DTN July 2012

July 2012

Volume 18

Number 7

Your Community News & Information Source

Visit www.stpaulpublishing.com for expanded coverage!

Bill KnightContributor

Josh Collins is over-whelmed with his work.

Talking with him about it, you get the clear message that there isn’t a happier guy in all of Lowertown.

Collins, a communica-tions manager with the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority (RCRRA), has received 266 submis-sions from 155 artists who have ideas for creating pub-lic art at the St. Paul Union Depot.

“This far exceeds the number of submissions we ever thought we’d get, and that’s really good,” he said with great enthusiasm. “Now it’s going to be a chal-lenge to go through them all and pick just four.”

For the past few months

the RCRRA put out the word that it would like to hear from artists who want to show off their talent and creativity at the historic depot, now undergoing a

Union Depot proves to be popular palette for public art projects

Union Depot / Page 2

Photo by James Ramsay, jamesramsayphotography.com

More than $1 million in public art will adorn the renovated Union Depot, which was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Celebrate Independence DayThe city of St. Paul will host a fireworks show at dusk

on the Fourth of July at Harriet Island.

Parking meter replacementThe city of St. Paul will begin replacing downtown

parking meters in July, starting with meters in Lower-town and around the RiverCentre. Most of the heavily used parking areas will have meters that accept credit cards and coins. In some areas, six to 10 parking spaces will be served by a single meter station in the middle of the block. Motorists will enter the number of the park-ing space when they pay at the meter.

Petition against music at FacesA group of residents at On the Park condos has signed

a petition objecting to noise created by a 10-piece salsa band which has been performing at Faces restaurant on Friday nights since September. David Fhima, owner of Faces, that is located on the ground floor of Cray Plaza just below the condos, agreed to move the band from the atrium to inside the restaurant, but the residents said they were still bothered by noise and vibrations. The Downtown Life Committee of CapitolRiver Council/District 17 recommended denial of an entertainment license for Faces until noise level, location and hours of operation can be addressed.

Mary Diedrick HansenStaff Writer

With Light Rail Transit (LRT) construction

along the Central Corridor more than half complete, St. Paul’s Neighborhood Dis-trict Councils Collaborative launched an LRT “walk-ability” survey on May 6 to

learn which areas along the Corridor require sidewalk and street improvements to make it safer and easier for people to travel between LRT transit stations and around downtown.

The survey looked at things such as sidewalk width, sufficient lighting, crosswalks and accessibility

for bikes, wheelchairs and baby strollers.

With survey in hand, Josh Kinney, the St. Paul Riverfront Corporation’s Urban Design coordinator for the Central Corridor project, stood in the plaza outside the Union Depot in St. Paul and took in the sur-rounding vista.

“This is what people will see when they arrive or de-part,” he said. “Notice the lines of the city.”

He pointed to the land-mark 1st National Bank sign above the city, a chil-dren’s park and mural by

First Impressions‘Walkability’ survey sheds light on needed downtown improvements

Walkability survey / Page 7 Josh Kinney leads a walkability survey group.

Page 2 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - July 2012

Your community news and information sourceA rts

The Downtown St. Paul Voice is published monthly and delivered to every apartment, condominium and skyway drop in St. Paul’s historic urban village, as well as other locations throughout downtown St. Paul.

Publisher & Editor: Tim Spitzack Copy Editor: Leslie MartinReporter: Mary Diedrick Hansen Contributors: Roger Fuller, Don Morgan, Bill KnightAdvertising: Mona Toft, John Ahlstrom Home Delivery: Independent Delivery Service Bulk Delivery: SC Distribution 651-285-1119

The Downtown St. Paul Voice assumes no responsibility for the opinions expressed by contributors and for the validity of claims or items reported. Copyright Downtown St. Paul Voice 2012. All rights reserved in compliance of Federal Copyright Act of 1978.

St. Paul Publishing Co.1643 So. Robert St., West St. Paul, MN 55118

Phone: (651) 457-1177 [email protected]

$243 million renovation to become the light rail transit center. Part of that new look is the installation of four pieces of public art that will be scattered throughout the 33-acre site.

