Finch, Van Slyck, and McConville Dry Goods Company

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(Cosmopolitan Building)

- 366 Wacouta Street (at Fifth) -
-1911, James F. Denson, architect; C.A.P. Turner, engineer -
-1923 addition, Clarence Johnston Jr., architect -

Finch, Van Slyck, and McConville started as a dry goods store in 1856 and moved into wholesaling by the early 1860s. By the turn of the century, they had become the largest dry goods wholesaler in Saint Paul. Thanks to C.A.P. Turner, an innovative Minneapolis engineer, Finch, Van Slyck, and McConville were able to consolidate their citywide operation in one new warehouse in 1911. Turner's revolutionary reinforced-concrete construction technique called for flat slabs supported by mushroom-capped columns. The system could support heavy loads across broad spans and soon became standard practice in reinforced-concrete construction. Today, the voluminous space provides ample room for 255 condominiums.