entrepreneur Norman Kittson. Charles H.F. Smith (the head of the Finance Committee) and Alpheus Beede Stickney, two businessmen in St. Paul, purchased the land and donated it to the archdiocese. At Ireland's direction, the archdiocese commissioned well-known French Beaux-Arts architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, who was also the chief architect of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, and construction began in 1906. He had a budget of $1 million, and he based the cathedral on the designs of French churches of Périgueux Cathedral at Périgueux and Sacre-Coeur basilica in Paris, as well as French Renaissance and Classical themes. Masqueray's open design allows visitors unobstructed views of the altar and pulpit. Masqueray died in 1917, having completed only a few designs for the interior, which included three of the cathedral's major chapels: Saint Peter's, Saint Joseph's and the Blessed Virgin Mary's. In 1987 the cathedral acquired five bronze bells cast in France. The copper dome was renovated in 2002. In 2013, in conjunction with the restoration of the cathedral's Æolian-Skinner organ by Quimby Pipe Organs, a new organ case was completed by architect Duncan G Stroik. The hand-carved walnut organ case preserves the view of the cathedral's rose window. Human-sized carved angels stand on both sides of the organ case and a statue of Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music, stands on top of the central organ case dome, directly below the rose window. The cathedral is normally open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is also a contributing property to the Historic Hill District. On March 25, 2009, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops declared the Cathedral of Saint Paul to be a National shrine – the first in Minnesota and the only one in North America dedicated to the Apostle Paul. The cathedral is now also known as the National Shrine of the Apostle Paul. The cathedral was visited by Eugenio Pacelli two years before his election to the Papacy in 1939. Nearby Catholic high schools Saint Thomas Academy, Cretin-Derham Hall, and Hill-Murray School use the Cathedral every year for their graduation services. Design The dome of the cathedral is in diameter and high. Warm-colored paint and gold leaf were added during a major renovation of the dome in the 1950s. The exterior walls of the cathedral are Rockville