“We were hoping to at-tract a broad pool of artists who wanted to apply for the commissions,” said Collins, indicating that most of the submissions were from local artists.

The building is already a historic transportation hub so Collins sees this project as a way to build on its his-tory and memories for fu-ture generations.

“We would like public art to further enhance the ex-perience of walking through the building,” he said. “It’s already a beautiful place and there’s a lot to see. Pub-lic art can tie in, can help make connections between the building and the expe-riences people have walking through it.”

Popular choices by the artists

Two of the entryways to the depot drew the most in-terest from artists. A newly constructed entry to the depot near the intersec-tion of Kellogg Boulevard and Wacouta Street was the most popular site with 85 submissions from artists. This entrance is across from where a parking ramp and a narrow sidewalk used to be. The depot and the new space will merge into three levels served by escalators to the train deck and the concourse that extends over Kellogg Boulevard.

“Here an artist could work with the glass facade or perhaps suspend sculpture within the building,” said Collins, noting this com-mission is for $200,000.

A mural site, to be locat-ed in the carriageway entry to the depot, was the next most popular with nearly 80 submissions.

“It’s essentially a long, blank canvas,” Collins said of the 12-foot-high and

170-foot-wide cement sur-face. Accessed from Sibley Avenue, the carriageway runs the length of the front of the depot. The com-mission for the mural is $150,000.

The main level of the de-pot, called the Great Hall and for many years home to Christos Greek Restaurant, is the third space for public art. This area will look out on a reconstructed pedes-trian plaza and light rail station. The commission for this area is $200,000.

The fourth area is build-ing-wide art that can in-volve many types, including multimedia. “That (project) will require a lot of vision,” said Collins. Commission for this area is $500,000.

Over $1 million earmarked for public art

In light of tight budgets everywhere, Collins said it’s common for people to question why nearly $1.25 million in public funding is being earmarked for public

art. The Federal Transit Ad-ministration is putting up $1 million and the balance comes from a special prop-erty tax levy at the RCRRA.

“(When you consider) a building like the Union Depot, you only have a few opportunities to restore something like this,” he ex-plained. “Maybe this will be the only opportunity. This is a building that has been on the historic registry but it has been neglected and moth-balled for decades. People are getting a fantas-tic piece of history that will be considered beautiful for decades to come.”

The process of awarding the four commissions be-gins with a selection com-mittee, made up of residents from Lowertown, public art professionals, historians and artists.

“The applications that have been submitted are more like a resume or a sample of someone’s art,” said Collins. “It’s a showing of the talent and promise these artists have. The sub-missions do not have any

design ideas or fully-formed concepts.”

The panel will select the artists or artistic teams and make their recommenda-tion by late July to the RCRRA board, which will offer a contract to each art-ist. The artist will develop a full design for their project with drawings and schemat-ics that will be reviewed by the art panel in September. Those designs will also be approved by county and city historical agencies. Work on the art could begin as early as October.

Tour the DepotThe Ramsey County

Regional Rail Authority offers tours of the Union Depot that provide a brief overview of the renovation project, the history of depot and a hard-hat tour of the facility. Tours are limited to 25 people. For more infor-mation and to register, visit http://uniondepot.event-brite.com/

Union Depot from page 1

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Downtown St. Paul Voice - July 2012 - Page 3

Your community news and information sourceT he Fuller Files by Roger Fuller

Saints seek funding

The St. Paul Saints base-ball stadium project is seek-ing $27 million from a $47.5 million fund admin-istered by the Minnesota Department of Employ-ment and Economic De-velopment. If the Saints’ request is approved, it will be combined with another $27 million from the city and the ball club to be used to build a stadium in Lowertown. The Saints are expected to receive compe-tition from civic centers in Mankato and Rochester, as well as from the Met Coun-cil which needs funding for design work on the pro-posed Southwest Light Rail Transit project.

City Passport events

The annual picnic spon-sored by City Passport Se-nior Citizen Center will be held 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Thursday, July 12 at Har-riet Island. It will feature a concert by Revolution 5, a broasted chicken lunch and a choice between a riverboat ride and a river history tour

with David Bredemus.July events at the City

Passport Center, 55 E. Fifth St., Suite 203, include: hap-py birthday party, 2 p.m., Monday, July 9; blackjack, 2:30 p.m., Monday, July 16; blue jean pocket purse crafts, 1 p.m., Monday, July 16; trivia, 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, July 18; writ-ers group, 10:30 a.m., Fri-day, July 20; current events discussion, 11 a.m., Friday, July 20; ice cream social, 1:30 p.m., Friday, July 20; movies at 1 p.m. on Thurs-days.

