Conference Schedule
PreserveMN 2022, 42nd Annual Statewide Historic Preservation Conference
Duluth, September 14-16, 2022
PreserveMN 2022, 42nd Annual Statewide Historic Preservation Conference
Duluth, September 14-16, 2022
Broaden your circle of friends and acquaintances while trying delicious whiskeys and food – and tour Minnesota’s most significant historic estate!
The opening reception will be held at the historic Glensheen Mansion and estate in conjunction with Glensheen’s “Whiskey Wednesday,” an outdoor event which is open to the public. Conference attendees will be able to savor a fine whiskey (or other beverage), get dinner from a local food truck, and tour the historic house. Note: drinks and food are available for purchase; access to the house is included in the conference registration.
The Glensheen Mansion on Lake Superior, designed in the Jacobean Revival style by architect Clarence H. Johnston for Clara and Chester Congdon and their six children, was built between 1905-1908. The Congdons named the house Glensheen or “shining glen” in honor of Chester’s ancestral home in Surrey, England.
Glensheen is following guidance and safety procedures issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the State of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota, and the American Alliance of Museums.
Greysolon Plaza Lobby, 231 E. Superior Street
Coffee, tea, and water will be provided on Thursday and Friday, but there will not be a continental breakfast.
Greysolon Plaza Ballroom, 231 E. Superior Street
Amy Spong, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
Alice Roberts-Davis, Commissioner, Department of Administration and State Historic Preservation Officer
Honorable Emily Larson, Mayor of Duluth
Senator Jen McEwen, District 7
Representative Liz Olson, District 7B
Michael Koop, Certified Local Government Coordinator
Greysolon Plaza Ballroom
Meghan Elliott, New History; Jon Commers, Visible City; Andy Madson, LHB; Andrew Nelson, Windsor Engineers
Vacant since 1995, the historic St Louis County Jail is currently being revitalized as 33 units of housing, with completion in December 2022. This two-part presentation provides an overview of the project, lessons learned, and strategies for redevelopment of severely distressed historic buildings. Part 1 will present the design challenges and solutions for the obsolete jail building. This includes archaic structural systems, nonfunctional heating and cooling, and lack of infrastructure, parking, pedestrian access, and interior circulation. Part 2 will discuss the financing of a complex redevelopment. Sources of capital included federal historic tax credits, state historic tax credits, tax increment financing, American Rescue Plan Act, grants, and others.
Zeitgeist Arts Center, 222 E. Superior
Alexandra Wenzl and Jessica Fortney, U.S. Forest Service
The Northwoods of Minnesota have been significant landscapes for recreation opportunities for the public for decades. These sites tell an important story about how developed recreation and site design has evolved over time. This presentation will explore ways to view these sites as cultural landscapes instead of historic districts to allow for greater management flexibilities while advocating for continued historic use and preserving character defining features. The talk will also highlight recent maintenance projects funded by the Great American Outdoors Act.
Greysolon Plaza Moorish Room
Amy Spong, Catherine Sandlund, Leslie Coburn and Michael Koop, MN SHPO
The Minnesota Statewide Historic Preservation Plan 2022-2032 was formally reviewed and approved by the National Park Service on December 23, 2021. The new Plan represents the culmination of a three-year statewide collaborative process of gathering insights and learning from the public, stakeholders, and many partners. It outlines how we can achieve the state's vision by accomplishing five broad Plan Goals that focus on partnerships, access to information, equity, economic benefits, and sustainability and climate resiliency. Come and hear about how the Plan shares a vision for historic preservation and learn how all Minnesotans can work together to preserve and protect the diverse historic and cultural resources across the state.
Greysolon Plaza Ballroom
Dr. Anton Treuer (pronounced troy-er) is Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and author of 19 books. He has a B.A. from Princeton University and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He is Editor of the Oshkaabewis (pronounced o-shkaah-bay-wis) Native Journal, the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language. Dr. Treuer has presented all over the U.S. and Canada and in several foreign countries on Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask; Cultural Competence and Equity; Strategies for Addressing the “Achievement” Gap; and Tribal Sovereignty, History, Language, and Culture. He has sat on many organizational boards and has received more than 40 prestigious awards and fellowships, including ones from the American Philosophical Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Bush Foundation, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. His published works include Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask; The Language Warrior’s Manifesto: How to Keep Our Languages Alive No Matter the Odds; Warrior Nation: A History of the Red Lake Ojibwe (Winner of Caroline Bancroft History Prize and the American Association of State and Local History Award of Merit); Ojibwe in Minnesota (“Minnesota’s Best Read for 2010” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress); The Assassination of Hole in the Day (Award of Merit Winner from the American Association for State and Local History); Atlas of Indian Nations; The Indian Wars: Battles, Bloodshed, and the Fight for Freedom on the American Frontier; and Awesiinyensag (“Minnesota’s Best Read for 2011” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress). Treuer is on the governing board for the Minnesota Historical Society. In 2018, he was named Guardian of Culture and Lifeways and recipient of the Pathfinder Award by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums.
