First of all, I love the Grand Boulevards idea. What a hoot. And what a
way to attract development and interest to long forgotten thoroughfares.
And I agree that perhaps just identifying what's important to remain is
enough.
I have been involved in work in historic districts in this city before. In
response to Wizard's comments, I actually renovated a historic building
without replacing the porches. We used plantings to great the mass that was
originally on the front of the structure. That building is the first
building you see on the right when you enter the city from 35W south and I
think it is a great addition to the city. I bet you didn't even know it was
affordable housing!
And I know that there have been comments about how expensive historic
renovation is, but I think you'll also find that there are methods to
minimizing those expenses and increasing profits by using a historic
building. And yes, the interior of a building can be designated as well.
However, my primary thrust with this thread was to start talking about
re-storing the grandness of an area that could be a jewel in this city and a
great connector between downtown and the neighborhoods. I'd love to hear
more comments and/or ideas?
Russ Peterson
Ward 9
Standish
R U S S E L L P E T E R S O N D E S I G N
"You can only fly if you stretch your wings."
Russell W. Peterson, RA, CID
Founder
3857 23rd Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612-724-2331
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of wizardmarks
Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2000 10:04 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Re: Park Ave. as historic district
It is my understanding, from watching the infamous Healy block come back
together that the requirements for historic districts happen when and if you
have to change the outside of the house. For example, if you have to
reconstruct your porch then it has to be reconstructed back to the original
plan. So, if say a tree fall on your front porch and caves it in and you or
a previous owner has enclosed it, then the enclosure has to go and the porch
returned to the way it looked in 1899 or 1912 or whenever. If you decide to
replace the asbestos siding, it has to go back to clapboard.
Wizard Marks, Central
Barbara Nelson wrote:
> Per Russell's remarks -- why stop there? why not create 1) some type of
> "district" for all the 2) "grand" boulevards?
>
> 1) My understanding is that "historic district" means certain things
> and
> makes upkeep very expensive. So perhaps some other designation and
> historic street lamps or something to alert the passers by that there is
> something special about these places, but avoid the pitfalls of
> "historic" designation.
>
> 2) Re all the grand boulevards. It's my understanding that the early
> city
> planners designated certain streets to be "grand boulevards", to
> encourage development in those directions. Examples are Park and
> Portland Avenues, Kenwood Boulevard, Hennepin Avenue etc. I don't know
> the whole list, but maybe one of our resident history buffs could supply
> that info?
>
> Development, especially privately financed, in Phillips is exciting.
> Franklin Avenue has sagged in the middle for a long time. Let's hope
> that space will be as vibrant there as it is now, on both the east and
> west ends.
>
> Barbara Nelson
> Seward