Central Library events

• Books and Bars will feature a discussion of “The Sense of an Ending” by Ju-lian Barnes at 6:15 p.m., Tuesday, July 17, at Amster-dam, Sixth and Wabasha.

• The History Book Club will feature discussion on “Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA” by Tim Weiner at 2 p.m., Thursday, July 26 at the Central Li-brary.

• Outdoor movies held at dusk on Fridays in the courtyard of the Central Li-

brary include “Mostly Mar-tha” on July 6, “Chocolate” on July 13, “Eat Drink Man Woman” on July 20 and “Big Night” on July 27.

Music in MearsThe schedule of Music

in Mears outdoor concerts held at 6 p.m., Thursdays in Mears Park, includes: Von-nie Kyle, Heat Beats and The Idle Hands on July 12, Corey Koehler, Brian Just Band and Farewell Milwau-kee on July 19, and Mat-thew Santos, Zoo Animal and New Standards on July 26.

Northern Furniture building renamed

The former Northern Furniture building at Sev-enth and Minnesota has been converted into a mod-ern office building and renamed 81 on Seventh. The 105-year-old building has five stories and 55,000 square feet of space. It has new fixtures and furnish-ings on the inside and has retained such features as

Douglas fir columns, high ceilings, exposed brickwork and wood floors. The build-ing is operated by Com-mercial Real Estate Services, Inc., which also manages the Golden Rule Building on the opposite side of Sev-enth Street.

Mississippi Challenge

About 300 canoeists, kay-akers and paddle boarders will stop at Harriet Island in the late morning of Sunday, July 29 for a rest stop dur-ing the two-day Mississippi River Challenge, a fundrais-ing event for Friends of the Mississippi River. The event begins Saturday morning at the Bloomington Ferry on the Minnesota River and concludes Sunday after-noon at Grey Cloud Island on the Mississippi River near Cottage Grove. The event includes an overnight stop at Fort Snelling, featur-ing a cook-out and music. A $250 pledge is necessary to participate. For more infor-mation, visit www.Missis-sippichallenge.org. or fmr.org.

New pocket guide for nature sanctuary

A new pocket guide that shows a map of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary and the trail from Low-ertown to Lake Phalen is available at the Black Dog Café, Golden’s Deli and other merchants in Lower-town. The public entrance to the sanctuary is located near Seventh and Payne Av-enue. However, it can also be reached by traveling east on Fifth Street from the in-tersection of Fifth and Wall.

Roots concert at Mears Park

The second annual Low-ertown Roots Music Festival will be held Saturday, July 28 at Mears Park. Selections of bluegrass, blues and gos-pel will be performed.

Farmers’ Market satellite

The Farmers’ Market is operating a satellite market during the noon hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Seventh Place at Wabasha. About 20 growers offer a se-

lection of vegetables, flow-ers and other farm products.

Zeitgeist concert

Zeitgeist will present “For the Birds,” a program with chamber music and narra-tion, July 12-15 at Studio Z, 275 E. Fourth St. The performers are the Zeitgeist quartet, Art Zupanc and Kevin Kling. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s performance is at 2 p.m.

Free gardening advice from local experts

Ramsey County master gardeners are available to offer free advice on home horticulture, plant and pest diagnostics and other gardening questions. To get answers to your ques-tions, contact 651-704-2071 or www.extension.org/ask. Master gardeners also visit compost sites to answer questions. For hours and locations, visit www.co.ramsey.mn.us/master-gardener/services or call 651-633-3279.

Page 4 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - July 2012

Your community news and information sourceS ample St. Paul

On the TownArtists’ Quarter408 St. Peter St., St. Paul651-292-1359www.artistsquarter.com

The Artists’ Quarter offers live entertainment throughout the month, including jazz bands and poetry nights.

