The Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse, located at 15 Kellogg Boulevard West in

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, Ramsey County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota is a twenty-story Art Deco

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

completed in 1932. Built during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

era of high unemployment and falling prices, the four million dollar budget for the building was underspent, and 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 A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...

. Above the Fourth Street entrance and flanking the Kellogg Boulevard entrance are relief sculptures carved by

Lee Lawrie Lee Oscar Lawrie (October 16, 1877 – January 23, 1963) was an American architectural sculptor and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II. Over his long career of more than 300 commissions Lawrie's style evolved through ...

The interior design in the "Zigzag Moderne" style drew its inspiration from the

Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (french: Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes) was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. It was designed by the Fren ...

, 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, 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 five different types of imported marble. Murals were painted by John W. Norton while the six bronze elevator doors were made by Albert Stewart.

References

External links

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St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul City Hall And Ramsey County Courthouse 1932 establishments in Minnesota Art Deco architecture in Minnesota Art Deco skyscrapers City and town halls in Minnesota City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota County courthouses in Minnesota Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Government buildings completed in 1932 National Register of Historic Places in Saint Paul, Minnesota Skyscraper office buildings in Saint Paul, Minnesota

See also

References

External links