Hennepin County Government Center
Encyclopedia
The Hennepin County Government Center is the courthouse
and primary county government administration building for Hennepin County in the State of Minnesota
. It is located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota
, the county seat
of Hennepin County. Before its construction, the Hennepin County government offices were housed in the Minneapolis City Hall
-Hennepin County Courthouse.
& Associates. It was dedicated in 1973 and completed in 1977. It is 403 feet (123 meters) tall and has 24 stories. When viewed from the northeast or southwest sides, it takes on the appearance of a stylized letter H. This shape serves as the logo
of Hennepin County. Each side of the "H" is a separate tower. The towers are connected by catwalk bridges on several floors. The whole is enclosed by glass windows to form an atrium.
The Southeast side is known as the court tower. It houses courtrooms, county attorney offices, and the Hennepin law library. The Northwest side houses county administrative offices such as social services and county records.
over the street, which enabled two large plazas to be built in the city blocks.
It is connected by a tunnel to the Minneapolis City Hall, underneath 5th Street and the Hiawatha Line
. The Government Plaza Hiawatha
line station is between the two buildings. The tunnel also connects to the federal courthouse for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
.
The building has skyway
links to the Thrivent (formerly Lutheran Brotherhood) headquarters building and the US Bank Plaza Building
(formerly Pillsbury Center).
There is a separate secure tunnel to the Hennepin County Adult Detention (jail
) center located diagonally across the plaza.
-Hennepin County Courthouse.
After earlier suicides by jumping from the catwalk bridges, 6-foot high glass wall panels were added to the bridges & balconies throughout the building. One additional suicide occurred after this, when a person pulled seating benches onto a catwalk, climbed on top of them, and jumped over the glass walls.
Following a deadly shooting within the court tower in 2003, new security measures were implemented. New metal detector
s were installed, along with X-ray
equipment. The 2nd-floor lobby service desks at the skyway level were re-configured to accommodate the changes.
The building was the site of a performance by French tight-rope walker
Philippe Petit
.
Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
and primary county government administration building for Hennepin County in the State of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. It is located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Hennepin County. Before its construction, the Hennepin County government offices were housed in the Minneapolis City Hall
Minneapolis City Hall
Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse , designed by Long and Kees in 1888, is the main building used by the city government of Minneapolis, Minnesota as well as by Hennepin County, Minnesota...
-Hennepin County Courthouse.
Building
The building was designed by the architectural firm of John Carl WarneckeJohn Carl Warnecke
John Carl Warnecke was an architect based in San Francisco, California, who designed numerous notable monuments and structures in the Modernist, Bauhaus, and other similar styles. He was an early proponent of contextual architecture. Among his more notable buildings and projects are the Hawaii...
& Associates. It was dedicated in 1973 and completed in 1977. It is 403 feet (123 meters) tall and has 24 stories. When viewed from the northeast or southwest sides, it takes on the appearance of a stylized letter H. This shape serves as the logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
of Hennepin County. Each side of the "H" is a separate tower. The towers are connected by catwalk bridges on several floors. The whole is enclosed by glass windows to form an atrium.
The Southeast side is known as the court tower. It houses courtrooms, county attorney offices, and the Hennepin law library. The Northwest side houses county administrative offices such as social services and county records.
Location
The Hennepin County Government Center is built over 6th Street using the air rightsAir rights
Air rights are a type of development right in real estate, referring to the empty space above a property. Generally speaking, owning or renting land or a building gives one the right to use and develop the air rights....
over the street, which enabled two large plazas to be built in the city blocks.
It is connected by a tunnel to the Minneapolis City Hall, underneath 5th Street and the Hiawatha Line
Hiawatha Line
The Hiawatha Line is a light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington. It was formerly known as the Hiawatha Line named after Hiawatha Avenue. Major connections on the line include the Minneapolis-St...
. The Government Plaza Hiawatha
Government Plaza (Hiawatha Line station)
The Government Plaza station is a light rail station on the Hiawatha Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the fourth stop southbound.This station is located on 5th Street South, between 3rd and 4th Avenues South in Minneapolis. This is a side-platform station...
line station is between the two buildings. The tunnel also connects to the federal courthouse for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Minnesota. Its two primary courthouses are in Minneapolis and Saint Paul...