Black Dog Café308 Prince St., St. Paul651-228-9274www.blackdogstpaul.com

Black Dog Café will present a program of American Blues with Nikki Matteson and Rich Rue on Saturday, July 7. George Cartwright will present a jazz concert Monday, July 9. Carl Franzen will sing and

play the piano on Tues-day, July 24.

Children’s Museum10 W. Seventh St.St. Paul651-225-6000www.mcm.org

“Curious George: Let’s Get Curious!” is presented through Octo-ber 7. This exhibit allows visitors to explore famil-iar buildings and locales from the Curious George book series and televi-sion show while learning concepts in science, math and engineering. Tickets are $9.50. Explore the museum free of charge 9 a.m.-5 p.m. the third Sunday of each month.

History Center345 W. Kellogg Blvd.St. Paul651-259-3000www.mnhs.org

“We The People: The First Official Printing of the U.S. Constitution” is presented through July 4. This new exhibit fea-tures a rare, early pub-lished version of the U.S. Constitution and an even more rare draft of the Bill of Rights, along with the original editions of the two state of Minnesota Constitutions.

“1934: A New Deal for Artists” is present-ed through September 30. In 1934, against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the U.S. gov-ernment created the Pub-

lic Works of Art Project — the first federal gov-ernment program to sup-port the arts nationally. A selection of 56 paintings will be on view in the ex-hibit, organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

“The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862” - This exhibit features documents, im-ages and artifacts relating to the war.

Ongoing exhibits - “Minnesota’s Greatest Generation: The De-pression, The War, The

Boom,” “Open House: If These Walls Could Talk,” “Weather Permitting,” “Grainland,” and “Home Place Minnesota.” Mu-seum tickets are $11 for adults, $9 for seniors and college students, and $6 for children ages 6-17.

“Laughter on the 23rd Floor,” a Neil Simon comedy, is presented through July 8 at Park Square Theatre.

Downtown St. Paul Voice - July 2012 - Page 5

Your community news and information sourceS ample St. PaulThe center offers free ad-mission on Tuesdays, 5-8 p.m.

Nine Nights of Music - Free concerts are held 6:30-8 p.m. every Tues-day in July and August at the Minnesota His-tory Center Plaza. Per-formances include: July 3, Southside Aces, New Orleans jazz; July 10, Zydeco, Blues, Swamp Pop; July 17, Surf Dawgs with Zip Kaplan, clas-sic surf; July 24, Moon-light Serenaders with Lee Engele, swing; July 31, Tropical Zone Orches-tra, Brazilian; August 7, Voices of Sepharad, Jew-ish music of the Mediter-ranean; August 14, Paul Metsa and Cats Under the Stars, rock ’n’ roll, New Orleans, country and blues; August 21, Ross Sutter and Friends, Swedish; August 28, The Barley Jacks with Brian Wicklund, blue-grass. In case of rain, performances will be held indoors in the 3M Auditorium. For more information, visit www.minnesotahistorycenter.org/events-programs/nine-nights-of-music or call 651-259-3000.

Landmark Center75 W. 5th St., St. Paul651-292-3225www.landmarkcenter.org

“Expressions of Faith” exhibit - The work of lo-cal artist Kari Wagner will be displayed in the North Gallery of Landmark Center noon-3 p.m., Wednesday through Sun-day, July 5-29. Wagner is known for her water col-or and acrylic paintings of landscapes, seascapes and flowers. Because of her cerebral palsy, she is unable to hold a paint brush in her hand. In-stead, she creates her art-work through the use of an adaptive headgear that holds her brush and al-lows her head movements to dictate her brush-strokes. With the assis-tance of art therapists, Wagner has explored a variety of art mediums to express her feelings and her faith. She will be at Landmark Center noon-3 p.m., July 6, 7, 8 and 21. For more infor-mation about her work, visit: www.kariwagner-artwork.com.

The Music in the Café concert series features the following noontime concerts in July inside the Landmark Center:

July 11 – Lee Engele, jazz  vocalist; July 18 – Nikki & The RueMates, country-blues and folk-rock, including originals; July 25 – Martin Dev-aney, a classically trained musician with a jazz sax background. For more information, visit www.landmarkcenter.org/mu-sic.html or contact Jen at [email protected], 651-292-3276.

