Skip to Main Content

State Capitol Building of Minnesota: Primary Sources: Archives & Records

Manuscripts

Cass Gilbert Papers, 1882-1934 (bulk 1882-1910).
Correspondence, contracts, agreements, specifications, sketches, and other materials relating chiefly to buildings designed by Gilbert, an architect who opened offices in St. Paul, Minnesota (1882) and New York City (1899). About one-third relate to the design and construction of the Minnesota State Capitol (1893-1909).
MNHS call number: A/.G464 and A/+G464

Government Records

Minnesota Board of Commissioners of Public Buildings. Records, 1851-1854.
Minute book (1851-1854), deed for Territorial Capitol site (1851), order and receipt books (1851-1853), and accounting records (1851-1853), recording the board’s actions, primarily concerning construction of the territorial capitol and prison. The accounting records include title abstracts and deeds, construction specifications, proposals (bids), and account statements.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid

Drawings and Plans Relating to the Minnesota State Capitol, 1890s
Blueprints and original drawings of the Minnesota State Capitol, including internal structures, architectural details, construction details, floor and room plans, elevations and sections, approaches and grounds, and diagrams of ventilation, heating, plumbing, and electrical systems. Also included is a framed "Design for the Minnesota State Capitol," longitudinal section. Some plans bear the office stamp of Cass Gilbert, architect.
MNHS call number: See the finding aid in the library (State Capitol File). 

Books & Other Publications

The Minnesota Capitol: Official Guide and History, by Julie C. Gauthier.
St. Paul, Minn.: Pioneer Press Manufacturing Departments, 1907.
MNHS call number: F613.S82 G38 1907

Brief Description of the New Capitol Building, St. Paul, Minn., by Cass Gilbert of St. Paul, architect.
Saint Paul, Minnesota, 1905.
MNHS call number: F613.S82 G54 1905

"The New State Capitol of Minnesota," by Kenyon Cox.
In Architectural Record. Vol. 18, no. 2 (Aug. 1905).
MNHS call number: F613.S82 C69 1905

Minnesota's New Capitol, America's Most Artistic Building and the Handsomest West of the Alleghenies.
St. Paul Dispatch. Dec. 31, 1904.
MNHS call number: OVERSIZE F613.S82 M656 1904

Minnesota's New Capitol.
New-York Tribune (New York, N.Y. : 1866 : Daily). Illustrated supplement. Oct. 1, 1899.
MNHS call number: FOLIO F613.S82 M654 1899

Report of the Expert Architects, by Henry Ives Cobb and Edmund M. Wheelwright.
Minnesota: s.n., 1894.
MNHS call number: F613.S82 C62 1894

Search for Primary Sources at MNHS

MNHS Reference Staff

reading room bookshelves

 

Gale Family Library
Minnesota Historical Society Library

Located on the Second Floor of the Minnesota History Center
345 West Kellogg Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55102

Library Hours:
Thursday to Saturday: 10am to 4pm
Sunday to Wednesday: Closed
 

More Information on Visiting the Library

 

Contact Us:

651-259-3300

Email Us

Visit our Main Website

Gale Family Library • Minnesota Historical Society • 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 • 651-259-3300
Hours and More InformationEmail us