Frank D. Marzitelli was born on February 25th, 1914 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The son of Italian immigrants, Marzitelli grew up in St. Paul's predominantly immigrant Levee neighborhood, located on the river flats under the High Bridge that was later cleared of houses after floods in 1951 and 1952. He attended public schools, graduating in 1931 from Mechanic Arts High School. After finishing high school, Marzitelli first worked at Purity Baking Company, where he joined and became very active in the Bakers and Confectionery Workers Union Local #21. He served as a union official for fifteen years. In 1950, with the help of the unions, Marzitelli was elected to the St. Paul City Council where he served until 1957. Major accomplishments included the abolition of the Department of Education and creation of the Independent School Board, the expansion of the branch library system, and the founding of the Saint Paul Arts and Science Council. Marzitelli never earned a college degree, but took extension classes in business, economics, and government at the University of Minnesota over a period of fourteen years.
Although his six years on the city council were his only service in an elected office, Marzitelli continued to serve in state and municipal government in a diverse series of appointments including Deputy Commissioner of Highways (1957-1961) and Executive Vice President of the Port Authority of St. Paul (1961-1972). In 1972 Mayor Larry Cohen appointed Marzitelli as St. Paul's first city administrator. Governor Wendell Anderson appointed him Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Highways in 1975, and he went on to serve with another state agency from 1976 to 1978 as Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Welfare.
Marzitelli joined and held offices in a number of volunteer organizations. He served as president of Minnesota Good Roads, Inc., from 1967 to 1979. He was also active in numerous service and fraternal organizations, including the Elks, the Knights of Columbus, and the St. Paul chapter of UNICO, an Italian-American service organization, for which he served as president.
Marzitelli devoted much of his talent and energies to culture and the arts. He served as board member to Theatre Saint Paul, Chimera Theatre, Great American History Theatre, Minnesota Museum of American Art, United Arts, Minnesota Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and the Twin City Jazz Society. During his years in municipal government, he served on the board of Minnesota Landmarks and played a major role in accomplishing the restoration of the Old Federal Courts Building as a home for arts organizations, later renamed Landmark Center. In 1975 he was appointed to the Civic Center Theater Project by the mayor of St. Paul. In 1978 he became President of the St. Paul-Ramsey Arts and Science Council, and in 1980 assumed management responsibility for the location, design, construction, and funding for the new Ordway Music Theatre, later joining its Board of Directors as Secretary and Consultant.
Another focus of Marzitelli's work in St. Paul was the development of hospitals and health care facilities. He contributed twenty years to the board of St. Joseph's Hospital, five of them as its president, and also served on the board of Associated Capital Hospitals.
Marzitelli married Helen Misch of Independence, Wisconsin in 1938. They became the parents of seven children. Frank Marzitelli died on August 15, 2000 at age 86 of congestive heart failure.
Personal papers of Frank D. Marzitelli, a lifelong St. Paul resident who made a career of service in municipal and state government as well as civic, fraternal, and service organizations, particularly in the areas of health care and the arts. Papers consist of speeches and records of organizations in which he was active, as well as a small amount of biographical material. Organizational records include minutes, agendas, newsletters, financial records, memoranda, correspondence, and other related material primarily from the board of St. Joseph's Hospital, Associated Capital Hospitals, the St. Paul Council on Arts and Sciences, and Minnesota Landmarks. Also included are smaller groups of records related to Marzitelli's work in the Minnesota Highway Department and his service in UNICO.
Additional material relating to Marzitelli's service as state Highway Commissioner, on the St. Paul Port Authority, as St. Paul City Administrator, and on the state Department of Public Welfare were transferred to the Minnesota Historical Society State Archives collection. Additional records from UNICO were transferred to the University of Minnesota's Immigration History Research Center.
These records are divided into the following five sections:
Papers of the Baker and Confectionery Workers Union Local 21, St. Paul, Minnesota, are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.
Organizational records of the United Arts Council and Services (formerly the St. Paul Council of Arts and Sciences) are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.
Records in the Minnesota Historical Society State Archives collection as described above in the note on the scope and contents of the collection.