Dean Magraw and Marcus Wise will per-form at 5 p.m., Sun., July 8 at PipJazz Sundays. The event is hosted by singer Pippi Ardennia. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. For more information, visit www.pipjazz.com.

Park Square Theatre20 W. 7th Place, St. Paul651-291-7005www.parksquaretheatre.org

“Laughter on the 23rd Floor,” a Neil Simon comedy, is presented through July 8. Chaos is king backstage at the Max Prince Show, a popular 1950s comedy-variety TV series. The stress of slipping ratings is eating Max alive, but his staff hurls nonstop zingers at each other and everyone within earshot. Tickets are $38-$58.

“Into the Woods” by Mu Performing Arts is presented July 20-Aug. 5. A baker and his wife seek to break a witch’s evil curse, sending them on a raucous journey through the woods where they cross paths with Cinder-ella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack and his beanstalk. But in this story, happily ever after is not always what it seems. Tickets are $30-$40 with discounts for seniors and students.

Science Museum of Minnesota120 W. Kellogg Blvd.St. Paul651-221-9444www.smm.org

“Real Pirates: The Un-told Story of the Whyd-

ah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship” is presented through September 3. Don your pirate hat and climb aboard a recreation of a pirate ship. Learn to tie knots and hoist a pi-rate flag. Explore what life was like on a real pirate ship and see more than 200 artifacts from North America’s only au-thenticated pirate ship-wreck. Tickets are $29 for adults and $26 for children and seniors.

“Under the Sea” Om-nitheatre film is pre-sented through Sept. 27 - Take a giant screen journey to some of the most exotic and isolated undersea locations on Earth, including South Australia, the Great Bar-rier Reef and the Coral Triangle islands of Papua New Guinea and Indo-nesia. You’ll come face-to-face with some of the most mysterious and stunning creatures of the sea.

“The Living Sea” Om-nitheatre film is present-ed through September. The film is narrated by Meryl Streep and features the music of Sting. View-ers will discover how ocean waters are connect-ed by currents, tides and water cycles. They will see humpback whales, jellyfish and other mys-terious ocean inhabitants and experience an unfor-gettable Coast Guard res-cue training mission.

Museum tickets are $11 for adults and $8.50 for children and seniors.

Omnitheater tickets are $8 and $7 respectively.

Xcel Energy Center199 W. Kellogg Blvd.St. Paulwww.xcelenergycenter.com

Rock and pop icon Neil Diamond will per-form all of his classic favorites beginning at 8 p.m., Wednesday, July 11. Tickets are $55-$120.

Ramsey County Fair

The 99th Annual Ramsey County Fair will be held July 11-15 at the fairgrounds, 2020 White Bear Ave., Maplewood. The free admission fair offers opportunities for youth and adults to win ribbons and prize money for exhibitions in horti-

culture, arts and crafts, clothing, food, photog-raphy, home furnish-ings and more. Popular events include the talent show, opening night pa-rade, farmer-for-the-day, children’s petting zoo, carnival rides, bands,

fireworks, and the many food choices. Discounted carnival ride tickets are available before the fair starts. For more informa-tion, call 651-770-2626 or visit www.ramsey-countyfair.com.

Office: 763-535-9751• Fax: 763-537-4018Email: [email protected]

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Page 6 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - July 2012

Your community news and information sourceR iver Connections

Reflections from the

RiverfrontTim Spitzack

Editor

Same bench, same time, new musingsEditor’s note: this is the eighth of a 12-part series where I am spending 30 minutes in the same place along the Mississippi River each month to contemplate life in our river town. To read previous articles, visit www.stpaulpublishing.com/mississippiriver.html.

June 8, 201212:30 p.m.76 degrees FOvercast, intermittent light rain

Today the river is high and moving swiftly,

swollen from heavy rainfall over the past several weeks. That rainfall forced the clo-sure of the river for a brief period to both recreational boaters and commercial traffic. According to the National Weather Service, the river crested at 13.09 feet on June 3, which is nearly one foot below flood stage. However, it ranks as the sixth highest rain-driven crest on record. Today, we received more rain, which will add to the volume.

