Saint Paul Walks

In our ongoing attempts to make Summit more walkable, we're happy to support: St. Paul Walks: Citywide Pedestrian Safety Campaign Saint Paul Walks is the new citywide pedestrian safety campaign! We work to make St. Paul safer for people of all ages to get around by foot, stroller, or wheelchair through awareness, education, and outreach. Everyone is a pedestrian at some point during their day - once they leave their car, bike, or bus. Every intersection is a crosswalk, whether it's marked or unmarked - it’s the law. Our goal is to make the streets safer for everyone and provide a voice for pedestrians. A coalition of volunteers from across Saint Paul have joined together to focus on getting drivers to slow down for pedestrians. Do you care about pedestrian safety? Do you want to ensure that the roads of Saint Paul are safe for everyone? Join us in building a citywide pedestrian safety campaign! · Sign the pledge to Stop for Pedestrians at www.stpaulwalks.org and receive a free bumper magnet! · Follow us on facebook: www.facebook.com/stpaulwalks · Contact Callie Recknagel at callie@macgrove.org or 651-695-4000 to learn more and get involved.

Skating on Summit

Saint Paul has its fair share of skating rinks at its rec centers. They usually have warming houses; some, like Groveland, even have their own zambonis; and of course, there's the skating rink set up off of Rice Park, by Landmark Center, for our own sense of Rockefeller Plaza. But, for the true old-fashioned neighborhood rink sense, nothing beats the small rink at Nathan Hale park.

We hit it today with a kindergartener with a new sense of skates, after feeling housebound with the recent spate of cold. Even on a beautiful winter day, it was quiet and peaceful. It had been shoveled somewhat, and not long after we arrived, a woman arrived who proceeded to skate about gracefully while clearing snow with the shovel she brought from home (a move that greatly impressed our daughter).

It's not a fancy rink. But there's a bench to tie on your skates, and a homey sense, and lots of neighbors walking by with their dogs, and great views. 

Highly recommended.

Snow Emergency - December 17

(Editor's note:  Finally, maybe, we'll get the streets clear!)

From:
http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=905

Saint Paul has declared a Snow Emergency, beginning Tuesday, December
17th, at 9:00 p.m.  All Night Plow Route plowing will begin at this
time.

We are declaring a snow emergency to clear all of our streets curb to
curb. This is necessitated for several reasons:

• We received several inches of snow over the last several days from
several small snow systems.

• Temperatures began rising Monday and are expected to remain in the
low twenties to low 30's through Thursday, loosening the compacted
snow on the residential streets.

• With parking bans it allows us to minimize the cars we plow around
and eliminate as many windrows as possible before the cold sets in
again. (These windrows are a problem once it freezes again.)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R-mZKh0Kzc


All snow emergencies start with Night Plow Routes at 9:00 P.M. on the
day of the declared snow emergency.

Plowing begins on Night Plow Routes at 9:00 P.M. and continues through
the night into the morning until the snow is plowed to the curb.
Parking is banned on these routes until snow is plowed all the way to
the curb. This plowing operation takes 8 to 12 hours to complete
depending on the amount of snow. Night Plow Routes are typically the
busy streets -- marked with signs that say "NIGHT PLOW ROUTE" -- plus
one side of north-south residential streets with signs that say "NIGHT
PLOW ROUTE THIS SIDE OF STREET."

PLEASE NOTE:  A number of north-south streets located in the north
central section of the city which were previously designated as Day
Plow Routes have now been designated as Night Plow Routes.  More info
and map here.

All downtown streets are on the night plow route.


Day Plow Routes begin the following morning.  There are no signs on
Day Plow Routes.  Plowing starts after the night routes are plowed,
which is typically around 8:00 A.M.  Parking is banned on these routes
until snow is plowed all the way to the curb.  The Day Plow Routes are
the east-west residential streets PLUS one side of north-south
residential streets -- the side WITHOUT the plowing signs.  There are
some exceptions to these rules but they are all well marked.

The tagging and towing continues for 96 hours after the snow emergency
has begun.

For 24-hour Snow Emergency information call (651) 266-PLOW (7569) for
an up-to-date recording of current snow emergency conditions or (651)
266-9700 to talk to Street Maintenance personnel.

Macalester-Groveland Community Plan

Help the MGCC out by participating in their community planning process! And help SARPA out by indicating that "historic preservation" is one of your top issues! Win-win!

Planning for 2023:

The Macalester Groveland Community Council (MGCC) is working hard on your behalf to fulfill its mission: Fostering citizen participation in government and community decisions that make our neighborhood a desirable place to live, work, learn and play. A key focus of MGCC’s work for the next 16 months is the revision of our neighborhood’s community plan. This plan, revised every ten years, becomes part of the City of St. Paul’s plan. With the force of law, it will guide development in our neighborhood for the next decade. Do you remember what our neighborhood was like ten years ago? How about twenty years ago? Thirty? Forty? What changes have been made in the last decade which we now take for granted? Think smart phones, tablet computing, wi-fi. What do we want this neighborhood to be like in 2023? What steps do we need to take now so that it continues to be a desirable place to live, work, learn, play?

Through December 31st, we are asking neighborhood stakeholders four questions:

1. What do you love about the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood that is essential to keep?

2. What might we improve over the next 10 years?

3. What should we start or create in Mac-Groveland that isn’t here now?

4. What should we stop doing?

We want to hear from you: homeowners and renters, business owners and workers, students, representatives of educational and faith institutions and many others are critical to this process.

