9 stories high, crowned with Flemish and Neo-classical finishing touches, the New York Life Building haunted Minnesota Street for 78 years. Built with three bays to the north and two bays to the south, an addition to the south side, completed in the early 1930’s, beautified the building’s profile and balanced everything out.
A bronze sculpture of the heroic New York Life Eagle, designed by Louis and Augustus Saint-Gaudens,stood with its wings outstretched above the main entrance for 77 years. The 10 foot tall with a 12 foot wingspan, the mighty eagle was moved to the corner of Summit Avenue & Ramsey Street overlooking Downtown St. Paul and the Mississippi River in 2007. The eagle has a sister that perches still above the entrance to another New York Life Building in Kansas City, Missouri.
The St. Paul building’s architects, Babb, Cook & Willard are probably better known for their New York Life Insurance Building in neighboring Minneapolis. The pair were completed in 1889, but the St. Paul tower stood nine years longer than its companion on the other side of the river. The building was torn down to make way for the Alliance Bank Center just a few months before I was born.