Across from me I can see traffic speeding along Shepard Road. There are vehicles in a variety of col-ors, makes and sizes filled with people navigating their busy lives. I assume few, if any, are aware that they are traveling along one of our nation’s most scenic byways, the Great River Road.

The Great River Road is one of my favorite roads in the country. I have traveled

along scenic byways across the country, from the Pa-cific coast to the Columbia River valley, from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Smoky Mountains, and along the Eastern seaboard, but have yet to find one that matches the grandeur of the Great River Road, particu-larly the section in South-eastern Minnesota. I had the good fortune of spend-ing an entire day in that region last weekend when I helped my daughter move into a rented house near her college, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. That house is less than a mile from the Great River Road, so, after the furniture was unloaded and the boxes un-packed, I decided to follow it home. Normally, I take the Minnesota side, but that day I decided to travel the Wisconsin side. In doing so, I realized how connected I am to the river valley.

My first stop was in Hol-men, where I visited an old college friend. We traded information about our fam-ilies and careers, marveled at our age, and reminisced about old times. When we lamented about some of the challenges that come with middle-age I realized that life nearly 125-miles down-river is no different than at home.

I traveled through the tiny town of Fountain City

and saw a coed group of lit-tle leaguers practicing their skills on a ball field that fronted the river. Although it wouldn’t happen with one of these little sluggers, I’m sure many teenagers have put a hardball in the river. I assume those who do achieve a small degree of fame and eventually a spot on the varsity roster.

From there I went to Trempealeau, where my uncle and aunt keep a summer home within a stone’s-throw of the river. My uncle, a retired IBMer from Rochester, loves the river. As a young man, be-fore neckties and wingtips governed his wardrobe, he and a few friends built a raft and made an unsuccess-ful attempt at floating it to the Gulf of Mexico. They got as far as Southern Iowa before realizing they would not make it in their allotted time. However, the two-week adventure continues to hold a special place in his heart.

What makes driving the Great River Road so enjoy-able is that one is forced to travel more slowly on it be-cause it is mostly two-lane, winding and hilly, and it passes through a town every ten miles or so. These towns are filled with everyday people and ordinary things, void of the corporate influ-ences that permeate all cit-ies.

Alma is one such town. Entering from the South, you pass by the Dairyland

Power coal plant, the town’s largest employer, before en-tering Main Street, which is a mile-long stretch of ram-shackle homes and com-mercial establishments. During our annual Memo-rial Day weekend canoe-camping trip on the river near Wabasha, Minn., my son and I love to canoe over to Alma and have breakfast at a wonderful diner on the north end of town.

Alma is a classic example of a town that is trying to in-vigorate itself. Interspersed among the longtime com-mercial establishments are a few retailers operating bou-tique businesses that cater to out-of-towners. You can get espresso and gourmet ice cream here, but only in a few places.

According to the many lawns signs for and against the recent re-election of Gov. Scott Walker, it’s easy to assume that Alma resi-dents are political, if not al-ways politically correct. On the outskirts of town is the high school. Its mascot is “The Rivermen.” I wonder what the female students think of that?

Next is Nelson, which is well-known for the cheese curds and ice cream served at The Original Nelson Cheese Factory. This vil-lage is located across the river from Wabasha and is a popular stop for many trav-eling the river road. A few miles from there, nestled in the bluff country, is the Stone Barn, which serves

wood-fired pizza. We visit-ed the restaurant this spring and dined outside, with the foundation of the old stone barn surrounding us. It was a unique and pleasurable experience.

After Nelson, the towns get smaller and are a little farther apart, but the scen-ery is spectacular. As you wind your way around Lake Pepin, a wide area of the riv-er, it’s easy to see why Father Louis Hennepin, one of the area’s earliest explorers, described the river as run-ning through “two chains of mountains.”

As I drive through Maid-en Rock, I see the whimsical sign of the Smiling Pelican bakery. We have friends who live in Hastings who make the nearly 80-mile round-trip trek to that bakery. At first it seems ridiculous that they would drive that far to

get sweets. However, once you’ve traveled the river road and have breathed in the beauty of the country-side — and you know that they are making the trip in their Mustang convertible, top down — you know it’s an excellent idea.

