Duluth Civic Center

3 Levels Of Government United

By Tom Olsen tolsen@duluthnews.com

Influenced by the “City Beautiful” movement of the early 20th century, the Duluth Civic Center unites three levels of government on the western side of downtown Duluth.

Set amid gardens off West First Street, the site incorporates Duluth City Hall, the St. Louis County Courthouse and the Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse and Customhouse.

The complex began to take shape June 15, 1908, when ground was broken for the construction of a new county courthouse. The building opened its doors to the public Nov. 3, 1909.

Featuring towering columns on granite facades, the neoclassical building was designed by worldrenowned architect Daniel Burnham and was considered a masterpiece at the time of construction, built for a modest sum of just under $1 million.

On Memorial Day 1919, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was added in front of the building. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert, the monument pays homage to soldiers who served during the Civil War.

The long-planned civic center continued taking shape with City Hall, which opened its doors to the courthouse’s east in 1929. A year later, a new federal courthouse was established on the west side of the complex, completing the trio of conforming buildings.

A new St. Louis County Jail was built behind the county courthouse, across Second Street, in 1923. But the building closed when a replacement facility opened in 1995, and it has long stood vacant as public officials and developers have pursued ways to repurpose the structure.

For decades, the buildings were surrounded by concrete and grass until longtime St. Louis County Commissioner Joe Priley took it upon himself to begin planting flowers, shrubs and trees. He also raised $40,000 in donations to construct a five-tier water fountain, which opened in 1970, bearing his name. u