Ramsey County History – Winter 2016: “The West Publishing Company Buildings and Ramsey County’s Adult Detention Center”

The West Publishing Company Buildings and Ramsey County’s Adult Detention Center
Author: Paul D. Nelson

Founded in 1876 in St. Paul, West Publishing Company established its offices and manufacturing plant on the south side of Kellogg Boulevard west of the Wabasha Bridge. By the 1920s, West provided a wide range of law books to a national clientele and had established itself as a leader in legal publishing. Ramsey County, on the other hand, built its first jail in St. Paul in 1850. The county subsequently went through two other facilities before it opened its newly constructed Adult Detention Center in 1979 adjacent to West. That building lasted only until 2003. By then, West had relocated to suburban Eagan and sold its buildings to Ramsey County. In 2015, the county began demolition of the combined buildings as it prepared the site for future sale. Author Paul Nelson summed up what had happened: “Any business perched on the [south side of Kellogg] had three options: build up, build down, or relocate.” When faced with changing needs, the leaders of both a private company and a public institution chose to relocate.
PDF of Nelson article