Good news from Duluth! Preservation prevailed before the Duluth City Council last night when the council decided, on a 6-3 vote, not to overturn the Duluth Heritage Preservation Commission’s denial of a permit to demolish the St. Louis County Jail. In January, the St. Louis County administration applied for a demolition permit for the historic jail, which was listed as one of the Alliance’s 10 Most Endangered sites in 2004 and again in 2008. The jail is part of the Civic Center Historic District, a Daniel Burnham-designed example of the City Beautiful movement, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and a designated Duluth Heritage Preservation District. The HPC denied the permit application on March 24 and the county appealed to the City Council, as is allowed in the Duluth Heritage Preservation Ordinance. Thankfully that ordinance also has a provision that allows the City Council to overrule the HPC’s decision “only if the project is found to be consistent with the U.S. secretary of interior’s recommended standards for preservation projects.”
After passionate but well-reasoned testimony by numerous supporters—I counted at least 20 people who spoke in favor of preserving the jail—a couple City Council members admitted that they had changed their minds. Following an hour-plus-long meeting of the whole, this one item on the public hearing agenda was discussed for over two hours. Speakers included members of the Duluth Preservation Alliance, Royce Yeater, who is director of the Midwest Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Abbott Apter, who sits on the board of the Minnesota Historical Society, and an architect, structural engineer, and preservation specialist from Collaborative Design Group. And, of course, yours truly as the Partners in the Field field representative for the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. (I apologize if I lost some of you there, but that’s my official title and I’ve never been more proud to say it.)
While those of us who advocated for preservation of the jail are reveling in our success today, we know that there is a great deal of work ahead of us. We at the Alliance are eager to work with the county administration and preservation supporters in Duluth to form a task force that can lead the jail forward into the future. I think we all feel like we need to take a breather for a couple of days, but the same time, we’re eager to get started. Stay tuned for periodic updates, and send us your reuse ideas at PAMfieldnotes@gmail.com
Obviously the vote wasn’t unanimous and there’s plenty of nay-saying going around. (If you like reading the counter argument—and can do so without danger of raising your blood pressure—read the News Tribune BUZZ blog (especially the comments) and form your own opinion.) Although we’re energized and confident at this point, we might be fighting an uphill battle, which in Duluth is not hard to do thanks to the topography and the political climate. One thing is certain, though—while all the costs are speculation at this point, the consequences of demolition would be absolute.
A special thanks goes out to those of you who responded to action alerts issued by the Duluth Preservation Alliance (and forwarded by the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota) by contacting the Duluth City Council or writing to the News Tribune. The word “alliance” has never been more apt—again, thank you for your support!
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