1. Bandana Square
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 1021 East Bandana Blvd.
Description: During the past century the site of present-day Bandana Square has served several roles. The structure was constructed to serve as a train repair shop. As the railroad industry declined, the repair shop closed. After sitting vacant the huge building was renovated in the 1980s and reopened as a shopping mall. Unfortunately, the beautiful shopping center did not fare well, and Bandana Square is now used for office space. Bandana Square hosts a link to its past—the Twin Cities Model Railroad Club—where fans of architecture can revisit the old train garage in miniature surrounded by facades of the historic Twin Cities.
2. First National Bank Building
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (651) 225-3666
Address: 332 Minnesota St.
Description: What the Foshay Tower is to downtown Minneapolis, the First National Bank Building is to downtown St. Paul: a charming and historic skyscraper (built in 1931) that still makes a strong impression despite being surrounded by newer peers. Between the two, the First National Bank Building has the advantage of being in a town where construction has proceeded much more slowly, meaning that its iconic red-lit “1st” sign is still visible as you approach downtown St. Paul from any direction. Among this building’s historic distinctions is that it is one terminal of the world’s first skyway, built to connect the First National Bank Building with the adjacent Merchants Bank Building—its predecessor as St. Paul’s tallest building.
3. Governor’S Residence
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 1006 Summit Ave.
Description: The location of the governor’s residence is ideal. Summit Avenue is the historic home of St. Paul’s old wealth. The beautiful wide parkway is lined with trees and elegant Victorian homes and was the childhood home of F. Scott Fitzgerald and railroad baron James J. Hill.William Channing Whitney, a prominent Twin Cities architect, designed the home in the English Tudor revival style; it was donated to the State of Minnesota in 1965 and has served as the governor’s official residence ever since, though recent governors have generally preferred to remain in their own homes most of the time. The interior has been renovated several times. Tours are available.
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 240 Summit Ave.
5. Landmark Center
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (651) 292-3233
Address: 75 West Fifth St.
Description: Landmark Center is one of many architectural gems in downtown St. Paul’s cultural quarter, which includes the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, the Children’s Museum, and the Science Museum. Landmark Center was erected in 1906 as the Federal Courthouse, where St. Paul’s famous gangsters were once prosecuted. Today Landmark Center serves as home to offices and small museums, but the architecture continues to convey the structure’s history. The building’s tower overlooks Rice Park, which is surrounded by several of St. Paul’s most attractive pieces of architecture.
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 1225 Estabrook Dr.
7. Minnesota State Capitol
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (651) 296-2881
Address: 75 Constitution Ave.
Description: The Minnesota State Capitol is one of the area’s architectural landmarks for several reasons. The 223-foot unsupported marble dome is the largest in the world. The architectural splendor also includes statues, columns, arches, and murals.Cass Gilbert won a capitol design competition in 1898. Gilbert designed several Twin Cities buildings and the plan for the University of Minnesota’s Northrop Mall (which was significantly modified) before moving on to national prominence with designs such as the Woolworth Building in New York City. The capitol was completed in 1904, and the cost of the new structure was the subject of great controversy. The third state capitol, most Minnesotans would agree today, was worth the hefty price tag.
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 345 Washington St. North
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 15 West Kellogg Blvd.
10. St. Paul Hotel
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (651) 292-9292
Address: 350 Market St.
Description: The St. Paul Hotel is one of the city’s grand old institutions, and it looks it. The elegant, asymmetrical building holds St. Paul’s most elite hotel rooms and a historic bar that has been a popular stop for downtown denizens since the building’s 1910 construction—including a now-notorious stint in the ’30s as a hangout for the many gangsters who were made right at home by the corrupt Capital City cops.
11. St. Paul Public Library
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (651) 266-7000
Address: 90 West Fourth St.
Description: Twin Cities libraries are distinguished by unusually fine architecture. The St. Paul Public Library is a case in point—especially the James J. Hill Reference Library Reading Room. The reading room is an exemplar of Beaux-Arts classicism, and the two-story reading room is surrounded by the book stacks and Ionic columns, with abundant finely crafted woodwork and granite floors. Large comfy tables and chairs entice visitors to enjoy the resources available or quietly absorb the architecture. Recently renovated, the library is one of downtown St. Paul’s many beautiful public buildings.
12. Science Museum Of Minnesota
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (651) 221-9444
Address: 120 Kellogg Blvd. West
Description: Inside, the Science Museum gives curators and museumgoers exactly what they want: massive amounts of flexible exhibit space, as well as extensive classroom space and an Omnitheater dome that rotates back to reveal a flat IMAX screen. From the outside, it looks like exactly what it is: a series of big boxes. (The 1999 building is the fourth home of the museum, which was founded in 1907.) Say this for the museum: It fits all too well into a St. Paul skyline with plenty of other undistinguished boxes to keep it company. Say this also: It makes good use of its riverbluff location, with a huge glass wall and multiple balconies providing fine views of a charming stretch of the river and, beyond it, Harriet Island and West St. Paul.
13. Union Depot
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 214 East Fourth St.
Description: The Union Depot was constructed between 1917 and 1923. At the time the railroad was a prominent means of transportation, and a serpentine labyrinth of tracks circled the depot. Since then the importance of the railroad has dwindled, but the depot remains—although it serves a different purpose. Today the Union Depot is an awe-inspiring architectural work that takes advantage of a high ceiling, balconies, and plenty of stone. Restaurants occupy the immense lobby where passengers once arrived and departed, and visitors may dine in one of St. Paul’s most historic and architecturally attractive settings.
14. Wells Fargo Place
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (651) 229-2800
Address: 30 East Seventh St.
Description: Completed in 1987, the 37-story Wells Fargo Place (formerly known as the Minnesota World Trade Center) sits high atop the St. Paul skyline as the city’s tallest building. The architectural design of the building is similar to many of the colossal Minneapolis structures. The exterior has plenty of dark glass, which reflects light on sunny summer days.
City: St. Paul, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 51 West Seventh St.