Minneapolis Armory

[minnyapple]

Looks like they started. I can see they are working on the roof at least by looking at the vikings stadium cam aerial view.

http://www.vikings.com/stadium/new-stadium/webcam.html

[seanrichardryan]

They've been tuck-pointing the East facade of the last few weeks.

[Wedgeguy]

They've been tuck-pointing the East facade of the last few weeks.

After decades of neglect, I'm sure that they have a lot of work to do both on the inside and out. The plus for them is they can write off a lot as historical renovation which will hope with a big part of the cost. I'm glad they are doing a full out renovation with this building. It has needed it since the Amory left. It is a diamond in the rough right now. Just needs some polishing up now.

[schmitzm03]

Since the armory is on the National Register of Historic Places, but not a City-designated historic resource (at least not that I can tell from the city's historic preservation map), did any of the renovation work have to get pre-approved? I didn't see anything go before the city's historic preservation committee, which would make sense if it isn't a City-designated historic resource. But would some national body have to approve any proposed work?

I ask because from the webcam it looks like they are removing the copper bands on the roof without replacing them. Is that the case?

[Wedgeguy]

I'm sure they will have to have had some HPC approval whether it was local or national. There are very tight restrictions on what can be done when you work on historic buildings. I'm sure that the previous developers had a ton of what can be done and not done already on file, so they should have been able to go off those requirements.

I'm not sure if they would be able to reuse the old copper, but if they want the tax credits then they will have to replace with copper or an approved substitute. There is little leeway when you are receiving tax credits on leaving things off that were not part of the original building when you redo them. I'm sure there are stipulations on the window designs, doors used, and other interior materials. They maybe upgrade for energy efficiency, but they would have to match the style of the time that the building was built or what ever Historic date they were to get from the HPC.

[VikingFaninMaryland]

I think the strictest oversight will be to retain the WPA art deco design "look and feel" and the wall art. I suspect they will be granted some latitude in other areas.

It would be interesting to see if they could open up the north facing wall to allow for seasonal open staging and access to/from the new park. Maybe even one that doubles as an open air seasonal cafe. In the new Eastside, especially with a park and USBank Stadium events, that facility, it would seem, could really be a value add. Almost like if there wasn't something like it, they would have to build it.

That and also, given the fact that the StarTrib building is imminently past tense, it keep the modern Eastside tied to the history of the city. The original home of the original purple and gold, the Minneapolis Lakers.

[schmitzm03]

I'd agree that there should be some sort of historic preservation review for the building, but I am wondering if anyone knows for certain whether a review has actually taken place (or was even required for this particular parcel).

I did some snooping around the Minneapolis property search website and they have four active building permits. The one for the current tuck pointing and roof replacement was issued on 6/19/15 (http://apps.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/PIApp/ ... 2924220031).

There is a heritage preservation flag on the property, but it wasn't issued until 6/25/15. Interesting...this was definitely not reviewed by the HPC because they don't have any open certificates of appropriateness (which I believe are required for anything that is protected).

[MNdible]

My understanding is that if something is considered maintenance and doesn't change historic elements, it doesn't need to go before the HPC. It may need only an administrative review.

Tuckpointing would seem to be an easy example of that. Re-roofing, depending on what the finished product might be, could also fall under that if it wouldn't impact the appearance too much.

[schmitzm03]

So maybe it is safe to assume at this point that any work on the roof will not have a major impact. It just looks like they are replacing the copper bands with a blue stripe, which given its prominence due to the curved roof, would be a shame.

[PigsEye]

To bad they are not adding some skylights! ...Well at least for the planned lobby section.

[MN Fats]

The original home of the original purple and gold, the Minneapolis Lakers.

The Lakers' colors were blue and white when they were here

[PigsEye]

The original home of the original purple and gold, the Minneapolis Lakers.

The Lakers' colors were blue and white when they were here

Quick off topic question... Is it that common when sports teams move they keep the same name and not come up with a new name that helps connect with the local market? IDK kinda seems insulting wouldn't it or is it not that big of deal?

[seanrichardryan]

IDK, ask the Dodgers.

[grant1simons2]

Or the Rams

Also:

DSC_1425 by grant.simons, on Flickr

[mister.shoes]

So maybe it is safe to assume at this point that any work on the roof will not have a major impact. It just looks like they are replacing the copper bands with a blue stripe, which given its prominence due to the curved roof, would be a shame.

Grant's picture is very revealing. I suspect the blue stripe is either a temporary cover over the joint or a protective film of some sort. Look at the left-most blue stripe where it hits that little box on the top. It flips up in such a way that I highly doubt it's the finished product. Also, if you look at the stripes to the right of that one, you can see where the old copper joints are visible at the very top of the roof. Those old joints look like they could very easily fit over these new ones. Perhaps they've saved the old copper and are going to put it back? Or perhaps some new copper of the same profile will be installed over the blue. Either way, I am optimistic that the finished result is going to the faithful to the original.

[grant1simons2]

So I found this on Youtube... Wow

[VikingFaninMaryland]

It's not clear that what your seeing isn't an immediate stop-gap to keep the Armory roof from collapsing owing to neglect until a final redesign is produced and approved. There is a temporary look to it and, if you look at the portion that has yet to be covered, it looks to be in a very degraded state.

I don't think they would reuse the old copper because it would be too degraded but would rather replace it with new copper if that were the plan. While the WPA brick design, art deco and murals are fully protected, a redesign may (or may not) require the roof to retain its curved status (aside from the brickwork). In New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, there are a lot of historic buildings that kept their facade and that is it. Not saying one way or the other here.

Just noting that the roof-work at the Armory we see in the picture looks like its patching over what looks to be a major structural repair/re-engineering effort and that the current work may only be for the purpose of keeping the degradation from further undermining roof integrity until an actual project is approved.

ALSO:

Actually, the Lakers were powder blue and gold.
Bud Grant played for the Lakers and remains the only person to ever play professionally for both an NFL (Eagles) and NBA (Lakers) team.

[Silophant]

I found the NPS documentation for the Armory, and the statement of significance doesn't really mention the roof. So you may be right about the roof not really being protected.

Additionally, the garage wings on each side of the main hall were apparently added in 1960, so those may not be historically protected either. No idea how that works. If they aren't, maybe they could be used for the skyway link that the event center no doubt wants. (Yes, yes, I agree that we shouldn't be expanding the skyways into a historic building, but being the only event space in downtown without skyway access would be quite a competitive disadvantage, too.)

[schmitzm03]

I completely agree that it is not clear if the work they are doing now is final or if there will be future iterations. That is precisely why I'm interested in whether or not there has been some sort of approved plan that might be able to shed some light on the matter.

I'm hopeful that whatever they do will restore what needs restoring and maintain the historic elements to the extent possible. But, we'll see. I'm surprised the armory has not been officially designated as an historic resource by the city (http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/gro ... 104637.pdf). Seems like a no-brainer.

[SixOneTwo]

but being the only event space in downtown without skyway access would be quite a competitive disadvantage, too.)

Muse, Aria, The Depot, Day Block (if that counts as "event space"), and I'm guessing other venues downtown don't have Skyway access. I'm not sure that's a must-have for the Armory.