When the Pioneer Press Building opened its doors in 1889, it was news. The twelve-story skyscraper, the tallest at the time in the heart of St. Paul—featuring the first glass elevator in the country—merited a forty-page special edition of the Pioneer Press, whose editors modestly proclaimed it “the greatest newspaper building mother earth carries.” A year later, another architectural monument, the Endicott Complex—which wraps around the Pioneer Building—opened its doors. Designed by rising St. Paul architect Cass Gilbert, the Endicott included two office buildings linked by a one-story L-shaped shopping arcade crowned by a stained-glass ceiling.
Journalist and architectural historian Larry Millett tells the story of these two icons of downtown St. Paul from conception through numerous alterations to their present incarnation as vibrant cultural and living spaces in the city’s center. He describes how the Pioneer came to be designed by noted Chicago architect Solon Beman, who in 1910 added four floors to create a sixteen-story light court that remains one of Minnesota’s great architectural spaces. Millett also describes Gilbert’s meticulous work in designing the Endicott complex, which was inspired by the Renaissance palaces of Florence. Gilbert would later go on to produce such masterpieces as the Minnesota State Capitol and the Woolworth Building in New York.
As entertaining as it is edifying, Heart of St. Paul combines architectural history with the rich human story behind two buildings that have played a prominent role in the life of the city for over a century. The book includes an introduction by Kristin Makholm, Director of the Minnesota Museum of American Art, which has found a new home in the buildings.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Larry Millett, a Minneapolis native, spent much of his career as a writer, reporter, and editor for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, where in 1985 he became the newspaper's first architecture critic, a post he held until his retirement in 2002. His many works include Minnesota's Own: Preserving Our Grand Homes, Once There Were Castles: Lost Mansions and Estates of the Twin Cities, and Minnesota Modern: Architecture and Life at Midcentury, also from Minnesota.
"If a building’s famous for its height or style, someone may tell its tale. If a building’s lucky, it gets Larry Millett. The Pioneer Endicott at 4th and Roberts streets in St. Paul is lucky."—Star Tribune
"Millett explores more than the history and architecture of this St.Paul landmark, telling the human stories behind the buildings, from the architects to the tenants to the elevator operators."—Midwest Home
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_1517901464
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard1517901464
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new1517901464
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 26553369-n
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think1517901464
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Prompt service guaranteed. Seller Inventory # Clean1517901464
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 9781517901462
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover1517901464
Book Description hardback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9781517901462
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Buy for Great customer experience. Seller Inventory # GoldenDragon1517901464