Forty years ago this month, the Old Federal Courts Building reopened as St. Paul’s Landmark Center after significant community effort for its preservation.

To mark the occasion, an anniversary event at the iconic 1902 building Thursday featured the re-creation of a historic photograph from the 1978 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

It included former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer, former Minneapolis Mayor Don Fraser as well as representatives of the late U.S. Rep. Bruce Vento’s family.

“We almost lost it, but we now preserve and reuse the building,” said Amy Mino, executive director for Minnesota Landmarks, the nonprofit that operates the Landmark Center. “The celebration (was) a re-dedication to the landmark.”

The building was the first in Minnesota to be added to the National Register of Historic Places, according to Mino, who said it set the architectural tone for the neighborhood.

“In 1978, the Rice Park neighborhood didn’t look anything like it does now. The Landmark Center being adaptively restored and renewed changed all of that,” Mino said. “I would love to see it be part of the continued vibrancy and emergence of St. Paul as an urban center.”

The photo re-creation and reception accompanied remarks made by Latimer and the reading of a letter from former Vice President Walter Mondale, who was in the original photo but could not attend the event.