Richardsonian Romanesque St. Paul - Part III

St. Paul’s finest residential street is Summit Avenue – a broad street that extends for nearly five miles through the western half of the city.  Many of St. Paul’s leading architects designed mansions for the city’s business and social leaders, and today the entire Avenue is included in both local and national historic districts.

In this installment, we will examine a number of homes that were built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style during the 1880s and 1890s.  For more information on these houses, and the other homes located along Summit Avenue, see the AIA Guide to St. Paul’s Summit Avenue & Hill District (Larry Millett, Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009) and St. Paul’s Historic Summit Avenue (Ernest R. Sandeen, Living Historical Museum, 1978).

Joseph Lockey House

684 Summit Avenue

Hermann Kretz, architect

1893

The breadth of this large home is accentuated by the alternating courses of tall and short stones, which emphasize the horizontal lines of building.  The asymmetrical façade includes a four-story gabled section at right offset by a three story turret at left, the two sections connected with a broad porch. 

Farrar-Howes Houses

596-604 Summit Avenue

Clarence H. Johnston, architect

1890

Johnston was one of St. Paul’s most prolific architects, executing numerous buildings in a variety of styles including Richardsonian Romanesque.  This grouping of five houses derives part of its design from the use of two contrasting colors of stone, differentiating the wall surface from the trim.  

The elegant symmetrical façade with Classical detailing avoids the monotony often found in row houses with slightly shorter houses at either end, and an interesting treatment for the entranceways of the three center units.

Summit Terrace

587-601 Summit Avenue

Willcox & Johnston, architects

1889

Clarence Johnston, architect for the Farrar-Howes houses above, teamed with partner William Willcox one year earlier for the design of this row of eight brownstone houses.  The grouping is anchored at either end by a tall turret, with gabled sections, projecting bay windows, and a variety of treatments for porches and entryways creating a rich and varied façade.  

The Terrace is a National Historic Landmark, not for its architecture, but for its connection with author F. Scott Fitzgerald.  His parents moved into 593 Summit in 1914, when their son was away at Princeton.  In 1918, they moved to 599 Summit, and it was here, during the summer of 1919, that F. Scott Fitzgerald completed the manuscript that became his first novel – This Side of Paradise.

Chauncey Griggs House

476 Summit Avenue

Clarence H. Johnston, architect

1885

This house, by prolific architect Johnston, was designed during the first year of his practice in St. Paul.  Faced in Lake Superior sandstone, it was one of the first in St. Paul to use this stone, which became very popular over time.  

Now heavily obscured by foliage, the house has a stately presence with its simple lines, arched windows at the second floor, and octagonal turret.

Edgar Long House

332 Summit Avenue

Gilbert and Taylor, architects

1889

This house is the work of Cass Gilbert and James Knox Taylor.  Gilbert went on to become a nationally recognized architect, after designing numerous buildings in St. Paul, including the Minnesota State Capitol building.  

In this commission, the architects combined red brick and sandstone to achieve a rich façade, including fine carved detail on the turret and central gable.  The main entrance comprises a set of elegantly carved double doors set within a massive Romanesque arch.  An open porte cochere at the far left end of the building was later bricked up.

William Lightner – George Young Double House

322-324 Summit Avenue

Gilbert and Taylor, architects

1888

Located adjacent to the Long house, these double houses continue a stretch of massive stone clad houses along this section of Summit Avenue.   The overall structure is clearly defined as two houses, with the right half more in the Renaissance Revival style with its boxy shape and Classical cornice.  The left half is more picturesque, with a pair of Romanesque arches on the front porch supporting another porch above.

William Lightner House

318 Summit Avenue

Cass Gilbert, architect

1893

This is generally regarded as one of the finest houses along Summit Avenue.  Gilbert was at the peak of his career when he designed this house, for the same client who had commissioned half of the double-house next door, just a few years earlier.  The influence of Glessner House is clearly evident in the design, which is grounded by a large center entryway set beneath a massive sandstone arch.  Additionally, the grouping of windows above, with engaged columns in between, clearly speaks to Richardson’s design for Glessner.  However, by the time Gilbert designed this house, Romanesque was starting to fall from flavor, so elements of Classical Revival mix seamlessly in this transitional house.   The treatment of the stone is particularly effective, contrasting the sandstone trim and banding with the South Dakota quartzite used for the wall surfaces.  The stone is further delineated by utilizing tall courses of stone at the first level, and alternating courses of tall and short stones at the second.  The house was extensively restored in 2006, at which time it was converted from its later use as seven apartments, back to a single-family residence.

