National Register of Historic Places

St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse

St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota
Listed
February 11, 1983
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
83000940

About this property

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—a period of high unemployment and falling prices—the building's four-million-dollar budget was underspent, resulting in higher quality materials and craftsmanship than initially expected. The exterior consists of smooth Indiana limestone in the Art Deco style known as "American Perpendicular." The building was designed by Thomas Ellerbe & Company of Saint Paul and Holabird & Root of Chicago, drawing inspiration from Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen. The vertical rows of windows are connected by plain, flat, black spandrels. Above the Fourth Street entrance and flanking the Kellogg Boulevard entrance are relief sculptures carved by Lee Lawrie. The interior design, in the "Zigzag Moderne" style, was inspired by the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, which emphasized soft ornamentation and sensuous curves. In Memorial Hall, the white marble floor contrasts with three-story black marble piers that lead to a gold-leaf ceiling. At the end of the hall stands the 60-ton, 38 feet (11.6 m) white onyx sculpture Indian God of Peace by Carl Milles, later renamed Vision of Peace. Other notable features include woodwork crafted from twenty-three different species of wood and five types of imported marble. Murals were painted by John W. Norton, and the six bronze elevator doors were created by Albert Stewart.

Location

15 W. Kellogg Blvd.
St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota
44.94427, -93.09364

Categories

ARTPOLITICS/GOVERNMENTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Questions about this property

When was St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse listed on the National Register?

St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 11, 1983.

What type of historic resource is St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse?

St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse?

The period of significance for St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse is recorded as the industrial era.

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