The High Line City Park is a converted elevated railroad line that runs up the west side of lower Manhattan from just below 12th St. up to 30th. The el was an active freight line from 1934 to 1980 and then was abandoned and lay dormant for about 20 years. Initially, business interests in the area lobbied to have it demolished so that they could use the land underneath the line for development. Their efforts failed in the face of opposition from those who wanted to re-establish rail service. That goal wasn’t achieved either and it wasn’t until 1999 that the movement began to acquire the property and turn it into a public amenity.

The first section of the park opened in 2009 and the second section was completed earlier this year. It’s a remarkable piece of urban design and has many, many unusual features. It’s the first park that I’ve had to climb a flight of stairs to enter. There’s a horizontal waterfall and over 200 species of hardy plants throughout the length of the park. Some of the rail bed goes right through buildings and most of its route traverses the west side at mid-blocks, not over the avenues, so there are fascinating perspectives of the surrounding architecture. At one intersection an urban theatre was constructed so that park-goers can sit and watch the vehiclular traffic below.

Almost no crime has been committed in the park since its opening, but there have been several lawsuits from citizens who have fallen and broken bones. The walking surfaces  have uneven edges that require care in maneuvering. You need to keep your eyes open! I’ve read that the park has spurred economic development along its length and we observed lots of construction as former warehouses are gentrified into high-end retail.

The park was mobbed during the two hours we spent in it. I don’t know if that was typical or unusual, but I had the sense that it’s a draw for both residents and tourists alike. I highly recommend a visit the next time you’re in the City. In the meantime, take a tour of the album of photos I snapped.

Manhattan’s High Line Park

As I’ve mentioned before, the Finseth Bandshell was on the St. Olaf College campus for  decades and at one time there was a small gazebo in Central Park. But there has never been a permanent structure owned by the City and placed on public land. Many towns in Minnesota and across the country have such legacy amenities. A couple of weeks  ago I visited Lake City, MN on the shores of Lake Pepin and found a band stand in Patton Park, a lovely green space in the center of town.

When I was in Ireland recently, I came upon this very thing in Dublin’s St. Stephen’s Green. A signboard on the premises indicated that there was at least one weekly use of the facility during the entire summer. One of the reasons that there aren’t more outdoor performances in Northfield during the summer is that few organization have the budget to pay for use of the Northfield Showmobile multiple times. A permanent band stand requires no additional setup or take down! (outside of chairs and music stands, of course!)

So I guess what I’m saying is, can we find the money and the moxie to fund this deficiency in our fair city? Are there enough folks for whom this would make a difference in their quality of life? I would answer both questions with a resounding “Yes!” Now I just have to find them. But before I start, let me show you what you can do if you’ve got the money, the location, the moxie, and then some. I give you Red Wing, Minnesota.

Well, I have some good news to report. Successful graduations occurred in the past month for hundreds of high school and college students in our fair city. And several physical changes are occurring that will make some of us happy when we see them or use the facilities that are being constructed.

I was out riding recently and when I got to the south end of the Peggy Prowe Bridge, I noticed a new trail heading off along the Cannon River toward Dundas. I’ve been keenly following the plans for a trail connecting Dundas and Northfield on the east side of the river, but didn’t know that the work had progressed this far. I started off on the crushed rock trail and followed it for nearly a mile until it ended just south of the Northfield Ice Arena. (It’s been paved since I took this photo.) When this gets to Dundas, bikers and walkers will be able cross the river and pick up the Mill Towns Trail on the west side for a return trip to Northfield. A six mile loop end-to-end!

A couple weeks ago I watched with growing anticipation as more and more equipment arrived on the property behind the Crossing of Northfield and power shovels and bobcats started doing surgery on the river bank. I’m not the only one who has been disappointed that when the bottom fell out of the real estate market three years ago, all work on the Crossing project, including landscaping, came to an abrupt halt. Can it be that the current property owners (Highland Bank) are actually going to make the place look better? Here’s what it looked like by the end of the week.

The outdoor track at Carleton’s Laird Stadium is being replaced as I’m writing this and the football field has already been resodded. On the north side of the West Gym the practice fields which were totally submerged last fall have been swept clean of sediment and are now sprouting new blades of grass.

