The current building opened its doors on December 13, 1930. It was only the second municipal building in Ely and with only one remodel done in 2014 - 2015, the building still functions well as the home of Ely's city government, fire hall, and police station.
This building once housed exhibits of the human and natural drama of the Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Later, after the United States Forest Service moved to other quarters, the building became the International Wolf Center.
This building looks exactly the same today as it did when built back in the 1930s. On the interior there are murals of miners and wildlife painted during the Great Depression through the New Deal art projects by Minnesota artist Elsa Jemne.
Group awaiting the arrival of the train with the body of Governor John A. Johnson. Gov. Johnson died unexpectedly in office at the age of 48 on September 21, 1909.