The current Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul was constructed from 1896 to 1905; shortly after the previous Capitol opened, it proved to be unsuitable due to overcrowding, a lack of adequate fireproofing, and poor ventilation. State officials began planning a grander, more-efficient Capitol. In 1893, Governor Knute Nelson appointed the seven-member Board of State Capitol Commissioners to oversee the construction of a new Capitol following the state legislature's recommendation. The commissioners selected local architect Cass Gilbert's design and chose a site at Wabasha Hill that was bounded by Park Avenue, University Avenue, Cedar and Wabasha Streets, and Central Avenue. Although it was the most expensive option, the chosen site was the largest of the four shortlisted sites, and the commission concluded it was the best location for the building.
Most of the work on the new building, the state's current seat of government, was done by hand. Horses and sometimes men supplied energy to hoist loads, and large stone blocks and iron girders were moved using steam-powered cranes and hoists. Shaping of the stone required the use of steam-powered drills, pneumatic chisels, channeling, and polishing machines. Much of the workforce were immigrants to the US. Six workers were killed in accidents between 1898 and 1903 as a result of unsafe working conditions.
Upon completion, the building drew praise from the architecture community, leading to requests for Gilbert to design Capitol buildings for other states including West Virginia and Arkansas, and other notable structures.
Planning
In 1893, Governor Knute Nelson appointed the Board of State Capitol Commissioners to oversee the construction of a new Capitol following a recommendation by the state legislature, which had established a committee to investigate the need for a building and passed legislation procuring at least $2 million for the task. Despite the ongoing economic depression, it was considered a modest sum.
The commission consisted of several prominent residents of Minnesota, including banker Henry Wilson Lamberton, farmer James McHench, tool merchant Edgar Weaver, banker and agricultural entrepreneur George A. DuToit was a from Chaska. Manufacturer and banker John DaLaittre was from Minneapolis. The commission's vice president was Channing Seabury, who owned a grocery business in St. Paul. Seabury was the de facto head of the Board and led the Commission's lobbying for funds from the legislature. The Governor served as the honorary president but generally did not intervene in the commission's business.
Selecting the site In its First Biennial Report issued January 1, 1895, the commission selected four possible sites for a Capitol building. One option was to use land at Exchange and Wabasha Streets, the site of the existing Capitol building, and combine it with a site bordering it to the north. The other three sites were located on hills around St. Paul; one was one block north of Central Park on what is now the Minnesota Judicial Center, another was located at Bass Hill at the head of Jackson Street site of the modern-day Mount Airy neighborhood. The commission considered and rejected these sites, which were all much smaller and more built-up than the selected site.
The site selected, which was known as Wabasha Hill, was bounded by Park Avenue, University Avenue, Cedar and Wabasha Streets, and Central Avenue. Although it was the costliest option, Wabasha Hill was also the largest of the four sites, leading the commission to conclude it was the best location for the building. Seventeen owners of the parcels of land making up the site asked $480,000 for its purchase but private negotiations with property owners persuaded most to accept less. Condemnation proceedings were used on one owner of two parcels to complete the transaction. The land for the Capitol was acquired for just over $285,000. The site's other advantages included frontage on University Avenue—at the time the most-important road between Minneapolis and St. Paul—and a lack of existing development in comparison to the other sites.
Design process Selecting an architect
The commission advertised for designs in June 1894 and had received fifty-six proposals by the fall. Prominent architects M. Wheelwright of Boston and Henry Ives Cobb of Chicago advised the commission on selection. In their report to the commission on November 1, 1894, Wheelwright and Cobb chose five architects they believed were the best, even though none of the submissions had impressed the advising architects, and insisted none were deserving of quality construction materials, such as granite and other fine stone, and that limestone should be used instead. The five chosen architects were:
First: Wendell & Humphreys of Denver, Colorado Second: J.A. Schweinfurth, of Boston, Massachusetts Third: George R. Mann, of St. Louis, Missouri Fourth: C. DeGersdorff, of Stockbridge, Massachusetts Fifth: Warren B. Dunnell, of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
All fifty-six submissions were eventually rejected.
Influenced by the criticisms of the submitting architects, the commission asked the legislature to change some of the conditions in the contracts. The burdensome design restrictions, insufficient funding, and the architect's limited control of the project would undermine the building. The legislature passed the recommended changes and on April 15, 1895, the commission announced another competition, for which it received forty-one submitted designs. Wheelwright helped the commission judge the entries and recommended five submissions for premiums; those of George R. Mann of St. Louis, Missouri; Wendell & Humphreys of Denver, Colorado; Bassford, Traphagen & Fitzpatrick of St. Paul and Duluth, Minnesota; Cass Gilbert of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Clarence H. Johnston of St. Paul, Minnesota. The commission began deliberations and on October 30, 1895. and made the following awards:
First: Cass Gilbert of St. Paul, Minnesota Second: George Mann, St. Louis, Missouri Third: Bassford, Traphagen & Fitzpatrick, Duluth, Minnesota Fourth: Clarence H. Johnston, of St. Paul, Minnesota Fifth: Harry W. Jones of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Cass Gilbert was awarded the Commission. Gilbert had not entered the first round, believing the compensation for the winner was too small.
