I know my St. Paul condo buildings because I have seen the inside of many of them. What is historic on the outside may look like it was built in the 1980’s on the inside.
The original woodwork was replaced with blond oak and the floors are carpeted. The “old world” charm can not be found on the inside. In fact sometimes there isn’t anything charming about the interior.
There are several buildings in downtown St. Paul that were factories or warehouses that were converted into condos. The kitchens are all new but the buildings still have exposed brick and timber.
They don’t look like they did when they were factories but they look historic and authentic. The developers restored unique historic features rather than just gutting the building and starting over.
There are a few great old buildings that are disappointing on the inside because they were chopped up and made into small apartments that don’t make sense. Who wants a north facing condo with one window?
Historic preservation districts have rules about how the outside of a building has to look but no rules about the inside.
