Downtown in Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Pioneer Building

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 18, 2013

1. Pioneer Building Marker

Inscription.
1889 Designed by Chicago architect Solon Spencer Beman and erected by the George J. Grant Construction Company to house Minnesota's first newspaper, the St Paul Pioneer Press, the Pioneer Building was the first 12-story skyscraper in St. Paul and the tallest building west of Chicago.

1909 Watson P. Davidson purchased the Pioneer Building and retained the services of Solon Spencer Beman and George J. Grant Construction Company to add four stories using revolutionary steel framing.

1983 Financed by new owner, The First National Bank of Saint Paul, the Pioneer Building was restored to its original Richardsonian style through the combined efforts of the St. Paul architectural firm of Toltz, King, Duvall, Anderson and Associates, Inc., and the George J. Grant Construction Company.

The Pioneer Building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 10, 1974

Erected 1983 by First National Bank of Saint Paul.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1889.

Location. 44° 56.804′ N, 93° 5.406′ W. Marker is in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in Ramsey County. It is in Downtown. It is at the intersection of Robert Street and 4th Street, on the right when traveling north on Robert Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 336 North Robert Street, Saint Paul MN 55101, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Louisiana

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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Endicott Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Jacob Fahlstrom (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Reverend Lucien Galtier (about 600 feet away); Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (about 600 feet away); History of Saint Paul (about 700 feet away); Union Depot (approx. 0.2 miles away); Cycles of Change (approx. 0.2 miles away); Welcome to Union Depot Station (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Saint Paul.

Also see . . . Second glory for downtown's Pioneer-Endicott buildings?. Twin Cities Pioneer press website entry (2013) (Submitted on February 18, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 18, 2013

2. Pioneer Building Marker

Pioneer Building and Markers image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 18, 2013

3. Pioneer Building and Markers

Pioneer Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 18, 2013

4. Pioneer Building

The Pioneer Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by McGhiever, August 7, 2014

5. The Pioneer Building

<i>Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.</i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed by W.G. Mac Farlane, Publisher, circa 1905

6. Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Pioneer and Endicott Buildings image. Click for more information.

via NPS, unknown

7. Pioneer and Endicott Buildings

NPGallery Digital Asset Management System website entry
Click for more information.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 25, 2025. It was originally submitted on February 18, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,504 times since then and 84 times this year. Last updated on October 17, 2023, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 18, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 5. submitted on June 26, 2019, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. 6. submitted on November 11, 2014. 7. submitted on December 31, 2021, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.