The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-03


wv to the first capitol building
of the territory of Minnesota,
he had little reason to suppose that
fifty-one years hence-little more than
half a century-a governor of the state
of Minnesota might be welcomed at
splendid marble capitol, state house
not3 surpassed, in artistic beauty or
permanence of construction, by the
government buildings of the Oldest and
most populous commonwealths upon
American soil.
Nothing. in the Aladdin story of
49, Northwestern development is more
forcibly symbolic than this spectacular
contrast between the first Minnesota
Il capitol and the third. The third, in
s deed, might easily have been second,
but for the accident of fire, and the
comparison might have been still more
later days.
For several years after the establish
ment of territorial government here, in
@ze1S49, official dignity was perforce con-
tent with any throne at hand The first
sessions of the legislature were held
in the Central house, a weather.
boarded log hotel in Bench street now
Second street A Flagstaff was erect
ed to mark the seat of power.
Four years later the legislature had
removed from the Central house to
two-story brick building at Third and
Minnesota streets. But the first reg
ular capitol was then almost COM
pleted
The sum of $4,000 towards the cost
of such a structure had been provided
by the organic act under which the
territory had been organized. Yet
when the question of expanding the
money came up three towns competed
for the privilege. The state institu-
tions We're located by the legislature of
1851, which gave the university to
st. Anthony (now East Minneapolis),
the. penitentiary to Saltwater. and the
capitol to ST. Paul
First Capitol Commission
Commissioners to supervise the
erection of the capitol were elected
April II, 1851. D. F. Brawley and
Louis Robert represented Ramsey
county; E. A. Hatch, Benton county,
and J. >McKusick, Washington county.
Gov Marshall was a member of the
board ex officio
AT its second meeting the board ac-
cepted, June 81, from c. Bazille-father
of Probate Judge E. W. Bazille-the
offer of block 6, Bazille and Guerin's
addition, as a site for the proposed
state house. This is the plat now
occupied by the "old capitol" between
Exchange and Tenth and Cedar and
Wabasha streets.
The deed given named 81 as the sole
consideration, and did not provide as
had been reported, that the land would
revert to Mr.. Bazille's heirs in case the
capitol was removed. When this point
was discussed recently, Attorney Cen
eral Dohahower is said to have given
his unofficial opinion that the state
could dispose of the old capitol site
as circumstances might demand.
Plans for the building were accepted
that had been drawn by N. c. Prem
tiss. Like nearly every American
capitol, SMALL large. old or new, it
was to be modification" of the capt.
tol at Washington. In this case the
structure specified was T-shaped, and
two-storied, of red brick with lime
stone foundations There were i'm
pressive wooden columns in front sup
porting the portico in which William
II. Seward delivered his famous speech
upon st. Paul as the future center of
federal government And inasmuch as
no legislator can think deeply save be-
meath a dome, a dome was provided
f1imsy affair which ultimately
brought about the loss of the whole
building.
Work Began in 1851
work on the capitol. begun July 21,
1851, met with many hindrances. Ex-
actly two years elapsed before Gov
German occupied the = "executiye
apartment"
SO many changes We're made in the
building that much of the interior was
hardly to be recognized at the end of
thirty years. improvements were MI
merous. In 1856 gas supplanted the
candles which had previously shed
light upon the legislative soul In 1871
steam pipes took the places of the
wood stoves that had disseminated
comfort during twenty years. run
ming water" was also installed. The
capitol, as was remarked, began to
have some of the luxuries of civilized
life
When additional room became neces-
sary, after the increase of legislative
representation in 1872, a wing costing
eSS,0oe was erected. and $4,000 was ex-
pended for changing the assembly"
rooms. the roof and the cupola. The
new wing did away with the four col
umns that had marked the building for
so many years and that supported the
portico already mentioned A second
wing, completed in December, 1878.
cost more than $4,000. Fronting Wa