Living in a advertising nation...

Links to individual pictures will be added into the article as time progresses.

When Minnesota became a territory in 1849, there was no permanent place for the legislature in Saint Paul. They first meet at the Central House Hotel and then moved to another three-story brick building where a bill was passed to establish the first permanent capitol in Saint Paul. N.C. Prentiss was chosen as the winning design and he was paid $50. The contractor was Joseph Daniel, who made a low bid of $17,000. In all, the building actually cost the state about $31,000, using up all the funds from the United States Treasurer. Through the construction process, the legislature used the Merchants Hotel, but on January 5, 1853, they finally moved into the incomplete building. It was a simple two-story brick building with a small dome and simple Doric columns, completed at Tenth and Cedar, where the Arts and Sciences Building now sits.

Minnesota's first capitol served the state for 28 years, used by the territorial and state legislatures, and twice remodeled to keep up with the times. The first remodeling was done in 1866, which added a gas lights and steam heat. The second remodeling occurred in 1872, with a new wing and wood/tin dome. The second renovation cost the state $15,000. On March 1, 1881, legislators began their 22nd session. Everything was proceeding normally until a senator screamed out that the capitol was on fire. The cupola roof collapsed, blocking the exit, while shards of blazing wood rained down on the panicked senators. One jumped out the second story window, landing into the snow, only suffering a small cut. Others were not as risky and continued to panic until a cool head noticed a back hallway that was not blocked. The 300 senators and spectators escaped without injury. For the next three hours, as the capitol burned away, people risked their lives to save the goods inside. Unfortunately, the law library was lost because the smoke was too heavy. The mayor volunteered the Market House as a temporary replacement. Within hours, it was ready and the next day, the legislature meet there.

Within 22 months, $75,000 was appropriated for a new capitol, and with Leroy Buffington's plans, a second capitol was constructed uninterrupted. This new building was laid out like a roman cross, four stories and constructed of brick. A tall tower stood 200 feet tall, one of the city's tallest buildings at the time. Unfortunately, the capitol was much too small to serve the government of a rapidly growing state. Closets and air-shafts became offices while hallways and bathrooms became meeting spaces. The media attacked the structure and the government was unhappy with the stale air and overcrowded conditions. The building was kept as a storage facility and was razed in 1937-1938. In 1891, the senate president appointed five senators to determine what would best suit the capitol. While one said to relocate, the others determined that a new capitol should be built in Saint Paul.

The first conflict senators had to deal with was where to build the new capitol. Some believed that it should be kept in the downtown core, while others wanted it on top of Wabasha Hill, a few blocks to the north, figuring that its higher elevation and separation from downtown would make it less business-like and more visible at the same time. The supporters of Wabasha Hill got their wish. With that out of the way, the contest was arranged to decide upon the architect entrusted with this tremendous honor. Here is where Cass Gilbert comes in. Gilbert was born in 1859, in Ohio, but raised in Minnesota. Through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and several trips to Europe, Gilbert formed his ideas and tastes. Starting out as a draftsman in New York for McKim, Mead, and White, Gilbert eventually partnered up with James Taylor and moved back to his childhood home, Saint Paul. He opened an office in 1884 and worked on several upper class homes and commercial buildings in the downtown area, including his most popular business building in the city, the Endicott Building. As president of the Minnesota chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Gilbert was involved in the contest even before his winning submission. He headed a reformation of the contest rules, including the obstruction of a $2 million cap for construction, and doubling the architect's fee to 5% of the construction costs.

In 1894, the first contest was held for the third capitol building. It was open to anyone, against Gilbert's suggestion that qualified architects should only be admitted. Yet, only 56 entries turned up for the capitol, several from out of state. The Board of State Capitol Commissioners, in charge of awarding the commission, only found five of the entries worth praise. Even so, the commission, with the architectural profession, dropped all the finalists and decided to hold a second competition in 1895. This time, only 41 entries came into the commission's hands, but they were of a much higher quality. Gilbert even submitted a design for the capitol, which was selected as one of the finalists. Three Minnesota architects (Cass Gilbert, Clarence Johnson, and the firm of Bassford, Traphagen, and Fitzpatrick), one St. Louis architect (George Mann), and one Denver architect (firm of Wendell and Humphreys) rounded up the finalists. Channing Seabury, president of the commission and friend of Gilbert, went for his design. The board followed suit and Gilbert won the commission for the state capitol.

