Capitol Furnishings Project
Furnishings of the Historic 1905 Minnesota State
Capitol Research Project.
The Cass Gilbert Society has completed this
one-year project. For more information connect with us via our contact page.
Did you know?
The Minnesota State Capitol reopened on January 2, 2017. Daily tours are available. The Grand Reopening was held August 11 - 13, 2017. It was a great celebration for Minnesota.Who Built Our Capitol?
Check out our special events and postings online at the Cass Gilbert Society page on Facebook.
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CURRENT NEWS November, 2025
The Wrigley Building: The Making of an Icon.
This two-hour program held on November 18, 2025, at the Skyscraper Museum of New York is available on the museum’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VLTVoShFs0
The second hour of the program features a presentation and discussion comparing the Wrigley Building (1921) in Chicago and the Woolworth Building (1913) in New York, both striking terra-cotta clad skyscrapers with iconic status. Cass Gilbert scholar Gail Fenske led the discussion on the Woolworth Building while Thomas Leslie, FAIA, authority on Chicago skyscrapers, spoke about the Wrigley Building.
Anniversaries of Note
On October 30, 1895, Cass Gilbert was selected as the architect for the new Minnesota State Capitol. A detailed account of his design as well as the other competition entries was published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on October 31, 1895, pages 1 - 3. The article is now accessible through the new Minnesota Historical Society Digital Newspaper Hub.
Cass Gilbert was born 166 years ago on November 24, 1859, in Zanesville, Ohio, to Samuel Augustus Gilbert and Elizabeth Wheeler Gilbert. The family relocated to Saint Paul where his father, a topographical engineer, was working for the United States Coast Survey.
Plaque installed at site of Cass Gilbert’s birthplace
CURRENT NEWS November, 2025
The Wrigley Building: The Making of an Icon.
This two-hour program held on November 18, 2025, at the Skyscraper Museum of New York is available on the museum’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VLTVoShFs0
The second hour of the program features a presentation and discussion comparing the Wrigley Building (1921) in Chicago and the Woolworth Building (1913) in New York, both striking terra-cotta clad skyscrapers with iconic status. Cass Gilbert scholar Gail Fenske led the discussion on the Woolworth Building while Thomas Leslie, FAIA, authority on Chicago skyscrapers, spoke about the Wrigley Building.
Anniversaries of Note
On October 30, 1895, Cass Gilbert was selected as the architect for the new Minnesota State Capitol. A detailed account of his design as well as the other competition entries was published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on October 31, 1895, pages 1 - 3. The article is now accessible through the new Minnesota Historical Society Digital Newspaper Hub.
Cass Gilbert was born 166 years ago on November 24, 1859, in Zanesville, Ohio, to Samuel Augustus Gilbert and Elizabeth Wheeler Gilbert. The family relocated to Saint Paul where his father, a topographical engineer, was working for the United States Coast Survey.
Plaque installed at site of Cass Gilbert’s birthplace