James J Hill House

This 36,000 SF “museum” and former home of St. Paul railroad titan, James J. Hill, was build in 1891. The property was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and was later acquired by the Minnesota Historical Society in 1978.

The property’s original fire alarm and security systems were installed in 1979; subsequent small system upgrades and partial replacements over the years resulted in a confusing infrastructure to support replacement. The Loeffler team diligently investigated the existing conditions to determine what infrastructure would support the systemwide replacement to reduce overall project cost. In addition, coordinating the new work with all the historic architectural elements throughout the building was paramount, and the team coordinated mock-up reviews and preinstallation conferences for minimal impact to existing historic elements.