With the architect designed, the construction process was set to begin, but held in check by a conflict over building materials. Gilbert wished to use marble for the outer walls, because of its brilliant white color and its prestigious feel. The state found conflict with the fact he chose Georgia marble for the capitol. Many citizens and senators still had memories of the Civil War in their minds and felt that using a "foreign" material would insult the state's aesthetic and hurt the local stone industry. Gilbert proposed a compromise for the state. Since marble was integral to his design, he advised that the upper walls would be of marble and the lower walls use more local stones, namely granite and sandstone. In addition, the Georgia marble would arrive in blocks, allowing local stonecutters to craft it. Days of fierce debate and constant attacks by the media ended in approval of the compromise. With this problem settled, the construction process began, the cornerstone laid by the first governor, Alexander Ramsey, in 1898.

The new state capitol used many modern innovate design features. While marble was used on the outer walls, the actual frame of the capitol was made of steel and brick. This was vital to the design of the dome, which would be unsupported by anything else other than the frame. Metal cases, vault fixtures, and careful planning of conduits for telephone (and later computers) wires were boasted for the interior. Fireproofing was the first demand on part of the senators, many of which still remembered the destruction of the first capitol building. With new building materials and the introduction of electricity, now a proven reliable source of energy, the capitol could insure that it would withstand a fire. Following Gilbert's design, a sculpture for the front roof entitled "Progress of the State" was set in place. Called the Quadriga because of the four houses, the symbolism was described according to Julie Gauthier, in her 1907 book, The Minnesota Capitol: Official Guide and History:

"Standing upon a triumphal car drawn by four spirited horses, is the figure of 'Prosperity', holding in one hand the horn of plenty, in the other a banner with the symbols of the state. The horses are guided by two youthful women, full of life, strength, and grace."

Many of the sculptures outside the capitol, including the Quadriga, was created by Gilbert's personal choice, sculptor Daniel Chester French (who designed the seated Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial). French also designed six statues for the outer facade, which was actually done by local sculptors. French formed the design, sculptors made them half-size and stonecutters intricately recreated the statues in marble. On the front wall, under the Quadriga, six human figures decorate the facade. Each one of the six statues have a specific meaning: Bounty, Courage, Integrity, Prudence, Truth, and Wisdom. Throughout the capitol, hand-carved designs can be found, especially classical ornaments like wreaths and medallions. The east and west ends of the capitol each have a line of columns with a large stairway and terrace of granite. The north wing, where the House chamber is located, has always been overlooked in Gilbert's design. Facing onto University Avenue, the city's principal east-west thoroughfare (at that time), this third wing is adorned with sculptured medallions with a steam locomotive and a steamship, displaying the height of technology at the present time.

Perhaps the most important spaces in the Capitol are the three chambers inside. The east wing contains the Supreme Court, while across the capitol, the Senate occupies the west wing. The House sits in the third wing, facing north. The Court chamber is the one most visitors see first. The room defines everything quite well. Again the east wall is a line of strong columns, combined with square-back chairs where the Justices sit. In front is a large open space, surrounded by lines of benches for observers. The room is square, with large arches, abound with murals, that lead up to a large domed ceiling of gold leaf. John LaFarge was the artist behind the murals in the Court Chamber. He said he wanted to look at "more novel or less used themes", believing that by deviating from the "commonplace", the building would be more dignified. He chose scenes from the Old Testament, classic Greece, ancient China, and the Middle Ages. The first mural is titled "The Moral and Divine Law" and shows Moses on Mount Sinai as he hears the words of God. The second mural is titled "The Recording of Precedents" and shows a Chinese sage sitting among a vast landscape. The third mural is titled "The Relation of the Individual" and has various Greek philosophers debating. The last of the four murals is "The Adjustment of Conflicting Interests" and shows Raymond, the count of Toulouse, taking an oath before the bishop and magistrate. Except for the first mural (slightly modified with the doorway so they could better match), the others have remained in their original composition. Lastly, at the very back of the Chamber is the Justice's Consultation Room, which is based on the Supreme Court in Independence Hall. Recently, the Justices moved their offices out of the adjoining corridors into the State Judicial Center, across Cedar Street to the east.