Once I’m in Prescott, I’m back in familiar terri-tory and am getting closer to home. The Great River Road runs directly in front of my house so I stay on it until my turn arrives. I’m guilty of traveling this road every day and not re-membering its significance. However, on days like that one, when I slow down and appreciate my surround-ings, I am reminded of how lucky I am to live where I do. I pulled into my drive-way feeling relaxed, re-freshed and connected. The river valley is my home.

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Downtown St. Paul Voice - July 2012 - Page 7

Your community news and information sourceC ommunity

the Twin Cities Public Tele-vision building and other murals and artists lofts. Will those walking to and from the hubbub of the Union Depot be able to get safely and easily to their destina-tions in St. Paul? That’s what Kinney wants to find out.

“We want the city to say ‘yes’ to visitors,” he said.

Union Depot will be a highly visible location. Its $243 million redesign will transform it into a multi-model hub for light rail, Jefferson Bus Lines, Metro Transit East End busses and bicyclists. A bike repair shop and storage area for

bikes will be on site. Also expected is an electric car charging station. Amtrak also plans to relocate its trains to the Union Depot from the current Midway location.

Kinney started his walk by moving across the street along Wacouta. He not-ed how inviting the trees along the boulevard are, but also that some of the grills around those trees were loose. One block away, Mears Park was awash in color, greenery and people. Food trucks bustling with customers were parked along the sidewalk.

As a sign of good urban

planning, Kinney pointed out a parking ramp on Sixth Street with horizontal lines that hid the cars parked in-side.

“It doesn’t say ramp, which makes it more ap-pealing to the eye,” said Kinney. “It also has first-floor retail. More eyes on the street make pedestri-ans feel more safe.” Old-fashioned three-bulb street lamps lined the street for added charm.

Leaving the shaded block and crossing to the sidewalk between Sixth and Seventh, a noticeable change oc-curs. Being less sheltered, the heat of the sidewalk is more apparent, as is traffic noise. Gaps in green spaces are also very noticeable, and

he noted that there were lights only on one side of the street.

Turning the corner onto West Seventh Street, he found a wide sidewalk and fast moving traffic but no greenery.

“The city is interested in investing in safety and ac-cessibility improvements, but has little funds avail-able for beautification,” said

Kinney. “Yet, it’s evident how much beautification adds to the flavor of the city and enjoyment of visi-tors exploring the city on foot. Businesses need some type of incentive to make it green.”

Heading back to the Union Depot, he discussed accessibility of ramps into buildings to enable those with limited mobility to

move more freely. He ob-served sidewalk stone art-work that is being repaired and the variety of archi-tectural building designs around Mears Park. Visitors are able to view the Missis-sippi River from the south end of Mears Park, which pleases Kinney, who wants St. Paul to celebrate its con-nection to the river.

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Page 8 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - July 2012

Your community news and information sourceB ack in Time

July 1912: the circus and Saengerfest came to townDon Morgan

Contributor

Summer in Minnesota has a few constants:

heat, humidity and fear of tornadoes. In an election year like this one politics get pretty hot as well. Then there are vacations, sports and attending shows and concerts. A century ago folks in St. Paul did all of that. The big music event of the month allowed them to welcome a great many visi-tors to the city.

July 1912 saw a trou-bling number of disasters around the country, includ-ing a subway explosion in Milwaukee and deadly rail crashes in Pennsylvania and Illinois. But the biggie for the month happened to the north in the town of Re-gina, Saskatchewan, where a tornado tore through its downtown crowded with people celebrating Domin-ion Day. The death toll was 28, with hundreds more injured. One hundred years later the “Regina Cyclone” remains the deadliest in

Canada’s history. Later that month a “cyclonic storm,” as they were called then, killed three in the Twin Cities (along with 20 cows when a barn collapsed.) Locals looked to Canada and considered themselves lucky.

Other summer activi-ties in 1912 seem familiar today. A presidential elec-tion was set for November and there was talk of a third party candidate entering the race. In addition, 1912 was an Olympics year and folks in St. Paul got up-dates in the daily papers of the games in Stockholm. Americans led all nations with 25 gold medals, which then were real gold. Back at home, the Golden Rule held a month-long vacation sale with the slogan “the most pleasant vacation of your life.” In those days the stores had not yet started rolling out fall sweaters and winter coats in the heat of July so shoppers could still get cameras, luggage, fish-ing gear, bathing suits, etc.

