Ramsey County History – Spring 1972: “Old Federal Courts Building—Beautiful, Unique—Its Style of Architecture Faces Extinction”

Old Federal Courts Building—Beautiful, Unique—Its Style of Architecture Faces Extinction
Author: Eileen Michels

From 1901 to 1967, all federal offices in St. Paul were in this building. Now mostly empty, the building is in danger, and with it, “a unique local example of a style of architecture that is fast approaching extinction in the Midwest—indeed, in the entire country.” This article is an architectural description of the building. Its general style is Richardsonian Romanesque, but “the building possesses an equal number of features that are not” of that style. It also has many elements of the Chateauesque, a style associated with Richard Hunt and Stanford White. Who designed the building is not known for sure, though the credit is sometimes given to James Knox Taylor, who worked with Cass Gilbert in St. Paul and was, when this building was built, Supervising Architect of the Treasury.
PDF of Michels article