Across the capitol is the Senate Chamber, equally impressive in its size and stature. It claims to be America's largest senate, with nearly 70 Senators from around the state. A seating chart in front shows the current lineup. The Senate room is done in French Fleur de Peche Marble, mixed in with colors of ivory, blue, and gold. The furniture is pure mahogany, some of it original and unmoved from the capitol's first days. A gate keeps people out, cast in bronze and with gophers and lady-slippers (state flower) crafted onto it. Gilbert commissioned Garnsey and Blashfield to color the chamber. They said that by using a rich variety of tones by different artists, it would produce a feeling of harmony rather than "the exploitation of the individual". A beautiful skylight above rains sunlight into the chamber. Gilbert wanted to make the Chamber well rounded and abound with pleasant art. He hired Arthur Willett to paint four medallions in each corner, each meaning one of the four virtues (Equality, Justice, Freedom, and Courage). Edwin Blashfield created the murals that form the centerpiece of the chamber. The northern one is titled "Civilizers Led to the Source of the Mississippi". The scene shows a Native American elder holding an urn which the Mississippi stems from. It continues to flow downward to pioneers, heading to the banks of the river, which stands two-winged figures, the "Spirits of Civilization". The second mural, to the south, is "Minnesota, the Granary of the World". It shows Lady Minnesota drawn forth by a team of white oxen. Gilbert and Seabury are both inserted in this picture, at Lady Minnesota's side. Blashfield believed that this cast of characters would use universal ideas, but accentuate Minnesota at the same time. In the 1970's, the chamber was repainted in a new color scheme of pink and red. Yet, Senators of the following sessions were displeased with the tarnishing of history and by 1988, the chamber was worked on again, returning it to its original appearance.

The third chamber is the House of Representatives, on the north wing, considered the most common of the three. It is a modest chamber, bound in intricate floral decoration and fields of gold. In the center, about the Speaker's chair, is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Teaming up with Garnsey, Gilbert had the goal of keeping the room simple, and to use colors that would make it seem large and powerful. Using native flowers and using gold lettering to spell out the names of French Explorers, he wanted the chamber to reflect its humble past. It has the largest skylight of the chambers above, embraced in a frieze of intricate gold-leaf carvings. The chamber has also had an addition of artistic quality in 1938. The original gallery for spectators was walled off and turned into offices. To decorate the blank wall, the House commissioned Italian immigrant Carlo Brioschi (and son) to create a piece of art to frame the wall and the chamber as a whole. The father-son team produced a beautiful sculpture, called "Minnesota-Spirit of Government". In the center, a haloed goddess sits on a pedestal that bears the state's seal. To the right is a Native American couple, reflecting the past before civilization, represented by a trapper and voyageur to the right, arrived. The wall behind them is gilded and patterned to produce a pleasant and classy backdrop. The chamber has been continually restored so that the original designs continue to shine as bright as they did nearly a century ago.

The capitol is not all glamour and glitter. On tour, people can get a behind the scenes look. Visitors, during warmer months, can walk out on the roof of the capitol, and look out over the city of Saint Paul. On the way to the roof is a claustrophobic set of halls with narrow, old stairs. Out on the roof, people can note the oxidized copper panels that frame the skylights to the chambers. Copper bosses hoist up the flag of Minnesota and the United States on the west and east ends of the capitol respectively. Having a flat roof in a cold, Midwestern state was not Gilbert's most successful venture. Since its beginning days, the capitol had terrible problems with leaking. Just recently, the roof has been redone after having decades of leaking problems, in order to spruce of the capitol for its 100-year anniversary in 2005. What most people remember about this part of the tour is the Quadriga. Though, the sculpture has faced quite a bit of hassle in order to have it grace the capitol today. Gilbert had originally planned for a large sculpture to be placed at this strategic spot, but had to wait for the legislators to approve more funds than was originally agreed on. To save money ($35,000 approved for the Quadriga), Gilbert had to go with copper. He commissioned Daniel French to design the sculpture with Edward Potter, who would design the horses. French grumbled over his workload and the money allotted for the project. He decided to reuse much of the design for his Quadriga at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He had to redesign the people upon the chariot since they would not represent Minnesota when they originally symbolized Columbus. He placed a strong male character to run the chariot, and added two female figures to guide the horses. In the man's hand, a banner with "Minnesota" on it, helps to identify its meaning. It was installed on the roof in 1906. It has needed occasional regilding, done in 1949 and again in 1979. In 1994, the sculpture was removed from the capitol for the summer in order to restore its structure and surfaces, damaged from decades of natural wear and tear.

