Dedicated to Mainz Daily Photo
Landmark Center, Downtown St. Paul
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St. Paul’s historic Landmark Center began in 1892 was completed in 1902, originally served as the Federal Court House and Post Office for the Upper Midwest.
The interior features a five-story courtyard with skylight and rooms with 20-foot ceilings, appointed with marble and carved mahogany finishes. Its Richardsonian Romanesque is similar to the Old Post Office Building in Washington D.C.
The building cost $2.5 million to create. Time and official government tenants were not kind to the building. “The Post Office painted over the marble walls of the main entrance lobby with #102A government green and cut down marble wainscoting to install mailboxes. Brown linoleum covered the maple floors, crude tile replaced marble mosaic and fluorescent egg-crate ceiling fixtures replaced the handsome old metal lights that had been wired for both gas and electricity. Corrugated asbestos covered the Cortile skylight. The beautiful stained glass skylight in Courtroom 430 was roofed over on the outside and painted over on the inside.”
In 1972 a group of determined citizens saved the building from the wrecking ball and restored it to its previous grandeur. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and reopened to the public as Landmark Center in 1978. Today, Landmark Center serves as a cultural center for music, dance, theater, exhibitions, public forums, and hosts countless special events. Owned by Ramsey County, Landmark Center is managed by Minnesota Landmarks, a not-for-profit organization.
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Credit: http://www.landmarkcenter.org/about/history.htm
Very classy.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful building!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like the backdrop to the performers who you showed a few weeks ago, and I was hoping your would explain the building behind them. The short sightedness of the people who used the building before restoration is amazing.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness they saved it! It would have probably been replaced by glass and steel...or worse yet a parking garage!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for those good people who saw the beauty in an old building and put it back so others in future generations can continue to admire it and use it to its fullest. Hooray!
ReplyDeleteit is gorgeous! thank goodness some people had the sense to save it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful building. It looks like a great place to take photos of the architecture.
ReplyDeleteWhat a glorious building. Thank goodness it was saved. What a loss it would have been if it had been removed and a glass and steel cube put in it's place. We no longer build works of art like this one.
ReplyDeletepretty amazing building, er, castle! :)
ReplyDeleteI've always thought the Twin Cities had a number of magnificent buildings! This is a wonderful complex and glad that the folks in charge saw it as worthy of redemption!
ReplyDeleteThat's a very beautiful building and photographed so well.
ReplyDeleteGreat building. I am glad it was preserved. There are some similar Romanesque buildings in New England, which were built earlier than this building. Our usually have rough-hewn brownstone and more ornate carvings. It was fun having the chance to see this building.
ReplyDeleteNice looking building.
ReplyDeleteGood to see this building restored in its old glory!
ReplyDeleteWil, ABCW Team