Chapter One Federal Government - Minnesota State Legislature

Minnesota Historical Society photograph
By Brian Horrigan
Legacy Chapter Seven
HISTORICAL REVIEW: STATE CAPITOL CENTENNIAL
2005 marks the centennial of the Minnesota State Capitol, a National Historic Landmark since
1972. The Capitol has been part of the Minnesota Historical Society’s historic site program since
1969. Today, the society is responsible for the Capitol’s furnishings and artwork, and it oversees
preservation work, leads tours of the building, and provides special events and educational
programs. In 2005, in cooperation with the State Capitol Centennial Commission, the society is
sponsoring a yearlong celebration, including an exhibit at the History Center, special tours, and
public programs.
When its white dome first swims into view there is a shock of surprise, then a rapidly
growing delight in its pure beauty, and as one studies the building, inside and out, the
surprise and delight increase. One leaves it with regret and with the hope of return.
–Kenyon Cox, Architectural Record, August 1905
On January 2, 1905, thousands of Minnesotans streamed through the richly decorated halls and
chambers of their new state capitol for the first time. The product of nearly 12 years of planning
and construction, the Capitol was immediately hailed throughout the country as one of America’s
grandest and most beautiful public buildings, a reputation that has endured for a hundred years.
The 1905 building is the third to serve as Minnesota’s seat of government. The first was built at
10th and Cedar Streets in 1853, during the territorial period. Destroyed by fire in 1881, it was
replaced two years later on the same site by a red brick Victorian structure with a distinctive tower.
Complaints that the new building was cramped and stuffy began immediately, and led just 10 years
later to a legislative committee calling for a new state Capitol. (The much unloved second Capitol
remained in use as a public building until 1937, when it was demolished.)
The journey to a new capitol began in 1893, when the legislature made the first appropriation of
funds. An architectural competition two years later attracted more than 40 entries, all of them
inspired by the monumental buildings of the famed “White City,” the Columbian Exposition in
Chicago of 1893. The site for each design entry was the same–the rise of land called Wabasha Hill
several blocks north of downtown. The winning design was the work of Cass Gilbert, an
influential local architect who was just 35 years old.
Gilbert was born in 1859 in Ohio and raised in St. Paul. As a young
architect, he was known for his elegant drawings and watercolors. By the
1890s, he had become a key player on the national architectural scene–an
early start in the prestigious New York office of McKim, Mead & White; an
architecture judge for the Chicago fair; and president of the Minnesota chapter
of the American Institute of Architects. His experience and talent, along
with his powers of persuasion and local connections, propelled him to the
head of the field in the competition for the Minnesota Capitol.
Gilbert’s managerial skills
and political savvy served
him well in the years he
Cass Gilbert was involved in this complex
project. However, a building of this scale
and quality might never have been completed
without the often overlooked work of the Board
of State Capitol Commissioners. This distinguished
group of civic leaders, ably led by the
tough-minded St. Paul businessman Channing
Seabury, served without pay for more than a
decade, shepherding the project through six legislative
sessions, five governors, and hundreds of
contractors.
capitol construction
Still, the commissioners played an essentially supporting role, remaining behind the scenes. Very
much in front of the scenes was the architect. It was Gilbert who insisted on one of the Capitol’s
most brilliant features–the dazzling white Georgia marble used for the upper walls and dome.
Many objected to using materials from a state that had been on the opposite side of Minnesota in
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Minnesota Historical Society photograph
Chapter
Seven
Legacy