The capitol didn't have the landscaping that Gilbert would have preferred. Original plans called for tree-lined grand boulevards and large courtyards to surround the capitol, taking on the appearance of a European city. While looking good on paper, the land was a large residential community in reality, and would not be completely compromised to give the capitol its landscaped environment. Funds and allies were not multiple enough to see the capitol plan followed through. The area around the capitol did change over the century. In 1916, the Minnesota Historical Society added a building across to the east of the capitol (now the State Judicial Center). In 1932, Gilbert and his plan was reevaluated and Gilbert's recommendations produced the State Office Building to the west of the capitol, creating balance with the Historical Society. Huge changes took place in the wake of urban renewal. The capitol sat in a deteriorating part of downtown, surrounded by the worst slums of Saint Paul. Along with the misguided 1950's plan to build I-94 and I-35E, destroying entire neighborhoods, the capitol approach was also in developer's eyes. At the same time, the growing state needed more offices. The demolition of the neighborhood around the capitol (except to the north) had left a canvas ready for the government to create its government campus. The Veteran Services Building, across the mall from the capitol, was not completed until 1973, twenty years after construction began. Protests from evicted citizens caused the project to move so slowly. The Centennial Building was done from 1958-1960, and lines Cedar Street. The mall was built in a fan shape, allowing the capitol to finally have a front yard that gave it more prestige. Currently, the area holds about 16 memorials. John Johnson was the first governor to have a memorial built for him, dedicated in 1912. 16 years later, Knute Nelson joined him, and the two statues frame the steps up to the capitol from the mall. A Christopher Columbus memorial followed in 1931. In 1949, a statue of Leif Erickson was built on the park adjacent to the capitol, and headlines the small area. In 1958, a statue of Floyd Olson, another Minnesotan governor, was added to the line up, creating a string of four memorials that faced the capitol. Since 1980, the mall has been filling with several memorials. One dedicated to the Vietnam War was completed in 1992, while the Peace Officers Memorial, now the most recognized memorial, was completed in 1995. A memorial to the Korean War was completed in 1998, and most recently, a Woman's Suffrage Memorial was completed in 1999.

Quick Facts on the capitol:

*The dome is actually two domes, an outer one of marble and in inner one of brick and sandstone, built to support the exterior dome, prevent leaking and also to give the window washers a place to stand!

My extensive capitol album features lots of pictures for your viewing desire. They all open in a new window for your convenience!
Click here to see the album on fotki.com

There are four sources I used for the writing of this article. My most valuable source was Thomas O'Sullivan's North Star Statehouse: An Armchair Guide to the State Capitol (1994, Pogo Press). This is undoubtedly the best modern source on the capitol today. The two other sources are not on the capitol specifically, but state capitols in general. The first of these two is called American Capitols: An Encyclopedia of the State, National and Territorial Capital Edifices of the United States , completed by Eldon Hauck, and published in 1991 by MacFarland & Company, based in Jefferson, NC. The third book is titled Executive Mansions and Capitols of America written and published in 1959 by The Country Beautiful Corporation. My thanks goes out to all three written sources, especially O'Sullivan's book, which furbished the lion's share of the information. I used them as references, and I didn't intentionally commit any plagiarism. The final source was a diagram on the internet, made by an unknown source associated with the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Commission.