Building 25, Fort Snelling/421 Wabasha Street

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1 For (Rev. 6-72) NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM (Type all entries coplete applicable sections) COUNTY: Rasey ENTRY DATE FOR NPS USE ONLY AND/OR HISTORIC: Sa4et>Joseph's Acadey Saint Joseph's Acadey STREET ANQ NUMBER: 355 Marshall Avenue Sflajat.Paul CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: 4th Rasey 123 CATEGORY (Check One) OWNERSHIP STATUS ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC District (2 Building Site D Str«etijrjs D Object Public Private \~] Both Public Acquisition: [~ In Process [ I' Being Considered fit Occupied II Unoccupied [~] Preservation work in progress Yes: B2 Restricted Q Unrestricted D No PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate). r~] Agricultural I.Coercial I I Educational I I Entertainent I I Governent I I Industrial D Military [~~ Museu D Park I I Private Residence I I Religious I Scientific I I Transportation Qjjj Other (Specify) Multi-purpose I I Coents UJ W OWNER'S NAME: Sisters of Saint Joseph 1884 Randolph Avenue COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: Raaey County Courthouse/Register of Deeds 15 West Kellogg Boulevard Saint Paul Statewide Historic Sites Survey/"Historic St. Paul Buildings" DATE OF SURVEY; 1972/1964 Federal Stat DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: Historical Society/City of St. Paul, Planning Departent Building 25, Fort Snelling/421 Wabasha Street Saint Paul/Saint Paul 22

2 CONDITION [^Excellent D Good Fair (Check One) I I Deteriorated [~ Ruins I I Unexposed (Check One,) D Moved Xl Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AN D ORIGIN AI_Cif known) PHYSIC AU APPEARANCE Saint Joseph f s Acadey is an educational coplex of buildings constructed around an open square and located on the northeast corner of Western and Marshall Avenues in Saint Paul,. The older section of buildings date fro 1863 to 1884, generally face Marshall Avenue to the south, while newer additions, built in the 1930's face along the east, north, and west sides of the coplex. The one exception to this is the old convent wing, built in 1871, which also faces Western Avenue along the western edge. Public entry is gained by two entrances at the end buildings along the southern side of the coplex. The buildings are all interconnected, including the power plant, located within the interior square, but a large opening on the north side prevents the coplex fro copleting an entirely enclosed space. The original building is the three and one half story, rough ashlar, yellow liestone structure, located at the southwest corner, The architectural style is Italianate but very stark with regards to any ornaentation. Fenestration is equally spaced on all three levels across the building facade with siple lintels and sills. The construction is stone bearing wall. The first addition, the old convent wing built in 1871 to the north and west of the original building, is ore priitive in appearance with very little architectural detailing. It too is liestone bearing wall with uch the sae window detailing. The second addition, built in 1877 and which is now the four story, thrust center section of the south facade, is the ost architecturally appealing of any portion in the coplex. It is also Italianate in design with a single unbroken cornice line at the roof, but which sports a higher level of architectural detailing than its two flanking corner sections. Fenestration is grouped in sets of two, five sets syetrically spaced across the facade, which is broken by a wooden two story, highly detailed, Victorian bay. All windows have flattened arched, carved key stone caps except for the fourth story windows which are soewhat wider and rounded at the top. The building is also liestone bearing wall. The old stone so**fek"-facade was copleted by the third section, added to the east in(l!384^ It is nearly identical to the original section so as to restore a syetrical appearance along this side of the coplex. A slight visual deviation can be seen between the two end sections, as an unsiilar asonry technique was chosen for the new section, but they appear identical in other respects. The 1930 f s saw the copletion of the coplex with the addition of the east, north, and west wings. These structures housed additional classroos, a new auditoriu/gynasiu, a chapel and a new library. These buildings are very utilitarian in appearance being faced with coon red brick. They are reinforced concrete in construction. z */» H 70 C o

