they kind of indicates some gorman perhapss got frustrated that his dad did not let it go and let him take over. animosityere was between he and his younger brother lewis. we do not know for sure. it is one of those we wish we knew more, but we do not. it is fascinating that all happened. up taking overd all of the businesses and on --g things from then running things from then on. those intriguing family things that you wish they were alive and you could begin and see what happened. >> this organ was a last-minute addition to the house. it was not in the original blueprints. anddesigners came

recommended that he put in a hyped organ. it was a high-end amenity that the wealthy were putting in his home in the east coast. this is the only room that was two-story high. for just under $5,000. it has been lately restored, it still works great we bring in an organ player on saturdays and they do five minute demonstrations. when they play this thing, it is pretty amazing. there are 1006 pipes in the gallery overhead. it is a massive instrument for the private home. they ended up using it all the time. it was not in the original plans, but this family loves music. we know this because mrs. hill had season tickets to the metropolitan opera, they went to theater all the time, and they did so much entertaining here i think it was just a great thing to have when company was over.

they could have live music. they had a couple of steinway pianos, but this is not just a little parlor pump organ, this is a huge impressive thing that can be heard practically all over the building. this was a lovely thing for them to put in, and they did love music here, so i think it was fabulous before any record player. kidow does a 16-year-old leave home on his own, travel up and down the east coast working, sending money home, and still looking for where my going to go and up by chance coming to st. and decide this is my land of opportunity? it is intriguing. how did that happen? he was probably brilliant. he was certainly farsighted and he took advantage of

opportunities. really he hooked up with good strong intelligent men. i think he chose widely in -- wisely in the partners that he involved himself with affects all weekend long, american history tv is featuring st. paul, minnesota. after the war of 1812, the u.s. government traded extensively with indian tribes of the upper mississippi. st. paul's rotation at the junction of the mississippi and minnesota rivers made a trade hub. to protect its interests in the area, the government established fortune-telling which was completed in 1825. our comcast cable partners were with c-span's tour staff when we traveled there to explore the area's rich history. learn more about st. paul all

weekend here on american history tv. this minnesota state capitol is the third building built in st. paul. the first one was built in downtown st. paul in the 1850's. even when we were still a territory. 1881, it was a brick and wood building. it to theire burned ground. there was a second capital at that location and it was a functional space, but not meeting the needs of the expanding state government of minnesota. very goodation wasn't so even a few years after that was built and occupied, there is discussion amongst the legislature to say we need to find a building that is permanent and will accommodate the needs of the public. that puta commission together a board of capital commissioners in the 1890's.

they chose an architect to build this word and present-day state capital. in construction took place 1896 it open to the public and 1805 -- in 1905. if you were to walk into the building at that time, this was . state-of-the-art hoping he had a power plant next door so it was wired with electricity. you had the convenience of indoor plumbing. it was a spectacular public building. >> cat elbert was born in ohio but as a youngster moved out here with his family to st. paul all stop he claimed st. paul as selected as the architect for the state capital building. of interesting stories behind him being

selected. he was a qualified architect for one thing. they werewere what looking for. every architect in the competition had to submit a drawing of what they wanted the building to be. some of the requirements were to have a building with a big dough , similar to what you would see in washington dc -- the emblematic center of a state capital. some of the futures he was able to -- some of the features he was able to add -- there were people who questioned his connection to the vice president of the board of commissioners, channing c barry. door to hist mother, so they were friends and there is a good relationship there, so some people are questioning did he get it because he was already well-known known by one of the commissioners? merit, hey his own

qualified as less architect for the project. state walk into the capital, it is a magnificent piece of architect your and everything fits together so well. masterpiece. first to the fronted up of the building or drive-by the building, you see the white verbal. georgia marble. minnesota does not have any marble. that was an early controversy about what stone he would use. emulate italy's white hart -- white marble buildings. one option was a vermont marble but that wasn't selected. he was looking at a new marble in georgia and they say there yearsme animosity some 40 after the civil war, why are you buying marble from georgia? ison't know if that necessarily the case. he was trying to re-create that italian renaissance building and the other option he could have received was to have a very

prolific stone -- it was an up-and-coming industry in the state and it was a desire to use that as the stone because you would hire the people from the and hire people in minnesota to shape the stone and he fought pretty hard to keep that white georgia marble as part of the equation and he won out eventually. the board of capital commissioners had a vote and were persuaded to use the white georgia marble, so there was a compromise. floor andhe ground the steps, but there's still a lot of minnesota stone on the walls and other limestone from southern minnesota. minnesota'srts of identity incorporated into the decoration. ryaner part is the butler

company where the general contractors and they went down to georgia and reached the quarry and cut out the middlemen. they moved it into workshops behind the capital construction area where craftsmen and stonecutters could actually shape the stone as needed. so you are hiring those labor workers and specially skilled craftsmen. it might be some controversy about what phone he would use for the exterior. will see is the dome based on st. peter's in the vatican. if you look at that dome and this dome, you will see the columns and architectural detail. you will see large columns, granite columns.

you will see symmetry, which was keeping that tradition together in these spaces. along with that, you will see incorporated into part of the architecture as well. the gallery is in the basement of the capitol. he wanted to have some of the european influence. he wanted it to be a space that would be emblematic of what a german public call would be. theiry would have political discussions up tears in the basement and then they had a restaurant. that would be a place they could come after the work was done and friendship and discuss things in a more formal situation.

that was fine until world war i to place and we are fighting germany. there are people trying to prohibit the sale of alcohol because you have the ranking slogan and it's all whitewashed. over time, there's plans to bring back the original stencil. covered as well. that was restored in 1999 and opened to the public in 2000. there were 22 layers of paint and that was a big part of revealing the space in the state capital. 1980'sa governor in the

who was seeing the importance of investing in this building to make it start looking back to what it would have been merely part of the century. we also did parts of the supreme court chamber. the next phase of work will complete an entire restoration project. they are one of those things that evolve over time from a small project to a bigger project today. amazed --ople were it's one thing you often read you can see a big six-foot wide chandelier and people were