Records of UNICO are available at the University of Minnesota's Immigration History Research Center.
Accession numbers: 15,077; Archives 997-112
Processed by: Lara D. Friedman-Shedlov, November 1997; July 2002
Catalog ID number: 09-00319904
Personal and biographical material in the collection consists primarily of an extensive series of speeches given by Marzitelli in his capacity as Deputy Commissioner of Highways, Executive Vice President of the Port Authority of St. Paul, and Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Highways. They are arranged in two sequences, a chronological series spanning the period from 1957-1971 and 1975-1976 and a series arranged alphabetically by the name of the speech. The latter group of speeches date from 1975 to 1976. Biographical material includes photographs, resumes, press clippings, and programs from a 1973 testimonial dinner and an 80th birthday celebration.
St. Paul Hospitals records include materials from two organizations, the board of St. Joseph's Hospital, on which Marzitelli served for twenty years, and Associated Capital Hospitals (ACH), a nonprofit corporation formed by several downtown St. Paul hospitals to implement shared programs and coordinate physical planning. St. Joseph's Hospital records (1961-1978, 1981) are arranged in chronological order and include mainly meeting minutes, agendas, and related material, primarily from board meetings from the years 1961-1978 as well as some executive and other committee meetings. Note that in 1971 the Lay Advisory Board was dissolved and Marzitelli continued his service as a member of the expanded Board of Trustees. Also available are proceedings of some of the hospital's annual meetings and topical files. Materials concerning Associated Capital Hospitals include a series of board of directors minutes (1969-1974), executive committee minutes (1971-1974), audit reports and other financial records (1970-1974), and an alphabetical series of topical files. Of particular interest are a series of documents relating to the preparation of a master plan for the corporation prepared during the period from 1969 to 1971. These reports provide a picture of the health care industry and discuss the challenges facing urban St. Paul hospitals in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Records documenting Marzitelli's work with the St. Paul Council of Arts and Sciences consist of administrative records, information about member organizations and other arts organizations in Minnesota, and files concerning funding sources. Administrative records include bylaws, articles of incorporation, minutes, memoranda, financial reports, and other related materials.
Marzitelli's many years of work as Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner of the Minnesota Highway Department are represented by only a small amount of material in his personal papers. Additional relevant material may be found in the Highway Department records in the Minnesota Historical Society State Archives Collection. Material in the Marzitelli papers includes materials from Minnesota Good Roads, Inc., a voluntary organization of citizens united to promote better and safer highways; and speeches, articles, and other literature concerning highways.
Marzitelli's membership and service in UNICO, an Italian-American service organization, is documented by only two files. A folder of correspondence primarily concerns the appointment of an individual to the post of Vice Consul of Italy. The second folder concerns the planning and holding of a testimonial dinner in honor of Marzitelli in February of 1973. Additional material, including records of the board and other administrative units, annual meetings, and the scholarship committee, were transferred to the existing collection of UNICO records at the University of Minnesota's Immigration History Research Center.
These files document Marzitelli's service on the Civic Center Theater Project as an appointee of the mayor of St. Paul, where he served both as a member of the Building Committee and as Chair of the Public Funding Sub-Committee.
Files documenting Marzitelli's work as president of the non-profit organization Minnesota Landmarks, which worked during the late 1960s and the 1970s to save the Old Federal Courts Building (later renamed Landmark Center).
Includes the incorporation of Minnesota Landmarks.
Correspondence concerning a conflict with Ellerbe Architects, which was in the process of forming subsidiary real estate development organization called Landmarks Corporation.
Correspondence and related materials concerning the establishment of the Governor of the State of Minnesota as a "corporation sole" for the purpose of preserving and utilizing the Old Federal Courts Building under the terms of the federal laws in force at the time.
Promotional materials from this festival held as part of St. Paul's celebration of the Bicentennial are a good source of summary information about the history of the building and struggle to preserve it.
Notes and correspondence concerning the decision to change the name of the Old Federal Courts Building to Landmark Center.
Materials documenting Marzitelli's role in working behind the scenes to bring a domed stadium to St. Paul.