ST. PAUL, MN — The red “1st” sign that has defined downtown St. Paul’s skyline for nearly a century flickered back to life Thursday night, ending roughly two years of darkness atop the First National Bank Building.
Hundreds gathered for a relighting ceremony as new owner Downtown Revival Trust, led by Florida investor Jamie Rand, switched the sign on at 9 p.m. It marks the public start of a $7 million restoration project that also includes improved exterior uplighting for the building.
Downtown Revival Trust bought the roughly 1 million-square-foot complex in May for $3.8 million. The sale removed another downtown property from Madison Equities, the once-dominant local real estate owner whose portfolio collapsed after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rand said the relit sign is meant to symbolize downtown’s momentum, framing it as a reminder of what the area can become.
Some finishing work remains. When the sign switched on Thursday, one section briefly displayed an uneven purple strip rather than the signature red, though reports indicated Rand pushed to get it lit as soon as possible rather than wait for every fix to be finished.
Rand said future upgrades will let the sign change colors for holidays and events, including green for St. Patrick’s Day, purple for Prince’s birthday and red, white and blue for the Fourth of July, the Yahoo News report said. The sign gained that color-changing capability during a 2016 LED conversion and has previously glowed blue and white for the St. Paul Winter Carnival.
Downtown business leaders tied the relighting to a broader rebound. Public and private investment in downtown St. Paul has topped $1.29 billion, and more than 20 storefront businesses have opened there in the past year, according to figures cited by local business advocate Spencer in the KLFD Radio report. Spencer said that growth reflects deliberate partnership rather than chance.
Rand said he intends to keep First National Bank Building operating as office space and plans to reopen its skyway connection to boost foot traffic. He said he is close to finalizing several large leases.
The building itself has a long history tied to the sign. Originally installed in the early 1930s with neon tubing, the sign was shut off in 1973 during the national energy crisis before returning a decade later with roughly 4,000 feet of red neon. Wind damage forced another repair and relighting in 2016, when the sign was upgraded to LED.
The complex consists of three interconnected towers spanning an entire downtown block between Fourth, Fifth, Minnesota and Robert streets. The 16-story East Tower was completed in 1915 as the Merchants Bank Building, while the 32-story, Art Deco-style West Tower followed in 1931, competing with New York’s Empire State Building for construction materials at the time
The sign had been deteriorating for several years before Downtown Revival Trust’s purchase. Rand’s plan is to keep it illuminated nightly from dusk until dawn going forward.
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