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| Gone. A victim not of its own success, but its neighbors’. For most of its life this was one of the medium-sized office blocks that lined Nicollet; I think it was built as a three-story structure around 1910, with a few floors added in the 20s. The ground floor was remodeled probably around the late 40s or early 50s. No one ever paid this building much attention, though. The Medical Arts building across the street was larger, cleaner, whiter; this one felt like the place where the lesser doctors went, the ones with degrees from small schools in small states. The rest of the block was composed of two-story commercial structures - the American Linen building, lovingly restored in the 80s and knocked down in September of 1999; a two-story commercial annex to the P & S building, destroyed September ‘99, and a three-story (I think) office block that housed some truly funky businesses towards the end of its life. It went down a few years ago. Replacing all these buildings: a Target store. This is not entirely bad - in fact, it’s a bit of a blessing. Downtown has no medium-tier retailer; Target will fill the void left by Penney’s. The buildings needed demolition because the city is growing, not because the area is decrepit and decaying. The new Target store won’t be a faceless castle, either; the Nicollet side will be lined with small, individual stores, restoring pedestrian interest to the street. It could be worse. Next: more pictures and demolition photos. |
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