Help shape the future of this great neighborhood as we plan for the next decade. To participate online through December 31st, go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/macgroveplan.  

Thanks!

Holiday Shopping - Great Houses of Summit Avenue and the Hill District

We're thrilled to have the authors of Great Houses of Summit Avenue and the Hill District kick off our Lecture Series on January 9!

More information coming soon!

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When was the last time you drove down Summit Avenue and wondered what those beautiful historic mansions look like inside?

Architectural photographer Karen Melvin wondered the same thing as she walked the street at dusk and marveled at the beautiful things she saw inside the houses built more than 100 years ago by railroad magnates, lumber barons, captains of industry and the merchant class.

Images of the interiors and exteriors of these homes and mansions, built from civil war time to the early 1900's, are now on display and in full color in the new book, Great Houses of Summit Avenue and the Hill District (Big Picture Press, Oct. 2013, $54.95). Released just in time for the 2013 holiday season, the book includes Summit Avenue and the Hill District's most important houses - six of which are in areas like Crocus Hill, Ramsey Hill and the Summit Hill neighborhoods.

Until now most of us could only experience these houses from the street, but thanks to Melvins' new coffee table book, the doors to 24 of these remarkable architectural gems are open for all to see, featuring the amazing architecture and detail of a bygone era.

“I wanted to take people inside to see the beautiful design choices that were made by original architects," said Melvin, who conceptualized the book a few years ago while walking down Summit Avenue photographing the Classical design details on the facades of the houses. There are more than 400 images in the book, which not only serves as a catalog of St. Paul’s most stately homes, but a history of one of the most famous Victorian boulevards in America.

"You will see a range of house style and size, but my main criteria was to feature houses that have been restored to their original grandeur, especially the interiors,” said Melvin.

Fascinating stories penned by four award-winning writers accompany the hundreds of colorful photographs Melvin took after being invited into the homes. The authors are architectural historian Paul Larson, who has written many books of history featuring St. Paul and architect Clarence Johnston; Bette Hammel, an architectural journalist and widow of the founder of HGA Architects, Dick Hammel; Melinda Nelson, who writes about beautiful living and lifestyle from the homeowners viewpoint; and Dave Kenney, who writes not only about a house's history, but also the present day owners and renovation.

Melvin recruited the authors to work on the project after making the decision to self- publish the book. Melvin’s first two books with author Bette Hammel, the highly popular Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka, which came out in 2009, and Legendary Homes of the Minneapolis Lakes, released in 2012 (MHS Press), are both regional bestsellers.

Melvin is proud to have had the foreword for her latest title written by one of St. Paul’s most famous residents: longtime Summit Avenue resident Garrison Keillor, host of the American Public Media radio variety show, A Prairie Home Companion. In the foreword he wrote, “What remains and is so clear in Karen Melvin’s lovely pictures is the fine workmanship of the buildings, the stonework and brickwork and wood carving and cabinetry and carpentry of thousands of anonymous men... who rode the streetcars or climbed up the hill from the flats... to work on the construction crews six days a week, ten hours a day.”

"It has been a wonderful journey meeting the homeowners and getting to know St. Paul in a more intimate way. All the homeowners were very welcoming and wanted to share their story with readers. But then again, that’s St. Paul - friendly, close knit and proud of their traditions in architecture. It's really like our little Europe," said Melvin.

Copies of Great Houses of Summit Avenue and the Hill District are available for purchase at Common Good Books, Barnes and Noble and other fine bookstores and gift shops throughout Minnesota. The book is also available online. Autographed copies are available by ordering direct from the publisher at www.summitavenuebook.com.

Member Holiday Party

Member Holiday Party

at the home of board member Carolyn Will

Friday, December 6, 2013

5:30 - 7:30pm

1583 Summit Avenue (at Summit and Snelling)

Come explore this fascinating home, built by a bootlegging family during the height of Prohibition!

Look forward to seeing you there.

(Though it's just for members, you can join that night! A household membership is just $30 and is entirely tax-deductible)

Drinking for Preservation!

Head over to the other side of the river tomorrow night, and enjoy a pre-Thanksgiving pub crawl!

The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota tells us:

It’s time for our Historic Pub Crawl Series to return to Minneapolis! We’ve explored downtown and NE Minneapolis and now wanted to make sure that we hit up one of Minneapolis’ historic commercial corridors.

Historic Pub Crawl: Minneapolis (Lyn Lake)
Tuesday, November 26th
5:30-8:30pm
$10

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

The Lyn-Lake area, centered around the intersection of Lyndale and West Lake, is one of the city’s most distinctive neighborhoods. The core commercial district is one of the oldest in South Minneapolis, thanks in part to its strategic location along several early streetcar lines. Over time the neighborhood evolved from the blue collar industrial worker to a more bohemian community. Even today, the Lyn-Lake neighborhood has maintained a very diverse community for those who live, work, and play in the area, all the while balancing the historic character of the community.

We’re going to be visiting Moto-i, Herkimer Pub & Brewery, and Lyndale Tap House. At each of our drinking establishments we’ll be sharing some cool facts about the buildings and the neighborhood and we’ll also do a little trivia with prizes.

With all that in mind and a nice mix of historic drinking establishments to explore, we invite you to our Historic Pub Crawl: Lyn-Lake Neighborhood.

We hope you’ll join us!