RAMSEY COUNTY: JOINT COURT HOUSE AND CITY HALL COMMITTEE:

In 1929, the state legislature passed a law that, although it never mentions St. Paul or Ramsey County by name, was clearly intended to authorize the construction of a joint court house/city hall to replace the one opened in 1889 and to provide for the continuation of the existing Joint Court House and City Hall Committee to supervise its subsequent management [Laws 1929 c397].

The law authorized "any county and city of the first class within the limits of such county jointly to erect, equip, furnish, maintain and operate a joint city hall and court house building and to acquire land therefor," to issue construction bonds, to dispose of "property no longer needed because of the erection of such building," and to create a nine-member Advisory Court House and City Hall Building Commission to carry out these activities. The commission, which first met on May 15, 1929, supervised the construction of a new joint facility on the St. Paul block bounded by St. Peter, Market, Third, and Fourth streets. Ellerbe and Company and Holabird and Root were selected as building architects. Although the building was dedicated on December 19, 1932, the commission continued to meet until January 28, 1939.

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Minutes of the commission and its building committee (1929-1939), audit reports (1929-1937), correspondence (1929-1939), and legal documents concerning a lawsuit filed by Foley Brothers Inc. (1933). The records detail the sale of the existing court house/city hall; acquisition of the building site; selection of an architect; razing of buildings on the selected site; creation and approval of plans; bidding, contracting, and progress on the construction, finishing, and furnishing of the new building; negotiations with and payments to architect and contractors; and a lawsuit for extra payment brought by the general contractor. The minutes also include periodic reports on the commission’s financial status.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Joint Court House and City Hall Committee (Saint Paul, Minn.). Advisory Court House and City Hall Building Commission Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: None; 2007-28

Processing Information:

Processed by: Staff; Rich Arpi, October 2006

Catalog ID number: 990017109710104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Architects -- Minnesota -- Ramsey County.

Building sites -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

City halls -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Construction industry -- Minnesota -- Ramsey County.

Courthouses -- Minnesota -- Ramsey County.

Organizations:

Advisory Court House and City Hall Building Commission (Saint Paul, Minn.).

City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Places:

Ramsey County (Minn.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.

Saint Paul (Minn.)

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