Around Swedish America in 548 Days - Day 79

Day 79 - State Capitol

If you want to explore the Swedish emigration to Minnesota, you will likely fly in to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Although there has been three times as many foreign-born Swedes in Minneapolis as compared to in St. Paul, a good place to start your discovery tour is the State Capitol of St. Paul.

Minnesota has had two Swedish-born governors, Adolph Olson Eberhart and John Lind, and ten others of Swedish ancestry. Immediately in front of the Capitol is a statue of governor John Albert Johnson (1861—1909), born near St. Peter to Swedish parents. (A similar one is located on the front lawn of the Nicollet County Courthouse in St. Peter. At the monument’s base are smaller statues representing miners, farmers, and traders.) On King Boulevard, just southwest of the Capitol, is a statue honoring Floyd B. Olson, governor from 1931 to 1936.

Other monuments celebrate feats of daring. West of the Capitol in a park across King Boulevard is a monument commemorating Leif Eriksson and his discovery of North America in 1000 AD. On the mall south of the Capitol, Paul Granlund’s 1985 statue depicts aviator Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. as a young boy and as a mature navigator. Casts of this sculpture are at Lindbergh Field in San Diego, California, and Le Bourget Field in Paris. Additional Granlund works in St. Paul are his garden memorial to Vietnam veterans on the grounds of the Minnesota governors residence, 1006 Summit Avenue, and the crucified Christ in the worship space at the Luther Seminary’s Chapel of the Cross, 2481 Como Avenue.

Inside the Capitol, which a publication describes as “grand in design, splendid in detail, and great in its telling of Minnesota history,” are painted portraits of all the governors of Minnesota. On the first floor opposite the Governor’s Reception Room is a plaque in memory of Floyd B. Olson.

South of the Capitol, across Interstate 94, is the History Center of the Minnesota Historical Society (651-296-6126; www.mnhs.org). At 345 W Kellogg Boulevard, the Center offers a research library and a large museum and draws visitors with its restaurant and gift shops.

Minnesota State Capitol and grounds—75 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard (651-296-2881).