Saint Paul is the smaller of the Twin Cities and the more traditional of the two with a less heavily Scandinavian ethnic complexion that Minneapolis. Nowadays, though, both of the Twins are getting far more diverse with lots of immigrants from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, including some of the country's largest Somali, Laotian, and Liberian immigrant communities.

Although smaller in population and with less of a skyline of modern highrises than Minneapolis, Saint Paul is not lacking in monumental buildings . I built my day in Saint Paul around touring several of them. Unusual for the Midwest, Saint Paul is actually somewhat hilly with the downtown area set on bluffs quite high above the Mississippi River and some of the city’s most monumental buildings set on hilltops.

Most prominent of these monuments is, of course, the Minnesota State Capitol, one of the largest state capitol buildings in the country and set in a large park. The capitol building’s most notable feature is its giant unsupported marble dome, the second largest in the world after Saint Peter’s in Rome which it’s modeled after and larger than the one at the U.S. Capitol in Washington which inspired it. The building’s second notable feature is the gilded quadriga named "The Progress of the State" above the southern entrance, sculpted by Daniel Chester French. The legislature wasn’t in session during my summer and I was unable to see the legislative chambers on my self-guided tour around the capitol, but I found the building overall to be extremely impressive as far as state capitol buildings I’ve seen go . In size and grandiosity it’s up there with the other huge domed state capitol buildings in Texas and Wisconsin.

The second large hilltop monument in Saint Paul faces the Capitol across a large expanse of parkland dotted with statues and monuments. The Cathedral of Saint Paul, also designated by the Catholic church as the National Shrine of the Apostle Paul, was completed almost 100 years ago and is one of the largest churches in the Midwest. Just a few blocks away on Summit Avenue in one of Saint Paul’s neighborhoods of stately old mansions is the largest one of all. The James J. Hill House was built in 1891 as the home of railroad magnate James J. Hill, the mansion is a thorough monument of gilded age residential architecture.

After touring the famous big buildings to the north and west of downtown, I headed to the center of the city for a wander and for lunch. While not overly well populated with modern office towers, Saint Paul’s center city is well-endowed with old churches of numerous denominations (Minnesota isn’t just for Lutherans!) and other well-preserved historic buildings. You might say I “sampled the waters” at the Great Waters Brewing Company with a taster line up of six small glasses of beer with my Black 'N’ Blue Burger.