| The Municipal Building, also known throughout different periods of time as the "Courthouse" and "City Hall" as well as the Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse, was built over a period spanning from 1887 to 1906. The City and County share ownership of the building, which is located at 350 South 5th Street in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It occupies an entire city block and has about 550,000 square feet of usable space. The building is an architectural treasure listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designed by Long and Keys Architects. It is styled according to Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, adorned with a five-story Rotunda, stained glass windows designed and created by Ford Brothers Glass Company, a clock tower that rivals Big Ben, and features the Father of Waters statue carved of marble from the Carrara quarries used by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. The City Hall and Courthouse was the first U.S. government building with floors supported independently of partitions. Since primary support comes from the courtyard's external and internal walls, interior walls can be added or removed without affecting the building's stability.
While the building was under construction, the legislatively appointed Board of Courthouse and City Hall Commissioners oversaw all activities. In 1904, the Minnesota Legislature enacted a statute creating an independent board, the Municipal Building Commission (MBC). The MBC Board is a four member City-County entity comprised as follows: President - Chair, Hennepin County Board; Vice President - Mayor, City of Minneapolis; County Member - Hennepin County Commissioner; and City Member - City Council Member. The statute imparted authority and responsibility to the MBC to preserve, maintain and care for one building - the Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse.
The City Hall and Courthouse building was erected because the existing courthouse and city hall buildings were not large enough to house the growing Hennepin County and Minneapolis government offices and had become unsafe for staff and public visitors. The new building was to be a shared symbol of the burgeoning City and County as well as a stately and lasting public monument.
Hennepin County offices officially moved into the building in 1895 with the City following seven years later. In the initial allocation, building tenancy was shared equally by the City and County. As County functions grew, so did their space needs. The Hennepin County Government Center was built in 1975 adjacent to the City Hall and Courthouse. Today the City Hall and Courthouse building houses approximately 60 percent City offices and 40 percent County offices.
Further information surrounding the history of the Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse can be found in the Municipal Monument book, which is available for $10 by calling the Municipal Building Commission at 612-596-9512.
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