Letters - April 2023

SADDENED BY DECISION TO DESTROY HISTORIC HAMLINE LIBRARY BUILDING
I am deeply saddened that our mayor and city council are planning to demolish this beautiful building. So many elected officials have blinders on and cannot see future use of these historic buildings. These buildings were constructed far better than the new buildings and have such great architectural features that are not in today’s designs.
Remember how beautiful the old St. Andrews Church was? The Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis let the German immersion school have the building if they promised to use it. The use was short-lived and it was demolished and a more modern structure was built in its place. It looks very out of place in the neighborhood.
In Europe, old buildings dating as far back as the 14th and 15th century still exist. The Europeans are very proud of their old granaries, windmills, water towers, barns, blacksmiths, chapels, etc. These buildings have been well maintained, repurposed, and redesigned with modern conveniences inside. Many of them are featured in a program, “Escape to the Country,” on 4.3 DABL channel on TV. Here, our elected officials, rich business executives, etc., cannot wait to rid our cities and countrysides of the old structures. The Midway Bank at Snelling and University was torn down to make room for parking at the oversized outdoor toilet known as Allianz Stadium. What happened to all the marble that was in the old Midway Bank, and what will happen to all the materials used to build the old Hamline Midway Library? Will it go to a landfill? Why are we recycling our plastic bottles and containers? Seems we are a very wasteful country from our elected officials on down.
Another thought: why would anyone travel to St. Paul and Minneapolis to see a modern structure similar to those in Dallas, Los Angeles, or any other big cities? I prefer to forgo those places and see beautiful buildings like the Hamline Midway Library.
Audrey Clasemann
Como Park

We’re excited about new library
My family and I are among the many neighbors who are excited for the reconstruction of the Hamline Midway library. The countless hours that my kids and I have enjoyed in its beautiful old building have also made us intimately familiar with its limitations – the tiny downstairs hallway making bathrooms inaccessible, the limited spaces for meetings and events, and the isolation of many spaces from staff supervision.
I’ve been very frustrated to watch the disingenuous campaign by a small group of self-appointed “defenders” of the library, claiming that SPPL could make the building accessible, adaptable, and efficient if only it cared to. The public engagement process, which my family and I have provided input to at every opportunity, included consideration of several options for complete or partial preservation of the old building, but the expenses and constraints involved in those scenarios were no secret. It’s hard to imagine that anyone who has spent significant time in the building would be surprised to learn that it could not easily be expanded, retrofitted or moved. A complete reconstruction offers the opportunity for the new building to be designed for all the kinds of gathering, work, pleasure, and services that we come to our neighborhood library for, which are much broader than what the current building was designed for a century ago.
I will be sad to see a beloved old building go down, and I wish that there had been a practical way to adapt it to new needs, but I appreciate the thoughtful engagement that SPPL has gone through in the development of the new design, and I am excited to have a library that has been custom built for the needs of our community.
Adria Fernandez
St. Paul