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Landmark Center in St. Paul, MN

Landmark Center – Old Federal Courts Building

November 17, 2021 By admin

Visitors to St. Paul’s downtown area are often captivated by the visual grandeur of the city’s castle-like architectural crown jewel, the Landmark Center.

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Stockyards Exchange Building - South St. Paul

Stockyards Exchange Building

January 27, 2020 By htc

South St. Paul’s rise and fall as the king of the meat packing industry began in 1886 and lasted for over one hundred and twenty years. Today, however, most of what was once one of the largest stockyard operations in the world has been lost to the wrecking ball.  As the meat packing operations in […]

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Washington County Historic Courthouse

August 30, 2019 By htc

High atop the bustling river town of Stillwater sits the oldest courthouse in the state of Minnesota.  Built on what is known as Zion’s Hill, the Washington County Historic Courthouse has watched over the birthplace of Minnesota for almost 150 years. [Go to photo gallery] Minnesota’s First Call to Order The first court session in […]

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Old Grain Belt Brewery Building - Minneapolis

Grain Belt Brew House

March 3, 2019 By htc

When it comes to beer, the Twin Cities has a very rich brewing history. Names like Schmidt, Hamm’s, Gluek’s, and Grain Belt immediately come to mind when reminiscing about the great breweries that once dominated the local industry. As demand for their products increased in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, large brewery complexes were […]

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Pillsbury Hall – University of Minnesota

October 29, 2018 By htc

The University of Minnesota ‘s Old Campus Historic District is home to a number of impressive buildings built before the turn of the 20th century.  Standing out among these as an iconic symbol of the founding of the University is Pillsbury Hall.  An imposing and stately structure, Pillsbury Hall was built on the growing campus […]

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Old Dakota County Courthouse

July 31, 2018 By htc

Just south of the new, modern bridge that spans the Mississippi river carrying traffic into Hastings sits a historic reminder of the beauty and craftsmanship used in 19th century civil architecture.  The old Dakota County Courthouse is likely the first thing people notice as they travel south on Highway 61 crossing the river into the […]

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Old Main Hall at Hamline University

July 31, 2018 By htc

Just a half block east of the intersection of Snelling and Hewitt Avenues in St. Paul sits one of the Twin Cities most unique and historic buildings.  Mostly shielded from busy Snelling Avenue traffic with only its weather vane visible, most people likely drive right by and never know this building exists.  Since it was […]

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Historic Church of St. Peter in Mendota

Historic Church of St. Peter

July 31, 2018 By htc

For over a century and a half, the Historic Church of St. Peter has watched over the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in Mendota.  Seen from miles away peering through the treeline atop the bluffs on the Minnesota River’s east bank, the church has been a consistent landmark for generations of people living […]

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Twin Cities Gangster Locations

Read about historic gangster locations and hideouts where criminal events occurred or gangsters were known to hang out during the Twin Cities’ gangster days between 1900 and the late 1930s.

On This Date in Twin Cities History

On this date in 1841, Father Lucien Galtier dedicates a log church in the area that was known then as Pig's Eye. Located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River between what are now Minnesota and Cedar streets, the log structure was built in just a few days by eight French Canadian settlers using logs cut on the spot and secured by wooden pins. The roof was constructed of steeply slanting bark-covered slabs, donated by a mill owner in Stillwater. At the church's dedication, Galtier declared: "Pig's Eye, converted thou shalt be, like Saul; Arise, and be, henceforth, Saint Paul!" The town would eventually take the name St. Paul as well and was incorporated in 1849. Over the years, the log church was expanded, and by 1851, the area's first bishop, Joseph Cretin, formally named the log church "the Cathedral of Saint Paul". Eventually outliving its usefulness as a church, the structure later served as the first school of the Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1856, its logs were dismantled, numbered, and hauled up to the new location for St. Joseph's Academy on St. Anthony Hill (now Cathedral Hill). Unfortunately, the plan to rebuild the chapel as a historic site were never realized and the logs were burned for heat. Chapel of St. Paul circa 1855 (MHS)

Chapel of St. Paul circa 1855 (MHS)

Extras

Armour Gates - South St. Paul

Armour Gates

December 12, 2019 By htc

On an empty, overgrown lot located at the corner of Armour and Hardman Avenues in South St. Paul sits the only remaining vestige of what was once the largest livestock operation in the world.  Developed on 260 acres along the Mississippi River, five miles south of downtown St. Paul, the stockyards employed over 6,000 people […]

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View of the Highland Park Water Tower from the 6th hole f the Highland Park National Golf Course

Highland Park Water Tower

April 3, 2019 By htc

Sitting in the shadows of two modern, sky-blue water towers in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood is the most visible symbol of the city’s water utility.  The Highland Park Water Tower has been a fixture in the neighborhood since 1928 when the city constructed the 134-foot structure to supply water to nearby residents.  [Go to […]

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Soldiers and Sailors Memorial

January 28, 2019 By htc

Shortly after news of Fort Sumter’s fall reached Washington D.C. on April 14, 1861, Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey, who had been visiting the nation’s capitol to address conflicts within the Minnesota Republican party, immediately offered 1000 men to the Secretary of War on behalf of the State of Minnesota. With this commitment, Ramsey became the […]

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Sculpture of Hiawatha and Minnehaha in Minnehaha Park - Minneapolis

Hiawatha and Minnehaha

November 30, 2018 By htc

Just above the falls of Minnehaha Creek in Minneapolis, perched on the southwest side of its rushing waters, sits an unassuming symbol of the area’s original inhabitants.  The sculpture of Hiawatha and Minnehaha has been a fixture in Minnehaha Park for over 106 years greeting visitors as they make their way to the falls.  Its […]

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New York Life Eagle

July 31, 2018 By htc

Perched atop the bluffs of the Summit Hill neighborhood overlooking the Mississippi River in St. Paul is an imposing bronze sculpture of an eagle clutching a rock with its wings spread as she watches over her young.  One might imagine the sculpture was originally created and installed in this location to symbolize a guardian keeping […]

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View of the Witch's Hat Water Tower from East River Parkway

Witch’s Hat Water Tower

July 31, 2018 By htc

Rising above the treetops of the Prospect Park neighborhood in Minneapolis is a structure that one might expect to find in medieval times rather than in modern day Minneapolis.  The Prospect Park Water Tower, also referred to as the Witch’s Hat, was designed by Norwegian born architect Frederick William Cappelen in 20th Century Revival style, […]

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