JAMES J HILL CENTER LIBRARY FOR YOUR WEDDING
Wedding Photos At James J Hill Center Library St Paul
There is some mythic location in the cities where photographer would dream of covering a wedding celebration and its ceremony. The James J. Hill Center Library is one of those rare pearls. It’s a masterpiece of architecture and elegance. Located in the center of St. Paul, MN, it shares the same building as the St. Paul Central Library. It’s facing the Mississippi River on the south side, the iconic Landmark Center on the north (separated by the Rice Park).
So let’s see why this historical venue is amazing for photography, and what you should consider if you decide to get married there.
ERRATUM: The James J. Hill Center Library and all the reading rooms are currently closed to the public. The location is being sold. The Hill organization was losing money with this nonprofit business center, and is now focusing on reorienting its activity to keep helping small businesses.
As a result, not only can residents not come to read books anymore, but the wedding venue service is simply suspended. What a pity! Nevertheless, we hope that the new owner will continue to host events!
You can check the Pioneer Press for fresh information or directly call the organization. And you can read the last chapter of this article to find alternative locations.
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Perfect place for ceremonies and receptions
Most of the buildings that are part of the National Register of Historic Places are usually pretty amazing. That’s the case for this Italian Renaissance and Beaux Arts Neoclassical style building, designed by the famous architect Electus D. Litchfield.
The construction of the building was made possible by Mayor Lawler of Saint Paul and the famous Railroad Tycoon James J. Hill (known as the Empire Builder) who gave a large amount of money in order to support the construction and endowment of a reference library attached to the public library, now located in the east wing of the building. Construction started in 1914 and finished in 1921.
The west wing of the building hosts the St. Paul Library, renamed in 2014 George Latimer Central Library in honor of the past mayor of the city.
The east wing of the building hosted the James J. Hill Reference Library, renamed James J. Hill Center Library in 2013, which welcomed business events and private events such as weddings. Today it’s known as one of the most sophisticated places to get married in town.
Exterior in Tennessee Marble
The exterior of the building is made of white Tennessee Marble. The Italian Renaissance style is simple and sophisticated at the same time. It’s a massive rectangular building (including a backyard on the south side). The frontage uses perspective effects, playing with different floor heights. From the exterior, the main floor seems supported by what looks like a basement. Thus the main floor looks terrifically high. This effect is increased by the use of gigantic arched windows. The second floor of the building seems to be half-size, and the third floor even smaller.
To increase this height effect, the architect used different styles and sizes of windows. The main arched level contrasts with the rectangular windows from the level above.
The width of the building is enhanced using a Palladian style (basically it means that the building frontage is symmetrical). The north side, facing the Rice Park, shows two split stairs responding to each other. They both lead the visitor to a gigantic arched entrance with cornice capping. In the middle of the building, a third and smaller entrance leads to the actual St. Paul Library.
Great Reading Room With Curved Columns
Inside the building, you will find the impressive Great Reading Room. It’s the main and center room for events. It’s a 4-floor hall with curved columns (Kettle River sandstone) and stacks of books on the side. The interior is made with gray sandstone, Mankato Blue stone, Rutland and golden vein Formosa marble. Guests would sit on sturdy wood and leather chairs. The woodwork is mainly gray stained maple. Finally, you can find some circular stairs to move between the book floors.
The empty space in the middle can seat up to 250 guests!
Getting married in this room is not only being surrounded by books, but it’s a place that reminds us of an antique Roman temple in its architecture, and a British university library in its interior. Such decor doesn’t need extra ornaments to be beautiful. Of course, a touch of flowers would enhance the location, but they are clearly not an obligation!
What should you consider if you decide to host your ceremony at the James J. Hill Center Library
Budget
As you can guess, such a place is not the cheapest one, but curiously, not the most expensive either. It would cost you around $4,000 to $5,000 for a 10-hour location (3 hours for the vendors to set up, and 7 hours for guests to enjoy a party).
Coordinator
The venue includes an event manager to coordinate the different vendors. It is pretty essential in such old venues to have someone who knows the location and its specificities! You don’t want your DJ to destroy the electrical system or to damage anything.
Caterer
Like most of the upper-class wedding venues, the James J. Hill works with a selection of high-quality caterers that know the place and guarantee good service.
Chairs and Tables
Beautiful old chairs and tables are included in the price, so you won’t need rentals.