Carleton’s Weitz Center for Creativity is about a month away from occupancy (assuming that the City will allow a waiver to the college to  hire private inspectors as substitutes for the state inspectors who are unavailable due to the government shutdown!) and the bike lanes on Union and Fourth Streets that provide the Mill Towns Trail with a city through-connection have been newly striped after conclusion of the resurfacing project of the past two summers.

And moments ago, the USA Women’s Soccer Team won their quarterfinal match against Brazil in a penalty kick shoot out after 122 minutes of play. Wow.

If I don’t look for the good stuff, I might just crawl in a hole, close my eyes, wait for the storm to blow by, and cross my fingers that I make it through. And that’s no fun.

We threw open the doors in 2002 and within weeks we knew that we had a winning formula that Northfield booklovers craved. As the years ticked by it was clear that we had increased the local bookbuying purchases by at least 30%. That was keeping dollars in the local economy that would otherwise have been spent online or at the big box stores in the south Metro. Unfortunately, the volume wasn’t enough to sustain the business plan that we required for long-term success.

After seven years of valiant effort by Manager Jon Lee and his staff, it was clear that we weren’t going to break into the for-profit column for many years and it became necessary to stop the blood-letting. It was a sad day for all of us involved in this labor of love to tear down what we had built, but we did what we had to do. I thought it would be fitting to post some memories of those years and highlight the good work of our booksellers. What could we have done if our little town had 40,000 inhabitants instead of 20,000?

Bookstore #7 since 1970

About ten years ago I started paying close attention to life on the street in Downtown Northfield MN. Over that decade, I’ve noticed that business entities ebb and flow like the tide. That is, it’s not uncommon for storefronts to empty and fill with a predictable regularity, often on the order of 5-10 a year.

Periodically, folks see these transitions and use them to challenge the conventional wisdom which says that Downtown Northfield is healthy and strong. Some years it seems as though the district is in decline because the transitions happen in a very narrow window of time and suddenly, 6-8 storefronts go dark simultaneously.  The reality seems to be that life on the street in Downtown Northfield isn’t easy, but  on average, is evolutionary and sustainable, given proper nurturing and well-maintained  infrastructure. I’ll show you what I mean.

Lockwood Building Makeover

A few weeks ago I decided to quantify this evolutionary story and see how many names I could actually remember from the past decade of business transitions. I think I did pretty well, but I know that I didn’t get them all. I also wish that I had been doing this all along so that I could add the year in which they were born, moved or perished. At any rate, as unscientific as this exercise was, a few things are clear. We’ve lost 62 businesses over the past ten years and gained 85 businesses.  That would be a net gain of 23 businesses over the period.  We’ve lost an average of 6.2 businesses a year and gained an average of 8.5 businesses a year.  That would be an annual gain of 2.3 businesses per year.

We miss you Brian

A couple of observations follow from these stats. For the overall local economy, the picture is even brighter, since some of the businesses that moved are still in operation. When I refer to a business as “lost”, I simply mean that the downtown district was reduced by one business. Also, this index doesn’t offer any insight into revenue status for the district so the growth I’m showing is in business units only. For example, in one case, a business closed and the physical space was subdivided into three smaller shops. I have no way of knowing if the cumulative revenue of the new businesses is greater or lesser than the revenue of the closed business. Given the fact that we’ve experienced two recessions during the decade, my guess is that overall volume may be lower, but the fact that the buildings continue to be occupied and the occupants are conducting business is a good indicator of relative economic health.

I don’t know if this little project will bring happiness to anyone, especially with the heavy property tax burden that continues to be a major problem for owners of historic buildings, but that’s fodder for another post. Right now, suffice it to say that I believe the downtown district has a viable, healthy economy and has adapted well to large market fluctuations. The next big challenge it faces is the possible loss of the Bridge Square Post Office, a traffic magnet. More on that later.

POSTSCRIPT 5/16/11

This appears to be a topic on which I expend a fair amount of mental energy. Cruising back through time, I found that I posted on the same theme about four years ago: http://bit.ly/mEw8XW.

So . . . there’s a $5 billion deficit to make up in the 2-yr budget for 2012-14. And what do our fine legislators propose to do about it?

