Cass Gilbert
Commercial Buildings


Image: Thomas R. Blanck Collection

C. Gotzian & Company Building (2) (1895) 352 Wacouta Street, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Gotzian Building facade is similar to the 1892 Gotzian Building in that the second-and fourth-floor windows are inscribed within large arches set one above the other, but the overall design is clearly inspired by the more exuberant practitioners of Italian Renaissance architecture. Windows on each of the five floors are distinctive. The second-floor windows are set in pairs within larger arches. Another detail is the vibrant banding of colors in the brick and the corbelling of the parapet. The verticality of the narrow facade also contributes to the building's Italianate flavor.

Gilbert's exploration of color and texture in masonry materials begins with the Gotzian Building. In 1899, he would combine brick and colored terra cotta in the Broadway Chambers Building. Several succeeding buildings reflect the evolution of Gilbert's use of decorative surface texture and color. The finest examples are located in the West: the Montana Club (1903-05); the State Savings Bank (1906-08); the Placer Hotel (1912). Gilbert's use of color and texture reached its zenith in his designs for the University of Texas (1909-16).