Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse
Encyclopedia
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
built during the Great Depression
era of high unemployment and falling prices. For this reason, the $
4,000,000 budgeted for the building was underspent, while the quality of materials and craftsmanship were higher than initially envisioned. The exterior consists of smooth Indiana limestone
in the Art Deco
style known as "American Perpendicular", designed by Thomas Ellerbe & Company of Saint Paul and Holabird & Root
of Chicago
and inspired by Finnish architect
, Eliel Saarinen
. The vertical rows of windows are linked by plain, flat, black spandrels. Above the Fourth Street entrance and flanking the Third Street entrance are relief sculptures carved by Lee Lawrie
.
The interior design in the "Zigzag Moderne" style drew its inspiration from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes
, which promoted soft ornamentation and sensuous curves. In Memorial Hall the white marble floor contrasts with three-story black marble piers leading to a gold-leaf ceiling. At the end of the hall is the 60-ton, 38 feet (11.6 m) white onyx
Indian God of Peace by Carl Milles
(later renamed Vision of Peace). Other features include woodwork fashioned out of twenty-three different species of wood and uses for five different types of imported marble
. Murals were painted by John W. Norton
while the six bronze elevator doors were made by Albert Stewart
.
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, Ramsey County
Ramsey County, Minnesota
Ramsey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, founded in 1849. As of 2010, the population was 508,640. Its county seat is St. Paul, which is also Minnesota's state capital. The county is named for Alexander Ramsey , the first governor of the Minnesota Territory...
in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
is a twenty-story Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
built during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
era of high unemployment and falling prices. For this reason, the $
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
4,000,000 budgeted for the building was underspent, while the quality of materials and craftsmanship were higher than initially envisioned. The exterior consists of smooth Indiana limestone
Indiana Limestone
Indiana Limestone, also known as Bedford Limestone is a common regional term for Salem limestone, a geological formation primarily quarried in south central Indiana between Bloomington and Bedford....
in the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style known as "American Perpendicular", designed by Thomas Ellerbe & Company of Saint Paul and Holabird & Root
Holabird & Roche
The architectural firm of Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm's designs have changed many times — from the Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern Architecture to Sustainable Architecture.-History:...
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and inspired by Finnish architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, Eliel Saarinen
Eliel Saarinen
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen was a Finnish architect who became famous for his art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century....
. The vertical rows of windows are linked by plain, flat, black spandrels. Above the Fourth Street entrance and flanking the Third Street entrance are relief sculptures carved by Lee Lawrie
Lee Lawrie
Lee Oscar Lawrie was one of the United States' foremost architectural sculptors and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II...
.
Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes
The International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. The term "Art Deco" was derived by shortening the words Arts Décoratifs, in the title of this exposition, but not until the late 1960s by British art critic...
, which promoted soft ornamentation and sensuous curves. In Memorial Hall the white marble floor contrasts with three-story black marble piers leading to a gold-leaf ceiling. At the end of the hall is the 60-ton, 38 feet (11.6 m) white onyx
Onyx
Onyx is a banded variety of chalcedony. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color . Commonly, specimens of onyx contain bands of black and/or white.-Etymology:...
Indian God of Peace by Carl Milles
Carl Milles
Carl Milles was a Swedish sculptor, best known for his fountains. He was married to artist Olga Milles and brother to Ruth Milles and half brother to the architect Evert Milles...
(later renamed Vision of Peace). Other features include woodwork fashioned out of twenty-three different species of wood and uses for five different types of imported marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. Murals were painted by John W. Norton
John W. Norton
John Warner Norton was an Illinois muralist and easel artist who pioneered the field in the United States.Among his works are the landmark 1929 long ceiling mural for the concourse ceiling of the Chicago Daily News Building , the Ceres mural in the Chicago Board of Trade Building ,...
while the six bronze elevator doors were made by Albert Stewart
Albert Stewart
Albert Stewart was an American sculptor born in Kensington, England.He arrived in America in 1908 and was orphaned shortly thereafter. Through the intervention of a wealthy benefactor, Edwin T...
.