One way to deal with a wayward budget is by cutting the Meals on Wheels program by $2.7 million. You remember that one, it’s designed to bring meals to senior citizens and other folks who basically can’t leave their domiciles due to infirm conditions or illness and can’t afford to have food delivered by others. That seems extravagant to me, don’t you agree?

Black Walnut canopy

Then there’s the visionary idea of harvesting timber from our state parks. Apparently, someone figured out that the black walnut trees found in a couple of southeastern Minnesota state parks would be ripe for the pickin’ and bring a windfall to the state coffers. The figure I heard was $100,000 maybe. No one knows for sure because this hasn’t been done before. And since it would decimate the existing trees, it’s really a one-shot option. That’s surely a sustainable plan.

Of course, letting internet retailers like amazon.com ignore the legal obligation to collect  sales tax on online purchases instead of receiving the hundreds of millions of dollars that are involved is prudent financial stewardship of state resources in my opinion. How about you?

There’s a bill that seeks to remove the poor from Minnesota’s UCare health care safety net because it’s more respectful to let them purchase their own health insurance, even though the high deductible is more than their ANNUAL income! Once again, trying to balance the budget on our most vulnerable citizens.

Some want to cancel collective bargaining rights for public employees; does anyone really think that the anti-union attack will stop there? Just because Wisconsin is doing it doesn’t mean Minnesota should.

I appreciated the candor and sincerity of a clergyman from Chaska in a StarTribune opinion piece earlier this week. Gordon Stewart wonders why some folks define themselves only as taxpayers and not also as tax benficiaries. All the tax dodging that’s going on is eviscerating our standard of living.

My list is getting kind of long. There’s obviously a lot of creative juices flowing in St. Paul these days, but I can’t forget to mention my favorite issue in this issue-oriented political environment: pro-choice for light bulbs! Yep, there are some who feel that mandating the move to compact flourescent light bulbs is a conspiracy destined to undermine the Republic. Thanks to Michelle Bachmann, H.R. 5616 is back in play in 2011.

Long live incandescence!

Apparently, in a context of a $14 trillion national debt and negotiations over $40 Billion in spending cuts,  the arguments of the past week have involved some millions of dollars of federal funding for Planned Parenthood chapters throughout the country. Minnesota stands to win/lose $3.7M in funding for 2011.

The rhetoric over this issue (as in many cases in the current political climate) revolves around the word “abortion”. Ironically, this particular argument  is about title X legislation, which does pay for pap smears, breast exams, and birth control for poor women, but DOES NOT pay for abortions, no matter what the talking heads say. So the stalemate has been total political theater. What bullshit.

We were about to furlough 800,000 federal workers, not pay our military service people on active duty and shut down parks, museums, and other federal sites because we thought it was unecessary to provide medical assistance for women below the poverty line who cannot pay for reproductive health care on their own. Good on us.

I’d like to offer a partial solution that doesn’t seem to be particularly partisan yet doesn’t appear to be on anyone’s radar at the moment.  There are e-commerce retailers (read websites that sell stuff) that are legally obliged to collect sales tax on their transactions with Minnesota customers (if they meet certain criteria) and are refusing to do so.  amazon.com is the biggest offender.

The law says that if online retailers have “nexus” in the state of Minnesota (or any other state), then they must collect and pay the appropriate state sales tax. Nexus is defined as having a physical presence in the state. Physical presence can be a bricks-and-mortar store, a warehouse or distribution facility, or a corps of “affiliates”. This definition has been challenged and upheld in federal court.  An affiliate is a person or company with a website that is commissioned to make a percentage of a sales transaction originating in a link from their website to the e-commerce retailer. amazon.com has thousands of “affiliates” in the state of Minnesota.

Many other e-commerce retailers are currently complying with this law in the state of Minnesota, including Walmart.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Is there any reason why amazon.com won’t comply?

Probably because compliance would cost them a competitive advantage and lower their profits. Well, boo-hoo.

While amazon.com is defying federal and state law, Minnesota taxpayers are losing out on  over $200 million in uncollected sales tax revenue. Are you kidding me? Why aren’t our legislators in St. Paul demanding that this stop?

