A History of the Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission

Federal, state, and local laws serve as the legal basis for historic preservation activities in Saint Paul. The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) was 1966 was established as a program for the preservation of the federal highway system and "urban renewal" projects. The NHPA resulted in the creation of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), the list of National Historic Landmarks, State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO), and ultimately, state laws relating to preservation and cultural resources. It is this legal framework and State enabling legislation for historic preservation that led to the creation of the Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission.

President Lyndon Johnson signed the NHPA whose sentiments remain true:

The historic preservation movement started to gain widespread acceptance though the 1960s and 1970s as legislation was adopted and cities struggled with the loss of landmarks and neighborhood as a result of Urban Renewal. Saint Paul was not immune to these challenges, for example: loss of swaths of neighborhoods for the construction of Interstate 94, the demolition of the Ryan Hotel in 1962, and the near loss of the Federal Courts Building (Landmark Center) in 1972.

Built in 1882, it was demolished in 1962 and replaced by a parking lot. In 1981, the Minnesota Mutual Life office was constructed on the site and still remains today. Through the benefit of hindsight, the Ryan Hotel is now considered a significant loss of Saint Paul's historic architecture.

The Federal Court House building was completed in 1902 after ten years of construction. By 1965 the Federal Court system had moved out and the building was run down and plagued with insensitive alterations. The property was then declared surplus property and was flagged for demolition. In 1968, at risk of losing Landmark Center to urban renewal and modernization, St. Paul Mayor Thomas Byrne formed the nine member “Mayor’s Committee to Preserve the Old Federal Building.” This committee of Saint Paul citizens saved the building through their partnership with county officials and mayors. The building was listed on the  National Register of Historic Places in 1969 . On October 20, 1972, the City of St. Paul purchased Landmark Center from the General Services Administration for $1.  Under the direction of the committee formed by Mayor Byrne, now renamed Minnesota Landmarks, a restoration effort got underway to rehabilitate the structure. It is one of the earliest preservation efforts in Saint Paul.

Determined Saint Paul citizens and politicians recognized the need for protections for local historic resources. Saint Paul began studying the role that historic preservation might have in future planning, zoning, and building restoration. In 1974 and 1975, the Planning and Economic Development Department (PED) drafted an historic preservation ordinance and would provide staff for the Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC).

On May 18, 1976, the Saint Paul City Council adopted Council File No. 266600, Ordinance No. 16006 establishing the Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission. The ordinance states:

“The Council of the City of Saint Paul hereby declares as a matter of public policy that the preservation, protection, perpetuation and use of areas, places, buildings, structures, and other objects having a special historical, community or aesthetic interest or value is a public necessity, and is required in the interest of the health, prosperity, safety and welfare of the people.”

• 1979: 1
• 1980: 68
• 1981: 125
• 1982: 124
• 1983: 83
• 1984: 91
• 1985: 96
• 1986: 111

In 1989, the HPC conducted intensive evaluations of the Lower Bluff and Upper Swede hollow areas of Dayton’s Bluff. Funded by a CLG grand through MHS, Landscape Research completed “The Dayton’s Bluff Historic District Study,” in 1990. The Dayton’s Bluff Heritage Preservation District was designated by City Council in July 1992.

By 1990, all of Summit Avenue is protected through local historic designation through the creation of the Summit Avenue West Heritage Preservation District (about 250 principal structures) and the expansion of the Historic Hill Heritage Preservation District, in 1990, to match some of the National Register District boundaries.

A conservation district study was completed by Landscape Research, in 1991, in an effort to examine alternate ways of protecting distinctive Saint Paul neighborhoods. The study concluded that while this type of district would not work well in areas which required a great deal of rehabilitation, it might be more effective in stable neighborhoods where changes to buildings would likely be minimal. History Business, a consulting firm led by two Uppertown residents, completed a survey of the Uppertown neighborhood, in 1992. In 1993, the HPC completed its Neighborhood Landmarks study of ten buildings nominated by neighborhood groups and district councils.

In 1990, the HPC established its Preservation Awards program in collaboration with the Saint Paul chapter of the Minnesota Society of American Institute of Architects (MSAIA). At the first annual Heritage Preservation Awards luncheon, two organizations (Historic Dayton’s Bluff Association and the Summit Avenue Residential Preservation Association) and two new construction projects (Macalester College’s campus library design and the entrance bridges to downtown Saint Paul constructed over Interstate 94) were recognized for their contributions.

The Winter Carnival Ice Castle was the first and only “seasonal structure” to be given a Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Award. The 1992 award noted that the Ice Castle is a unique building that has achieved national acclaim and is now a distinguished part of Saint Paul’s winter heritage.

Watch the live TV coverage of the lighting of the 1992 Ice Palace to the right.

Challenges the HPC addressed in 1989 included finding appropriate new uses for the West Wing of the old Gillette State Children’s Hospital and denying an application to demolish the Mannheimer-Goodkind House on Fort Road. In 1990, Thomas R. Zahn and Associates conducted a study to identify reuse alternatives for the 1874 residence. Unfortunately the building would be razed in 1999. The HPC acknowledged and memorialized the loss of the Merriam Park Library due to structural damage to the building’s foundation. Public Works projects in 1994 necessitated that the HPC complete an inventory of brick alleys in the Hill District to help with the planning of future projects. In addition, the HPC was moved to LIEP in 1995 and reduced to 1 full-time employee. The HPC would be housed there until it moved back to the Department of Planning and Economic Development in 2009.

In 1993 an amendment to the Saint Paul Preservation Ordinance was made to change the number of commission members from 11 to 13 and to add a requirement that three of the commission members be registered architects. In 1994, the HPC decided to hold full commission meetings twice monthly instead of once.

