We were busy
SHSA members are volunteers who donated sweat, tears, money, family time, free time and PTO hours to the cause. We’ve spent hundreds of hours organizing, researching, canvassing, calling, protesting, door knocking, listening, discussing, meeting, learning, and follow all legal means to save St. Andrew’s from demolition. We’ve also found potential solutions for TCGIS to consider, we found qualified architects who would provide pro-bon services to find solutions, all were rejected.
St. Paul’s Heritage Preservation Commission voted 9 to 1 in favor of making St. Andrews a Heritage Preservation Site
Some of our activities:
Attended District 10 (D10) and TCGIS meetings
Authored op-ed for St. Paul Pioneer Press
Built a mailing list
Conducted two Community Forums and invited the public
Distributed over 150 lawn signs throughout Como Park
Gathered input from neighborhood preservation organizations and groups
Hosted dinner and ice cream social to encourage participation between neighborhood and TCGIS.
Literature drops of hundreds of flyers
Letter writing campaigns
Located St. Andrew’s architect Charles Hausler’s granddaughter through a genealogy search
Weekly SHSA meetings to strategize, organize.
Media outreach and interviews
Neighborhood door knocking
Offered to host a “design charette” to brainstorm solutions for TCGIS, free of charge several times, always rejected.
Planning and fundraising
Peaceful protests
Received over 600 petition signatures in summer of 2018
Received over 900 petition signatures prior to demolition in 2019
Research
Social media outreach via Facebook pages and website
Worked with city officials from Department of Safety & Inspections, Planning & Economic Development, and Heritage Preservation Commission
Community Forum
In October, 2018, SHSA held its first community forum attended by nearly 100 people that included an impressive speaker panel that addressed myths of heritage preservation, our nomination submitted to the Heritage Preservation Commission, and adaptive reuse options.
The speakers included:
Thomas Fisher, Director, Minnesota Design Center at the U of M, and Dayton Hudson Chair in Urban Design. Mr. Fisher is a graduate of Cornell University (architecture) and Case Western Reserve University Intellectual History). Fisher met with TCGIS leaders to explore basic design constraints and expressed his belief that with appropriate help a design could be found that would meet the school’s programmatic and financial requirements while simultaneously saving St. Andrew’s from demolition.
Click here to view Thomas Fisher’s presentation.
Rolf Anderson, Architectural historian. Mr. Anderson was the lead consultant for our historic designation study, which led to the nomination of St. Andrews for historic preservation. He has extensive experience in designation research and is program chair for the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians.
Click here to view Rolf Anderson’s presentation.
Bob Roscoe has had an extensive career working in architecture and preservation and served for 21 years on the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission. He knows what is at risk when our historical landscapes are erased, what is gained when they are preserved, and how to persevere through contentious disagreements. We are grateful that he was one of our 'first-responders’ once we learned of demolition.
Click here to view Bob Roscoe’s presentation.
Roy Neal, Co-founder of Historic Hamline Village, board member of the Hamline University Neighborhood Advisory Committee (HUNAC), founding member Save Our St. Paul Neighborhoods and SHSA member. Roy is an advocate and community organizer on historic preservation and environmental sustainability, has a BA in history, and has worked in historic sites for the Minnesota Historical Society.
Click here to view Roy Neal’s presentation
Kevin Anderson, SHSA member and our subject-matter expert on zoning and variance procedures.
Click here to view Kevin Anderson’s presentation.
Anna Mosser, Professor at the U of M, SHSA member, historic designation project lead. Anna was the emcee for this forum.
At the conclusion of this event, Thomas Fisher and other notable architects offered to do a collaborative design exploration in which all stakeholders in a project attempt to resolve conflicts and map out and refine these solutions. TCGIS declined this offer.
