Multifaceted and quirky, the State Fair's Ag Hort building turns 75

This year, the Great Minnesota Get-Together celebrates the 75th anniversary of its iconic Agriculture Horticulture Building.

When the permanent fairgrounds were new, back in 1885, agricultural and horticultural exhibits were hosted in the Main Building. Over time, exhibits spread across the fairgrounds, and sometimes were held out in the open. In the 1940s, fair leaders proposed a new building to reunify them and commissioned designs. But then came World War II and the suspension of the Works Progress Administration, which was to help pay for the new digs.

It wasn't until the Main Building burned down in 1944 that the fair found and decided to use those blueprints. Construction of the building we know today began in 1946 and opened the following year. (Fairgoers didn't miss it in '46 — the fair was canceled due to the polio epidemic.)

Since its debut, the Ag Hort Building, with its grand octagonal roof, has been a staple of the fair and a draw for agriculture experts and city slickers alike. Jill Nathe, the fair's deputy general manager of agriculture and competition, recalls a time when the crop art exhibit got a little too popular.

"It got so busy that the staff had to create homemade 'fast' and 'slow lanes' for the crowds trying to view the art," she says.

Besides the crop art, there's an exhibit for almost everyone — beer tastings from local breweries, sweet treats from the bee and honey area, or awe-inspiring floral displays in the central rotunda.

"Guests always enjoy seeing the largest vegetables, especially the pumpkins," Nathe says. "It's fun to compare: Which is bigger, the giant pumpkin or the largest boar?"

In honor of its big anniversary, the building will appear on 2022 State Fair buttons and lapel pins, and Nathe says more commemorative plans are in the making. She'll reveal them closer to the fair's Aug. 25 opening date.

Being the historic symbol of the fair that it is, the Ag Hort Building isn't likely to see huge changes any time soon.

"What I think is wonderful is that the building is 75 years old and still serving the same purpose it was built for, as an icon on the fairgrounds and providing a singular space for exhibitors, organizations, and fair guests to enjoy and learn," Nathe says.