• 1986: 111
• 1987: 137
• 1988: 116
• 1989: 100
• 1990: 155
• 1991: 169
• 1992: 220
• 1993: 307

In 2000, the City of Saint Paul funded The Historic Resource Survey, 1997-2000. The objectives of the study were the evaluation and updating of the existing database of historic properties, the development of historic contexts to guide future planning and the preparation of local designation studies. In 2001, six historic context studies were completed by Landscape Research for Pioneer Houses, Transportation Corridors, Neighborhood Commercial Centers, Churches, Synagogues and Religious Buildings, Residential Real Estate Development, and Downtown Saint Paul. This survey and designation project also resulted in a database of approximately 6,000 inventoried historic structures in Saint Paul and several new designation studies. Some of the completed designation studies include the Rice Park Historic District, University Avenue West Historic District, Minnesota Transfer Railway Roundhouse, Highland Theater, Grandview Theater, Olde Fireside Inn & Tamarack Lodge Hall, and St. Mathews Evangelical Lutheran Church. This endeavor was the first phase of designation studies for two districts and thirteen individual structures. In 2005 the University-Raymond Commercial Heritage Preservation District was established as a result of the Historic Resource Survey and certified for listing on the National register of Historic Places.

The HPC played a key role in the relocation and stabilization of the Armstrong Quinlan house in 2001. Built in 1886 as a double mansion on Sixth Street, the property was bought by the State of Minnesota in the late 1970s for land needed to build Interstate 35 East. It was moved in November of 2001 to Irvine Park, just 5 blocks from its original location.

The following National Register Designations were completed: Casiville Bullard House at 1282 Folsom St. for its associations with African American history in 1996, the Hamm Building at 408 St. Peter Street in 1997 for its architecture. St. Paul Municipal Grain Terminal at 266 Old Shepard Road in 2004 as the only remaining structure representing a grain storage and transfer complex that grew from the first farmer-owned, cooperative terminal elevator in America.

The late 1990s saw the Saint Paul Companies’ desire to raze the Orpheum/Palace Theater, Seventh Place Apartments, and the adjacent 1850s Coney Island buildings (also known as the August Botzet/Minnesota State Arsenal building and the City Hotel Building) with hopes of constructing a new office block at the site. Preservationists and tenants objected to the proposal, ultimately leading to the designation of the Coney Island buildings and 444-448 St. Peter Street. This designation represented the first new designations by the City since the end of 1994. Unfortunately in 1999 the Mannheimer-Goodkind house was razed after continuous efforts for its preservation.

In 2002, Leonard Parker Associates was selected to design five street sign designs for the districts as well as a logo for the HPC. Each historic district was given a symbol, such as the fountain for the Irvine Park Historic District or a storefront image for the Lowertown Historic District.

• 1999: 354
• 2000: 346
• 2001: 400
• 2002: 459
• 2003: 424
• 2004: 421
• 2005: 366
• 2006: 462

In June of 2009, the HPC relocated from the Department of Safety and Inspections to the Department of Planning and Economic Development to better integrate in to overall city planning.

In 2010 the City of Saint Paul included a chapter in its Saint Paul 2030 Comprehensive Plan that is devoted solely to historic preservation. The chapter examined past preservation activities in the community and identified new strategies and policies. The City’s first Historic Preservation Plan was led by City staff, The 106 Group Ltd., Stark Preservation Planning LLC, a Task Force of community leaders, and a Core Team of City department leaders.

In 2006, the City adopted an ordinance which placed a moratorium on the Schmidt Brewery Study Area to prevent inappropriate alterations and loss of historic features and buildings for one year to allow for a designation study to be completed and for the Commission to consider and recommend designation of the district to the City Council. After a designation study in 2010, The Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company Heritage Preservation District was established and locally designated in 2011.

A designation study was also conducted for the Victoria Theater in 2009. The following year the designation process for the property began with the Victoria Theater locally designated by the HPC and City Council in 2011.

In 2013, HPC staff completed a designation study of Island Station at 280 Randolph Avenue and it was proposed for designation. However, City Council voted 3-3 on the local designation and the site was not designated.

The next designation study was not until 2015 when the HPC recommended to the City Council that five  Pioneer-Era Limestone Properties  be designated as Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Sites. These properties constituted as the City’s first adopted thematic nomination.

In the Fall of 2015, the City of Saint Paul adopted a Historic Use Variance. This variance allows for the historic use or a new use of a designated historic property in any zoning district where such uses are not permitted under current zoning. This allows for minimal change to the defining characteristics of a building, its site, and environment and encourages the reuse of historic structures.

2016 marked important preservation milestones both locally and nationally. The National Parks Service (NPS) turned 100 years old, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) celebrated its 50th anniversary while the Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission celebrated 40 years.

The HPC initiated several surveys and context studies in 2017 and 2018. They are as follows:

• Hamline-Midway Neighborhood Reconnaissance Survey – funded by a CLG grant
•  St. Paul African American Context Study  – adopted by the HPC – completed for the Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation
• Historic Hill District State and National Resurvey – survey canceled with intention to reapply for funding
• The Saint Paul Fire Department Engine Houses – 1869 to 1930 Historic Context – adopted by the HPC
• Merriam Park Cultural Resources intensive level survey - initiated in 2018.

• Muskego Church (2375 Como Avenue) designation study update and boundary adjustment
• 402 Hall Avenue Dwight and Clara Watson House
• 325 Cedar Street Degree of Honor Building

• 2017: 466
• 2018: 384
• 2019: 243
• 2020: 199
• 2021: 168
• 2022: 136