wabasha Streets.
Constructed in 1889 and based upon a design by architect J. Walter
Stevens, the composition of base, shaft, and capital groups the floors into
three distinct sections. The lower two
floors, heavily rusticated, are joined with tall two-story columns along the long
side of the building, with huge windows set in between.
The next four stories, with less rustication,
feature windows grouped in pairs which are set beneath larger, highly decorated
arches at the top of the sixth story.
The final two stories are composed of tall narrow windows with very thin
columns connecting the two levels, all set beneath a projecting bracketed
cornice.
Pioneer-Endicott Building
141 E. Fourth Street
This large complex was built as two separate buildings in the late
1880s. The corner Pioneer Building,
constructed between 1887 and 1889, is a design by Chicago architect Solon S.
Beman (designer of the Town of Pullman, the Kimball mansion on Prairie Avenue,
and the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue, amongst many others in Chicago).
In 1890, the L-shaped Endicott Building was
designed by Cass Gilbert and James Knox Taylor and wrapped the Pioneer on two
sides. The two buildings were connected
by arcades in the 1940s, and the complex has been known as the Pioneer-Endicott
ever since.
The Pioneer Building was significant
in its day. At 13 stories, it was
tallest building in St. Paul at the time, and remained the tallest building
west of Chicago until 1915. A 36-foot
wide light well provided light and ventilation and featured the first glass
elevators in the United States, which could travel 300 feet per minute. It has recently been converted to more than
200 luxury apartments.
Next week: The Federal Courts
Building, now the Landmark Center
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