Bridal Suite
If the bride can get dressed in a small room lit by a window, the venue does not offer a real bridal suite. That’s probably the only downside we can find with this venue. Thus, I would highly recommend that you take a suite in an adjacent hotel. Good news, there are plenty around! (The adjacent image is from another venue.)
Hotels
The adjacent Saint Paul Hotel is just amazing! You could also use their lobby and their spiral stairs to stage more sophisticated pictures.
The nearby Hyatt Hotel is also pretty neat. It used to be the customs office, and its lobby can be used for pictures. Otherwise, there are a bunch of hotels, such as the nearby DoubleTree by Hilton, the Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown, the luxurious Davidson Hotel in Summit, the InterContinental River Front, just to name a few.
Transportation
Most hotels offer a shuttle service, but they are usually pretty modern and ugly buses. I would recommend renting a nice vehicle that could be used for the bride and groom and family pictures. That could be an old London cab, a vintage bus, a funny limo, or even a horse carriage.
Sound
It’s not rare to experience echo in such large spaces. So make sure your DJ knows how to handle it.
Lighting
Most good DJs would offer you some lighting options. Given the venue is pretty dark, that could be a great option. Indeed, spreading LED boxes on the floor all over the venue will give a lot of tiny touches of light that would enhance the venue. Of course, the price varies depending on the vendors.
Where to Go for Your Photo Session
For an engagement and wedding photographers in the Twin Cities, having such a backdrop for a ceremony is a unique chance. It’s like taking pictures with a professional model. You know that whatever you do, the pictures would be gorgeous. But if you work harder, they would be tremendous! Nevertheless, despite James J. Hill Library Center being gorgeous and that your entire images could be taken there, it’s great to have a different kind of background in photography. That allows for different atmospheres and avoids repetition.
The convenient Harriet Island
Skip the Kellogg Mall Park, cross the Mississippi River, and go take advantage of Harriet Park and its view of the city skyline.
Irvine Park for a touch of greenery
Conveniently located at less than 5 minutes driving, Irvine Park and its fountain is a calm, historical, beautiful park. It’s more or less the same size as Mears Park, but it’s much better for having some portraits taken!
The Exquisite Rose Garden on Harriet Lake
If you didn’t have your engagement pictures taken there, go to Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, MN, and its stunning Rose Garden and Rock Peace Garden. In addition to the lake, it offers a large variety of plants and flowers that work just perfectly for wedding photography.
The MacGuyver Solution Offering Tons of Options
Located near Bloomington in Edina, Minnesota, the Centennial Lake is a perfect park for couple session for an engagement session. It’s a mix of modern and nature, the result of landscapers’ hard work. Indeed, you can find located back to back, a large variety of backdrops that would work just perfectly whatever the season.
Like the Swiss Army knife, it can face all kinds of situations. You have some small hills with a mini-golf course, some old iron bridges, some modern bridges, some reeds, high grass, willow trees, pine trees, just to name a few. The park also offers a bunch of activities to have fun together and catch natural pictures (ice skating, lawn bowling, paddle boats).
Conclusion: A venue way above a simple Post-Industrial building for a wedding celebration
You can find in Minnesota a large variety of loft-style venues (such as the Loft at Studio J). If those rentals are enjoying the rustic charm of the past, they are deeply missing something: the elegance and sophistication offered by such imposing buildings!
No need to say that the James J. Hill Center would also work great for engagement pictures.
Alternative to the James J. Hill Center Library
If the Library is a reference that we will regret for years to come, you would be happy to learn that there are alternatives. Here are historical venues in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, MN.
- The Landmark Center: Located just across the street, the Landmark Center Atrium offers quite a similar experience to the Reading Room (without the books, of course).
- The St. Paul Athletic Club, with its beautiful two-floor lobby and jaw-dropping Grand Ballroom, is also an architectural marvel.
- The Union Depot, with its spacious hall, arched windows, and stone columns, is also a breathtaking location to host a reception.
- James J. Hill House
- The Swedish Institute
- The Van Dusen Mansion
- The Semple Mansion
- The Gale Mansion
- The St. Paul College Club
- The Minneapolis Club
If you are ready for a destination wedding out of Minnesota…
If you want to host your wedding in a stunning library, here is a short list of amazing libraries for weddings across the United States.
- The Harold Washington Library in Chicago
- D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution) Library in Washington, D.C.
- The University Club in New York City
- BHS Pierrepont and the Othmer Library in NYC
- Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in New York City
- George Peabody Library in Baltimore
- Boston Public Library in Boston
- Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Rhode Island
- Providence Athenaeum in Rhode Island
