Friday a friend and I toured the St. Paul City Hall/Ramsey County Court House at 15 West Kellogg Boulevard. The tour was impressive. I LIKE architecture and the impact it has on people. I love the creativity it demonstrates. I am amazed at the attention to detail. I am stunned when I know the architect paid attention to rules for that architectural style and yet it doesn't look like rules ruled!
The irony is we walk by these impressive structures every day and don't know the stories or the purpose of why they were built! We may admire, but there were people who walked these halls that were alive when Native Americans still owned the land and when the weather could make or break your life and your fortunes. I will never get over the concept of "If these walls could talk".
St. Paul's City Hall was finished in 1932. It is another example of architectural genius, but in an entirely different style from the Capitol building. City Hall was built according to art deco "rules", so clean, crisp, dramatic lines; contrasts between light and dark; indirect lighting; and groups of three are found throughout the City Hall building. Opulence still reigns in the materials used: gold leaf ceilings, brass elevator doors and lights, many rare woods and marbles several of which are no longer available, and the impressive Memorial Hall and courtrooms. It is, indeed, an example of architectural genius of another sort.
Check out the photo gallery in the right side bar to see more details about the building, or better yet, call Debbie at 651-266-8002 to arrange a tour for yourself!
Now let's see. The Capitol, where the laws are made. . . City Hall and Ramsey County Court House, where broken laws are tried . . . maybe the next tour should be the Cathedral, where broken laws are confessed!
Bonnie, thank you so much for this wonderful tour! I especially enjoyed the photo gallery and it was amazing to me to see all those "groups of three" - you could almost make a game of it... who can find the most "groups of three"! I love old architecture, it has a sense of character and quality lacking in today's styles. I suppose the costs of labor/craftsmen and materials would make much of this prohibitive today.
Also, it was hard for me to tell for sure, but were a couple of those houseboats I saw in the photo titled "city hall 138"?
Posted by: Leanne Paynter | February 27, 2007 at 02:58 PM
Yes, Leanne, they are houseboats . . . even in Minnesota!
Posted by: Bonnie Erickson | February 27, 2007 at 04:59 PM
I loved your virtual tour! I think the courthouse is an example of great public architecture. I still remember the first time I walked in a was struck by the image of the vision of peace, i was 14 years old. I now work on the second floor and my wife and I got married in memorial hall last October (they even let us move out the security for the day). Thank you for posting your fabulous pictures on the internet. If you are ever in Sweden you can go visit the home of Carl Milles and see the mock up he made for the head of the Vision of Peace (originally named the God of Peace).
Posted by: Darren Tobolt | February 28, 2007 at 01:47 PM
Darren, Thanks for the compliment. What a beautiful place to have a wedding and how lucky you are to work in a place with so many important memories. I was interested to see that the statue was first called the God of Peace because that's what I had labeled my pictures until I found they were called the "Vision of Peace". God of Peace seemed to fit.
Posted by: Bonnie Erickson | February 28, 2007 at 01:54 PM