The Denver architectural firm Wendell & Humphreys complained "politics" had influenced the awards. At its December 17 meeting, the commission decided "the letter of Mess. Wendell & Humphries [sic] be returned to them by the Vice President, with the statement that the Board considers their insinuation that local politics influenced the award of premiums, were uncalled for and that the Board does not care to file such communications". In its second report, the commission said it felt the need to notice these accusations because it asserted the selection was following the opinion of Wheelwright.
Construction Construction commences
Construction began on May 6, 1896; George J. Grant was selected for excavation and foundations. The first stone for the foundation was laid on June 23 of the same year. The foundation was quickly constructed, and completed by November 24. Steam-powered cranes and hoists were used to move large stone blocks and iron girders, and stone was shaped using steam-powered drills, pneumatic chisels, channeling, and polishing machines. Universal Construction of Chicago was selected to erect the steel structure of the ground floor in October of the same year. Construction was completed by January 1, 1897, and the second report was submitted to the commission the same day. Gilbert noted construction to that point had cost thirty percent below estimate, due to very low costs of steel at the time.
Governor Alexander Ramsey laid the cornerstone on July 27, 1898. The basement level, first-floor exterior walls, and major interior walls were all completed that year. The third commissioners' report, however, ends with another request for funds, noting with the current arrangement, there would be a shortfall, and there would not be any money for the interior finishes, priority having been given to the exterior enclosure of sufficient size to house the government, with finishes to be added later. Because fire had destroyed the first Capitol, mechanical systems were to take advantage of then-current technologies to reduce the risk of fire, including electric lighting, fireproof construction, and a steam power plant located safely in external buildings.
Budget crisis and impact on interior finishes
The commission's fourth report issued January 1, 1901, dealt with the interior finishes, a subject the previous report had hinted at. With the depression of 1893 now over, the report records a "strong advance" in costs since 1896, with supporting citation of the United States Treasury Secretary’s report to Congress that several public buildings then underway "cannot be completed within the authorized cost because of the rise in prices of building materials and other costs". The report then mentions several building projects where increased construction costs varied from 10% in a "very nearly completed" building to some buildings whose costs exceeded double the original estimate.
Using these and other detailed examples, the commission justified their strategy of completing the building's enclosure and deferring all costs non-essential to that purpose. The commission also estimated they could achieve with the present level of funding: hardwood floors throughout [including public spaces] ... tin or other cheap final roofing ... plain plaster finish in vestibules ... fire proof vault doors in executive and administrative offices only ... cheapest possible floor construction and partitions and furrings [non fireproof] ... rotunda left empty, without gallery, columns or stone facings, and with a [plain] plaster finish ... [grand] staircase hall left empty, with plain plaster walls ... the senate, house of representatives, and supreme court room must be left with plain plastered walls ... boilers and ventilating plant to be located in the basement, and an iron smokestack run through flues which are designed for ventilation, and the use of tubular boilers, with a ventilating system which is inferior to the latest improvements ... a much cheaper material [than granite for the exterior stairs] which will inevitably have to be replaced in a few years.
The commission then requested an additional million dollars to adequately fit out the building's interior. With the additional money, the Capitol could be completed and ready to occupy by 1903. The commission needed to request an additional $1,500,000 to finish the interior of the building. They were confident this would be all that was needed because they already had many of the bids in hand. The legislature approved the funding, passing an act on April 3, 1903. The commission then proceeded to hasten the work, noting: "As the building has approached completion our labors have been more complicated and trying".
A number of smaller contracts that were drawn up late in the construction process were approved at this time:
Diebold Safe and Lock Company for safe doors Van Dorn Iron Works for shelves Otis Elevator Company for elevators and "electric sidewalk lifts" Herter Brothers for furniture A Schuneman "and others" for carpets and draperies Mitchell Vance Co. for electric light fixtures Sterling Bronze company for electric light fixtures. Winslow Bros for mechanical grilles.
The major artwork contracts for the building were awarded to the artists John La Farge, D.C. French, Edward Simmons, E. H. Blashfield, E.E. Garnsey, F.D. Millett, Douglas Volk, H.O. Walker, and Kenyon Cox, "being among the most distinguished artists in the United States, to the total cost of $231,500.00".
Completion