urbanMSP

Somewhat oddly, work to remove the medallions is beginning today, despite the fact that the building will not be coming down until at least next year. It also sounds like they will be saving the lettering on the facade:
http://www.startribune.com/blogs/249292941.html

When I heard the medallions were coming down on Monday I biked down here quickly to see the action. It was pretty slow going. They were only doing test cuts to see how far they need to go to take off the medallions in the coming weeks.





Here's a wider shot of the development area. I'm going to be following the changes over the next few years for a documentary project I'm working on. Feel free to email me if you see something going down in the Downtown East area that's worth documenting.

All of the beautiful marble, limestone, and aluminum metalwork should be salvaged. It would be a shame to throw it all away.

When I heard the medallions were coming down on Monday I biked down here quickly to see the action. It was pretty slow going. They were only doing test cuts to see how far they need go to take off the medallions in the coming weeks.

Here's a wider shot of the development area. I'm going to be following the changes over the next few years for a documentary project I'm working on. Feel free to email me if you see something going down in the Downtown East area that's worth documenting.

If your goal is to really document this project(s), you should consider taking some regular shots from the Government Center law library (public/free) on the 24th floor. Perfect view of downtown east and is taller than the proposed buildings so you have a consistent vantage point from start to finish.

The view from the law library is great, but the windows are dirtier than all get-up and the library may even being going through some renovations in the somewhat near future too

The view from the law library is great, but the windows are dirtier than all get-up and the library may even being going through some renovations in the somewhat near future too

Shooting from inside is rarely a good choice. I don't necessarily plan on reproducing the same shot, but this angle is reproducible.

The best idea that I have heard for preserving/commemorating the Strib building would be to rebuild the entire "portal" with the medallions and the lettering. This could stand in the park and be a very cool folly/way of preserving the history.

I know, everybody's got an opinion and all, but I'm mystified that people (especially those with design training) continue to think le Arc de' Strib is a good idea.

That would be L'arc de Strib. I think it's a little ridiculous but also kind of awesome.

I know, everybody's got an opinion and all, but I'm mystified that people (especially those with design training) continue to think le Arc de' Strib is a good idea.

I'm mystified that the Strib building is disdained by so many. If a one story brick building in Dinkytown is a historic asset this surely is. The least the city could have done is put out an RFP to see if anyone is interested in saving part or all of the building.

There's no "neighborhood constituency" over there, so it makes it easy for a "transformative" city government and a massive land owner to get something like this through. Not that I think either Strib or the Dinkytown building are historic enough to save. But different politics in play.

To be clear, I have no disdain for the Strib building, or at least not for the facade that it presents (the interior is a jumbled mess). It's a very handsome building. But for me, there's a lot of territory between not having disdain and fighting to save the thing (especially when saving it could disrupt a major redevelopment that I think will be a force for good in the city).

Thanks for the clarification. It's a dead horse at this point and I am happy to see this side of town turned into something more than parking lot city.

I did want the Strib building brought along for redevelopment of this area. I even pushed my HPC commissioner friend to do what was necessary to save some of the building.

The ULI design contest last year very clearly showed us what was possible with this building and the surrounding land. If Ryan and the city didn't see the ULI design contest than maybe they could have looked at the Hearst building in New York for inspiration. Unfortunately a clear view of the skyline from the stadium was a more important asset for the city, Ryan, Wells Fargo and, I presume, the Vikings too.



Creative reuse of our important architecture can create a more vibrant city. A great city is a mixture of new and old side by side. Maybe the view for Vikings fans wouldn't have been as good, but the development could have been something very special with a repurposed Strib building included.

I LOVE adaptive re-use projects like the one above, or even on a much smaller scale! Blend the old with the new.....that should be the approach each and every time somebody wants to build something new where something old and beautiful currently sits. At least, that should be considered every time.

I know, everybody's got an opinion and all, but I'm mystified that people (especially those with design training) continue to think le Arc de' Strib is a good idea.

This is just one opinion but if there is going to be an effort made to preserve/commemorate this building then it should be meaningful and it should do something "architectural." Wiping out the building, taking down the medallions and putting them on a plaque achieves NOTHING other than ticks off a box called "historic preservation."

To use your pejorative, "le Arc de' Strib" actually does something meaningful and architectural and would appear to be at a good scale relative to the scale of "The Yard", the stadium, et cetera.

What do you not like about a nicely scaled nod to history that displays the supposedly important architecture in its original context?

But what does it represent, other than a dying newspaper business? That's my problem with "le Arc de' Strib".

But what does it represent, other than a dying newspaper business? That's my problem with "le Arc de' Strib".

I'm not particularly thrilled about the building itself, but I suppose it should be noted that the newspaper business might be dying, but the media business isn't. I have no doubt the Strib will eventually move to a new format. There will always be a place for local/regional news that cable can't really do on a nationwide basis (and local TV doesn't really do much hard-hitting, always-on coverage).

But what does it represent, other than a dying newspaper business?

Represents an era of an industry, an industry that shaped the community.

Devil would be in the details, of course, but an arch as part of a park could have been a nice focal point ("meet me under the Strib Arch") for the space, and provide shelter and shade during rain or heat.

A lot of good public spaces have an area to shelter in or logically meet at, whether that's a band shell or a clock, or something else. We tend to do poorly at that in America, parks with nowhere to shelter, or private indoor spaces.

Will they have decent public bathrooms in this park with year-round plumbing and access? That'll be a good test of how committed people are to making this park work.

A simple landmark/folly/meeting place would be an excellent "use" for this element. The "arch" or "portal" would need to have some thickness in order to stand up, it would be a great place to build in a bathroom on each side. Utilitas.