The Great Northern rail-

road had a summer special for lodge members head-ing to Portland for the na-tional Elks convention. A $55 round-trip ticket got you to the Northwest with a stop at Glacier National Park. Also that month, one could test drive and buy a new Studebaker Flanders 20 ($885 for the “fully equipped” model, meaning top and windows included). The cross for the then-un-der construction Cathedral of St. Paul was blessed in a ceremony led by Archbish-op John Ireland. It would be raised into position atop the cathedral dome the fol-lowing year.

It was in the last two weeks of the month that the two big events came to town, and people were ready to celebrate. Most of the Independence Day cel-ebration events, including a big parade, were washed out by heavy rainstorms. In fact, damp dominated the month as temps in the nine-ties and record humidity turned St. Paul into a giant sweat box. It was so muggy

that matches wouldn’t light and plaster dripped and oozed off walls and ceilings. In the days before air con-ditioning, there was noth-ing to do but suffer along, so people were happy when the circus and the Saenger-fest came to town.

The Ringling Brothers circus had been around since 1884 and played the Twin Cities many times, with shows in both Minne-apolis and St. Paul. During its heyday it must have been a sight to see. Traveling in a 75-car train, the production set up west of the Capitol at University and Victoria and proceeded to build a “canvas hippodrome that will make the Auditorium look like a dollhouse.” More than 1,200 people and 600 horses made up the travel-ing show, along with lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, etc.

Before there were many automobiles, the circus could parade the animals through downtown on a workday without a big traf-fic tie-up. The 1912 circus parade began on a Wednes-day at 10 a.m., traveled down University to Waba-

sha, around downtown and back out to the grounds. The two shows that day were packed despite the heat. The crowds saw a big opening show titled Joan of Arc, followed by the three-ring show format with all the favorites, including high wires, flying trapezes, trick riders and human can-nonballs. A number of local kids got jobs carrying water to the show animals (with the less lucky cleaning up after the elephants). The troupe chugged out of town after only one day.

Right on the heels of the Ringling Brothers came a much bigger deal, the Saengerfest of the North-western Saengerbund. A competition of German language singing groups, the festivals had often been used in Germany to make political statements and generally rabble-rouse. The competitions in America were much less political and more a part of an attempt to keep German language and culture alive in the United States. Every city with a sizeable German-American population had a number of singing societies, and competitions could be fierce. The rivalry between the St. Paul and Milwaukee “bunds” was intense, pre-dating any Vikings versus Packers fervor by about 70 years. The Northwest As-sociation held its compe-titions/conventions every two years, and 1912 was St. Paul’s turn to host. The festival lasted three days and brought more than 100 societies and thousands of visitors to the city.

Despite oppressive weath-er, all was ready the morn-ing of July 24. The first of

many passenger trains ar-rived at Union Depot at 5:30 a.m. and they kept coming all day. The opening ceremony that night packed the Auditorium. After a greeting by Mayor Herbert P. Keller, the crowd sweated through some German fa-vorites, including selections from Wagner, Schubert and Bruch. This was an Ameri-can crowd, though, and the evening was closed by an all-chorus rendering of “The Star Spangled Banner.”

The competition began in earnest the next day, with divisions for large groups, small groups, groups with soloists, a cappella groups and cantata groups. All songs were sung in German but the programs (about 20,000) were printed in English. The Auditorium was filled to capacity for all of the competitions and local businesses had a great week. Especially popular were the receptions and par-ties at the Hamm, Schmidt and Yeorg breweries. Saengerfest and the month of July ended with a huge picnic on Harriet Island. Tons of beer, kraut, wurst, potato salad and strudel and more German music made for a happy end to the month.

A couple of major wars and the passage of a century have pretty much killed ef-forts to keep the German language active in America, but Saengerfests remain popular. Two of the biggest can be enjoyed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and in New Braunfels, Texas. And you don’t need to be German to attend. Beer and bratwurst are still a good combina-tion.

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