.
The building has skyway
Skyway
In an urban setting, a skyway, catwalk, sky bridge, or skywalk is a type of pedway consisting of an enclosed or covered bridge between two buildings. This protects pedestrians from the weather. These skyways are usually owned by businesses, and are therefore not public spaces...
links to the Thrivent (formerly Lutheran Brotherhood) headquarters building and the US Bank Plaza Building
US Bank Plaza (Minneapolis)
The US Bank Plaza is a two-tower high-rise building complex in Minneapolis, Minnesota. US Bank Plaza I is a 561-foot tall, 40-floor skyscraper. US Bank Plaza II is a 321-foot tall, 23-floor skyscraper. The complex was completed in 1981...
(formerly Pillsbury Center).
There is a separate secure tunnel to the Hennepin County Adult Detention (jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
) center located diagonally across the plaza.
History
Before its construction, the Hennepin County government offices were housed in the Minneapolis City HallMinneapolis City Hall
Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse , designed by Long and Kees in 1888, is the main building used by the city government of Minneapolis, Minnesota as well as by Hennepin County, Minnesota...
-Hennepin County Courthouse.
After earlier suicides by jumping from the catwalk bridges, 6-foot high glass wall panels were added to the bridges & balconies throughout the building. One additional suicide occurred after this, when a person pulled seating benches onto a catwalk, climbed on top of them, and jumped over the glass walls.
Following a deadly shooting within the court tower in 2003, new security measures were implemented. New metal detector
Metal detector
A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...
s were installed, along with X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
equipment. The 2nd-floor lobby service desks at the skyway level were re-configured to accommodate the changes.
The building was the site of a performance by French tight-rope walker
Tightrope walking
Tightrope walking is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope, usually at a great height. One or more artists performs in front of an audience or as a publicity stunt...
Philippe Petit
Philippe Petit
Philippe Petit is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, on 7 August 1974...
.
Notable legal actions
The following are a list of notable legal actions that were held in the Hennepin County Government Center:- December 2008–January 2009 – Former Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
football player Carl EllerCarl EllerCarl Eller is a former professional American football player in the National Football League who played from 1964 through 1979. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and attended the University of Minnesota...
was found guilty of assaultAssaultIn law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
on a police officer and refusal to take a sobriety test when he was pulled over by a police officer in April 2008. - August 2007 – IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
Senator Larry CraigLarry CraigLarry Edwin Craig is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. He served 18 years in the U.S. Senate , preceded by 10 years in the U.S. House, representing Idaho's first district . His 28 years in the Congress rank as the second-longest in Idaho history, trailing only William...
plead guilty misdemeanorMisdemeanorA misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
charge of disorderly conductDisorderly conductDisorderly conduct is a criminal charge in most jurisdictions in the United States. Typically, disorderly conduct makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such...
steming from an arrest on June 11, 2007 in the men's bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. - December 2005 – former Women's National Basketball AssociationWomen's National Basketball AssociationThe Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
Michele Van GorpMichele Van GorpMichele Van Gorp is a former professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association , most recently with the Minnesota Lynx.- Early career :...
filed a medical malpracticeMedical malpracticeMedical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
lawsuit against a member of the Lynx's medical staff and three other parties seeking at least $50,000 for negligence and loss of employment. - March 1994–January 1995 – Michael Olson was convicted of murder and Dennis Tate of second-degree murder for the 1993 killing of Brian GlickBrian Glick (murder victim)The Murder of Brian Glick involved homicide victim Brian Glick, who was murdered at the age of 21 on October 25, 1993 by Dennis Tate and Michael Olson in Bloomington, Minnesota...
in BloomingtonBloomington, MinnesotaBloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
. - 1988 – In Cohen v. Cowles Media Co.Cohen v. Cowles Media Co.Cohen v. Cowles Media Co., 501 U.S. 663 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that freedom of the press does not exempt journalists from generally applicable laws....
, Dan Cohen was awarded damages after a newspaper broke its promise not to name him as the source of inculpatory evidence concerning a politician. He had been fired from his job at an advertising agency because of the publicity resulting from the identification of the source. The United States Supreme Court ruled in Cohen's favor in 1991.