Next week:  The James J. Hill House and Laurel Terrace

Richardsonian Romanesque St. Paul - Part II

One of the most commanding buildings in St. Paul is the Landmark Center, located at 75 West 5^th Street.  The design of the building was strongly influenced by H. H. Richardson’s Alleghany County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  This structure, designed in 1892 by the Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury, is also very similar to other structures built for the federal government during the last years of the 19^th century, when the Richardsonian Romanesque style was deemed most appropriate for large government buildings.  Completed in 1902 at a cost of $2.5 million, local architects involved in the massive project included James Knox Taylor and Edward P. Bassford, as well as Cass Gilbert, who went on to design the nearby Minnesota State Capitol. 

The building housed the federal courts, post office, and custom house, and eventually was home to all of the federal offices in the Upper Midwest.  By the late 1960s, the federal government moved its offices to a new building, and the old structure was threatened with demolition.  An ambitious public campaign was launched to save the building, and it was eventually deeded to Ramsey County.   It was reopened as the Landmark Center in 1978 after an extensive restoration, which earned it numerous awards, including a top national award from the American Institute of Architects in 1980.  Today, the building is managed and programmed by Minnesota Landmarks, and is home to many of the city’s arts and cultural non-profit organizations, which sponsor a diverse range of offerings.

Several of the major interior rooms have been fully restored and are used as venues for public programming and for private events.  Visitors to the building are welcome to explore on their own and view these spectacular spaces.

CORTILE

The building is wrapped around a huge four-story sky lit “cortile” or atrium.  The post office occupied the ground level of this space for more than 50 years, with a louver-paneled ceiling at the second-floor level.  Supervisors could watch the postal workers from a cat-walk above the ceiling.  

The ceiling and cat-walks were removed during the restoration, opening up the space and bathing the marble wainscoting, ornate columns, and tiled floor with light from the clear skylight above.

COURTROOM #317

Now the Ramsey County Room

Four courtrooms were contained within the building, which served as the Federal Courts building for the Upper Midwest.  This courtroom was the largest of the four and was the site of many well-publicized gangster trials during the 1930s – including those of Ma Barker’s son “Doc,” and John Dillinger’s lady companion, Evelyn Frechette.  An interesting feature of the two-story space is the upper balconies, where FBI G-Men, armed with Thompson sub-machine guns, kept guard to ward off escape attempts or ambushes.  

Just down the hall from the courtroom is the original “Detention Room,” now a private office.

COURTROOM #326

Now the Butler Room

An interesting feature of this room is the elaborate ceiling with its molded crossbeams, discovered when the dropped ceiling and fluorescent lighting were removed during the restoration.  

The Tudor style fireplace disguised the steam heating system used throughout the building.  The room is named in honor of Associate Justice Pierce Butler, a St. Paul native who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1923.

COURTROOM #408

Now the Sanborn Room

This courtroom was used as the Court of Appeals.  Notable features include the extensive use of white marble most notably for the windows, which are said to be based on Richardson’s Trinity Church in Boston.  

The huge stained glass skylight had been painted over in later years and was restored during the restoration.  The room is named for two generations of the Sanborn family who served as judges in this space.

COURTROOM #430

Now the Chief Justice Room

Set beneath a spectacular stained glass dome, this is the most ornate space in the building and originally functioned as the law library, later being converted to a courtroom.  

The extensive ornamentation in the space includes female figures depicting law and justice flanking the fireplace; relief heads below the skylight depicting prominent figures in the history of law; and ornate wood carvings incorporating symbols for St. Paul, Minnesota, and the United States. 

EXHIBITS

In addition to these restored spaces there are a number of exhibits on display in the building.  These include the permanent “Uncle Sam Worked Here” exhibit on the ground level showcasing the history of the building and its restoration, and the Landmark Gallery on the lower level.  The Ramsey County Historical Society has rotating exhibits of local history in a large space located off of the “Hamm Foyer” on Sixth Street, with its original marble and mosaic floor still intact. 

The second floor features the Schubert Club Museum, with an extensive collection of early keyboard instruments and manuscripts and letters by many of the greatest composers from Mozart to Gershwin.  Also located on the second floor is the Gallery of Wood, showcasing rotating exhibits by the American Association of Woodturners.

Information taken from the “Landmark Center – A Ramsey County Property” self-guided tour brochure.

For more information, visit:

Landmark Center

Schubert Club Museum

Next week:  St. Paul’s historic Summit Avenue

Richardsonian Romanesque St. Paul - Part I

St. Paul, Minnesota possesses many wonderful architectural landmarks.  During the last two decades of the 19^th 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