Going Against the Grain in Minnesota

It looks like a waterfront grain elevator complex in St. Paul, Minn. will be converted into an interpretive center, giving the abandoned buildings new life. City officials accepted construction bids for a $2 million program that has been in the works for the past 10 years, according to Preservation Online.

The structures, built in 1917, are the last of their kind along the Mississippi River. The sack house, which had been used to package grain, will be turned into a picnic site with an interpretive center inside on the buildings’ background. The head house, which was used to store grain, will be also saved for possible reuse.

“This is a project that interprets our industrial past,” local preservationist Bonnie McDonald told Preservation Online. “It’s going to explain why our heritage is so important.”

This entire project grew out of a 2003 design competition initiated the St. Paul Riverfront Corporation, which got entries from 37 states and five foreign countries, according to director of special projects Gregory Page. St. Paul-based development group ADRZ won the competition.

The new center should open next year. “It will give people a neat new way to experience the river while also learning about its importance in St. Paul’s navigational history along the Mississippi,” Carol Carey, executive director of Historic St. Paul, reportedly told Preservation Online.

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