3 PERIOD fchecfc One or More as Appropriate) I Pre-Colubian I I I 16th Century Q 15th Century n 17th Century D 18th Century [X 19th Century 20th Century SPECIFIC DATE(S) (If Applicable and Known) to present AREAS OF SlGNI FICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Abor iginal X Education ~~ Prehistoric I I Engineering, O Historic Industry ~l Agriculture I I Invention J2 J Architecture II Landscape [ D Art Architecture I I Coerce I I Literature [ Counications Q Military Conservation n Music I Political Religion/Philosophy ' Science Sculpture Social/Huanitarian Theater Transportation II Urban Planning Q Other (Specify.) STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Saint Joseph's Acadey is the oldest known Catholic school building in the state of. Its yellow liestone exterior has been a Saint Paul architectural as well as educational landark since its construction in'1863 when the school first opened. Its history underscores its age, as it opened not as a day school but as a boarding school due to its then distant location on Saint Anthony Hill, far fro the city's population center. It reains a sybol of one religious group's early attept to educate its young on the frontier. Built between 1860 and 1863 as the Jjfe4*45*iaint Paul school of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Saint Joseph's QJLcedeyjwas superceeded first by a log school situated at the city's waterfront and located in the city's first church, the Chapel of Saint Paul. This served as their school until 1852, when the Sisters had a brick structure, one of the first in the city, constructed as their first peranent educational facility. The Sisters established their first "Acadey" in this,building and it soon outgrew its inadequate facilities. In 1860 the Sisters purchased the old Catholic ceetery on Saint Anthony Hill for the const^ ruction of the present building, which opened its doors on July 31, The original structure, a three and one half story, yellow liestone building, functioned as a convent novitiate as well as a boarding school, and is now the southwest corner building in the present coplex.*- Although quite unadorned, architecturally, as were the later additions, the building is still a very early exaple of Italianatel^esign in. A stone additiop/to house expanding convent functions was added to the west in 187r and further classroo and doritory space was added by the construction of the large four story stone building to the east in ^ The Acadey gradually evolved into a day school during the 1880's. By 1884 over half the students couted to the school, facilitated by the city's new street car syste and the intensive residential land developent, surrounding the school. The stone wing to the east of the 1877 addition is representative of this growth period. Through the next forty years, Saint Joseph's Acadey went through a nuber of functional changes, adding a kindergarten at the turn of the century and then dropping its entire eleentary curriculu in the 1920's due to increased secondary school deands for additional space. The brick additions to the rear were added soon after this period. (see continuation sheet)

4 IB Historic Saint Paul Buildings. St. Paul City Planning Board, St. Paul,, 1964, p.47 On Good Ground; The Story of the Sisters of St. Joseph in St. Paul. Sister Helen Angela Hurley, University of Press, Minneapolis, 1951 * The Acadey for a Century: A History of Saint Joseph's Acadey. Sister Elizabeth Marie, C.S.J., TheNorth Central Publishing Copany, St. Paul, LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY LATITUDE AND LONGIT'JDE CO_O_RDJN A ES- DEFINING THn CtNTER POINT OF A PROPERTY OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE LATITUDE LONGITUDE NW NE SE SW o, APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: Degrees. Minutes Seconds ' ' 55 " LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OJ COUNTY T NAME AND TITLE: Thoinas J. Lutz «Historic Sites Survey and Planning Historical Society 19 Deceber 1974 Building 25, Fort Snelling 22 As the designated State Liaison Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law ), I hereby noinate this property 'for inclusion in the National Regis ter and certify that it has been evaluated according to the c-iteria and procedures set forth by the. National Park Service. The recoended level of significance of this noination is: National D-- Sta^e Q Local 1x3 I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register. Director, Office of Archeology and Historic preservation Nae Russell Wi Frid-Ley : Title State Historic Preservation Officer Date Date Keeper of The National Register JUM GPO

5 For a (July 1969) (Nuber all entries) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM (Continuation Sheet) Rasey FOR NFS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER 8. Significance In 1905 its excellent schooling was one of the ajor stiuli for the establishent in Saint Paul of the College of Saint Catherine, now one of the finer Catholic woen's colleges in the state. Saint Joseph's Acadey had for over a century served the religious and educational needs of the Catholic counity in Saint Paul and had contributed to the educational quality of the city. However, with reduced enrollent in recent past years, the Acadey was forced to close in It now serves as a ulti-use building providing space for a nuber of counity based, public service oriented, social agencies. Its future is uncertain. / RECEIVED. DEC3 GP