Twin Cities / Metro
Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse
Holding gatherings of law-making minds by day, this symbolic monument accommodates events of all kinds by night and weekend.
BY AMANDA FRETHEIM
Home to the offices of the mayor, chief of police and fire chief, in addition to an arbitration and reconciliation court and a two-level, 509-bed jailhouse, Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse may not seem like the first place to have a good time—more like the last place for serious business. However, this preconceived notion is the opposite intent of the city’s forefathers, as well as the building’s caretakers, the Municipal Building Commission (MBC).
Constructed between 1887 and 1906, the Richardsonian Romanesque-style building was built to house both Minneapolis and Hennepin County functions. It was also built as a symbol—a flagship building of the time. “Minneapolis was a fast growing city, with a lot of milling activity at the river,” says LaLonnie Erickson-Baker, project coordinator for the MBC. “They wanted to make a statement about Minneapolis, that ‘we’re strong, we’re growing and we take pride in our community.”
Erected on the site of the first public schoolhouse west of the Mississippi River, the City Hall and Courthouse occupies the entire city block, 700,000 square feet, between Third and Fourth Avenues and Fourth and Fifth Streets. Constructed from large granite blocks brought by horse and wagon from Ortonville, 160 miles away, the building peaks out at nearly 400 feet, thanks to its clock tower. When construction was complete, the City Hall and Courthouse loomed over the residential neighborhoods below as the tallest building in downtown Minneapolis, until the Foshay Tower was built in the 1920s. Besides a clock face that’s four inches wider than London’s Big Ben, the tower boasts a 15-bell carillon weighing in at 14 tons—the only American-made set that can play the “Star Spangled Banner” in its original key.
Even though many of the county activities moved across the street when the Government Center was built in 1975, the city and the county still share ownership of the City Hall and Courthouse, and since 1904 the MBC has operated, maintained and preserved the building. Because all public agencies scramble for funding and resources to keep activities running, Erickson-Baker says, the MBC implemented a catering event program just over a year ago as an additional revenue source to offset the tax-payer funding that would be needed to keep the building in operation. “But, we also think it’s a beautiful facility,” she says. “It’s the people’s building. We wanted to open up the building so that people could come here, have an event and just make that event as meaningful and memorable as possible.”
The building’s most impressive event space, the Rotunda, is located off the Fourth Street entrance. Completely refurbished in 2003, including the room’s 37 stained-glass windows, the five-story, marble Rotunda holds up to 250 people for a seated meal and up to 400 people for a reception. Attendees gather around the 44-ton Father of Waters statue (perhaps rubbing his big toe for rumored good luck), carved by American sculptor Larkin G. Mead from the largest single block of Italian marble ever taken from the Carrara quarries, the same mines used by Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Tables for 150 can be set up on the main level, with seating for an additional 100 set up on the second-level balcony, overlooking those seated below. When renting the Rotunda, groups also gain access to the adjacent vestibule, a large, long space with high, arched ceilings, perfect for pre-dinner cocktails or hors d’oeuvres at high rounds, Erickson-Baker says.
Groups of 75 or less also can meet in the City Council Chambers on the third floor. Completely renovated in 2001 to mirror its 1923 design, the City Council Chambers features a coffered ceiling, stenciling, reproductions of the original light fixtures—designers studied old photographs of the room to recreate the look—and two large wall murals reminiscent of the milling days at St. Anthony Falls. Because food and beverage is not allowed in the City Council Chambers, rental of this room also includes the Mississippi River Room across the hall where 70 people can comfortably enjoy a seated meal. Three courtrooms and two other conference rooms, the Humphrey and Hearing Rooms, are also available for different types of gatherings.
As an added feature, the 15 bells in the tower can chime show tunes, hymns and many other songs from an extensive repertoire, greeting attendees as they arrive from every direction. Connected to a small keyboard located in the Rotunda, the bells are played by the Tower Bell Foundation, an organization that holds periodic bell concerts at the City Hall and Courthouse. When a group of Japanese delegates from Ibaraki, Japan (Minneapolis’ sister city), came to visit in 2000, the Tower Bell Foundation played a popular Japanese song, “Sukiyaki,” to commence the event.
Because the Minneapolis City Hall and Courthouse is first a public space, non-attendees may still need access to the building during an event. These people are directed to an alternate entrance and escorted to their destination so as not to disturb the festivities. However, one building resident, dressed all in black, may float by. In 1898, John Moshik, a member of the notorious Rice Street Gang, was the last person hanged in the county and the only person hanged in the temporary gallows on the fifth floor of the City Hall and Courthouse. “While I’ve never personally witnessed the ghost, we’ve had members of our staff say they’ve had weird encounters,” says Erickson-Baker. “Some say that doors have been closed, pictures have fallen off the walls or they’ve felt a cool breeze.”
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