Pioneer Press building collection
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of two sets of printed and bound copies of floor plans for the Pioneer Building, probably prepared for prospective occupants of the structure.
Dates
- 1888-1890
Creator
Language of Materials
English
Restrictions on Access
Available for use in the Manuscripts Division reading room. Advance notice is requested.
Restrictions on Use
There are no restrictions on the use of materials in this collection. Copies can be requested if the condition of the originals warrants it.
Historical and Biographical Notes
The Pioneer Press Building (now known as the Pioneer Building) was designed by architect Solon Beman of Chicago. It was erected in downtown St. Paul in 1888-1889 to house the offices and presses of the St. Paul Pioneer Pressnewspaper. Critic Montgomery Schuyler called the building an "uncompromising parallelopiped of brown brick [which] rears itself to the height of twelve stories" and was "eminent for the strictness with which the design conforms itself to the utilitarian conditions of the structure" when he saw it in its completed form in 1891 after four floors had been added. The building has a dramatic interior light court (the only surviving 19th century example in either Minneapolis or St. Paul) with offices arranged around it. The Pioneer Building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and given local landmark status by the city of St. Paul in 1979.
Solon Beman, was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 1, 1853, and studied architecture under Richard Upjohn in New York City. In 1879 he moved to Chicago where he set up what became a large and prosperous practice. Beman designed all the buildings for the company towns of Pullman, Illinois, and Ivorydale, near Cincinnati. He also designed many prominent office and public buildings in Chicago and elsewhere in the Midwest. Beman died in Chicago on April 23, 1914.
Extent
0.5 Cubic Feet
Abstract
Collection consists of two sets of printed and bound copies of floor plans for the Pioneer Building
Physical Location
High Bay
Additional Finding Aid
An unpublished finding aid with detailed contents is available in the Manuscripts Division.
- Commercial buildings -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul -- Designs and plans Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Pioneer Building (Saint Paul, Minn.) -- Designs and plans
- Title
- Pioneer Press building collection
- Author
- Archives Staff
- Date
- undated
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Collecting Area Details
Contact The Northwest Architectural Archives Collecting Area