Since 2008, 4 states (New York, Rhode Island, Colorado, and Illinois) have passed legislation to force amazon.com to comply with state tax law. Texas has sent amazon.com an invoice for $269 million in unpaid sales tax. What has the response been? amazon.com has sued the state of New York and lost. In Colorado, amazon.com has fired all of its affiliates (over 10,000 businesses). In Texas, amazon.com has announced that it will close its Dallas distribution facility and cancel it’s future plans for additional distribution facilities in the state. These moves are quite clearly examples of extortion.

In Minnesota in 2009, this issue was addressed in an omnibus tax bill, but the amendment regarding e-commerce sales tax was withdrawn under threat of a veto by then Governor Pawlenty. Who’s yer daddy, T-Paw?

Let’s get this situation back on track in Minnesota. We have a budget crisis that’s real and scary. Why would we not enforce laws on the books if it means additional revenue for the state and its taxpayers? Please let your legislators know that you support enforcing this state statute.

For more information, visit the American Booksellers Association website. You’ll find the history about this fight and templates for letters that you may wish to send to your elected officials.

Winter Walk, 2009

I told myself that when I succeeded in replacing the worn out downtown holiday decorations, I could  focus on building a bandshell in Northfield. I organized a committee to work on the holiday project in 2008 and by mid-2009 we had achieved our goal. $20,000 later we had banners and snowflakes in place for the 2009 holiday season. It was a magnificent outpouring of civic pride and commitment . . . and in the midst of a serious economic downturn! Everyone who gave more than a penny to assist in this effort deserves an enormous round of applause.

That was more than 12 months ago. We’re currently enjoying the second season of these decorations. They’re as fresh and lovely as they were when we debuted them over a year ago.

Now it’s time to consider a different goal.

Every midwest town worth its salt has a bandshell: a public place where community bands, community theater, and other public events can be staged during spring, summer and fall. Cannon Falls, MN has one and so do Faribault, Owatonna, and Red Wing. I haven’t made a study of it, but there are many other bandshells in Minnesota. I’ve attended a concert at the bandshell in Two Harbors and I’ve visited the bandshell in Winona, MN.

Winona, MN Bandshell

Winona, MN Bandshell seating

Recently, I was inspired to give life to  my bandshell obsession by Joy Riggs, a blogger colleague @ My Musical Family. Joy writes passionately about the bandshell in Iowa Falls, IA. She also references the only bandshell ever erected in Northfield, the Finseth Bandstand, built in 1910 at St. Olaf College. The City of Northfield has never built a bandshell, despite a 150-year history of musical greatness arguably unrivalled by any other Minnesota community its size. Never. How come?

The Finseth Bandstand, c. 1910

The Finseth Bandstand, extant on the St. Olaf campus from 1910 – 1967, finally succumbed to the college’s need for expansion space. It was replaced by the Science Center in 1967.

During the 1980s, rather than look for a permanent location for an outdoor performing venue, the City of Northfield put its efforts into purchasing  the Wenger Corp. “Showmobile”, a stage on wheels that can be deployed anywhere in the City or surrounding area where an outdoor performance is planned. The downside of this strategy is that the device has to be assembled prior to the performance and disassembled after the performance, resulting in expensive and unpredictable labor costs.

It’s clear that this topic needs more space than one measly blog post can provide. I’m going to sign off and promise to return soon with “We Want a Bandshell, Part II.”

A new idea for me is the concept of bike lockers. It seems so sensible to provide lockers to protect bikes from the elements and the potential for theft for those who ride regularly. It would be more convenient to provide indoor, secure bike parking, but if that’s not possible, this is the next best solution and Denver already has it.

Traveling up and down 16th St. in front of the bookstore was a fleet of buses with bike racks and kneeling technology so that riders don’t have to step up to enter the bus. Wonderful stuff.

The tree grates in the sidewalk were at least a foot above the topsoil in which the trees were planted so the possiblity that they could be disturbed by trunk or root growth seemed very remote. What a refreshing idea!

We saw good signage, kiosks, and sidewalk furniture and flower pots for aesthetic appeal. I don’t know the whole Denver story by a long shot, but the downtown streetscape elements were OK by me.