Landmark Center is a Ramsey County Property and is located at 75 West 5th St, St. Paul, MN 55102. Landmark Center was constructed in 1902 and was used as a Federal Courthouse and Post Office. The building fell into disrepair and was going to be torn down before citizens saved it from demolition in the 1970's. The Landmark is on the National Register of Historic Places and it reopened in 1978 as the Landmark Center. There are many cultural events held there that include music, theater, dance, public forums, exhibitions and other special events.
The Landmark Center is by Rice Park in downtown St. Paul next to the St. Paul Hotel, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and the Central Public Library. Visitors to Landmark Center can park on the street using the metered parking or in the Rice Park area. The meters are $1.75 an hour and are free after 4:30 pm and on Sunday. The use of the parking meters is enforced Monday through Saturday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Visitors will be ticketed if the meter has expired within these hours.
Guests of Landmark Center can chain their bikes in the bike rack by Anita's Caf, on Washington Street. The Landmark Center hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Thursday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The Center is wheel chair accessible and handicap accessible. The wheel chair entrance is on Market Street and there is a handicap elevator that takes guests to the first floor and more elevators. There are wheel chair restrooms on the second floor.
Public and private tours of Landmark Center are available. They last about 45 minutes to an hour and the cost is two dollars per person. The tour includes a presentation of the buildings history and the restored courtrooms. If guests prefer they can take a self guided tour. The tour books are located at the main floor information desk. The web site for the Landmark Center also offers an interactive history tour online. This is a great tool for teachers. School tours of ten or more students are available with the help of retired educators or historians.
The public tours are available on Thursdays at 11:00 am and Sundays at 12:00 pm. Visitors can meet at the Information Desk which is just inside the Fifth Street entrance. Gangster Tours are led by costumed guides and are some of the most popular tours that Landmark Center presents. The guides assume the personae of many of the gangsters that lived or visited the area in the 1930's, including: Ma Barker, John Dillinger, Evelyn Freschette, Alvin "Creepy'' Karpis and many others. Many of these gangsters were held in the third floor Detention Room, tried in Courtroom 317 or had it out with the G-men of J. Edgar Hoover on the court house steps. This tour is available for $50.00 for groups of up to 25 people.