Greysolon Plaza Ballroom
Regine Kennedy and Lindsey Wallace, 106 Group; Keith Baker, ReConnect Rondo; Zakcq Lockrem, Asakura Robinson
In 1956, Interstate 94 tore through the heart of St. Paul’s thriving African American Rondo neighborhood. ReConnect Rondo has a vision to bring prosperity back to Rondo by working to “revitalize the Rondo community with a land bridge that reconnects Rondo and reignites a vibrant African American cultural enterprise district in Saint Paul.” Communities of color have historically been underinvested in and undervalued. While more inclusive storytelling and decision-making are gaining traction, shifts in preservation governance structures, policies, and best practices have been slower to develop. This discussion will address how to rethink preservation practices to prevent contributing to gentrification and displacement.
Greysolon Plaza Moorish Room
Tony Dierckins, Publisher, Zenith City Press
Developed from his book, Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture: 1870–1940, author Tony Dierckins introduces you to the iconic architecture of the Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas – from its Romanesque masterpiece “Old Central” High School to its famed aerial bridge to Daniel Burnham’s St. Louis County Courthouse, the centerpiece of Duluth’s Neoclassical Civic Center. Works include those of local architects George Wirth, Oliver Traphagen, William Hunt, and John Wangenstein; treasured state architect Clarence Johnston; and nationally renowned architects including Burnham and Bertram Goodhue. Along the way Dierckins will discuss the details of preservation efforts surrounding many of these buildings, including some of the often contradictory ways the City of Duluth has approached preservation issues over the past 20 years and National Register-listed buildings whose future is in jeopardy.
Zeitgeist Arts Center, 222 E. Superior
Dr. Jeremy Nienow, Laura Koski, Dr. Fred Sutherland, Nienow Cultural Consultants
The 805,000-acre Camp Ripley Sentinel Landscape (CRSL) is an innovative preservation initiative encompassing a significant area in central Minnesota. Recently, a highly interactive, spatially expansive and data-rich geodatabase of natural and cultural resources was created. The end product incorporates 18 cultural layers, 17 environmental layers, five locational reference layers, and hundreds of documentation attachments. This presentation seeks to both highlight the highly versatile uses of Geographic Information System (GIS) in Cultural Resources Management and inspire similar projects within the industry.
Zeitgeist Arts Center, 222 E. Superior.
Sean Dunham, Chippewa National Forest and Lee Johnson, Superior National Forest
Established in 1908, the Chippewa National Forest is the oldest national forest in the eastern United States. The Superior National Forest was created in 1909 and is the largest national forest east of the Mississippi River. Both forests have rich cultural histories spanning at least 10,000 years including pre-European contact archaeological sites, logging camps, Ojibwe and Euroamerican homestead sites, and sites reflecting the activities of the Forest Service and Civilian Conservation Corps. This presentation will provide an overview of the operations of heritage programs in each forest including the successes, challenges, and projects relating to stewardship, public interpretation, and preservation of various historic sites and landscapes.
Greysolon Plaza Moorish Room
Steve Gallo, 106 Group; Lajune Lange, Lange Johnson Development; Erin Que, 106 Group; Rob Skalecki, City of Minneapolis
This presentation will focus on two recently completed projects related to Black history in Minneapolis – a local designation study of Fire Station No. 24, and a citywide community outreach effort to inform a future comprehensive African American Historic and Cultural Context Study. Speakers will share insights about leveraging grant opportunities, approaches to community engagement for an individual site compared to citywide, all during the COVID-19 pandemic, different strategies for identification of potentially significant places, and lessons learned.
Greysolon Plaza Ballroom
Sarah Beimers, Jon Discher, Michael Koop, Jim Krumrie, Catherine Sandlund, Ginny Way, and Natascha Wiener, MN SHPO
Are you curious what information is contained in the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) inventory files and how to access it? Do you ever wonder how easy (or difficult) it is to get a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places? Are you confused about what grants SHPO provides? This is your chance to ask these and other burning questions! As the department in the state with primary responsibility for historic preservation, SHPO can seem like a confusing place, especially for those who aren't familiar with its various programs. This session will provide an introduction to a variety of SHPO's programs including survey and inventory; the National Register of Historic Places; Tax Credits; Certified Local Governments; communications/social media; and the Environmental Review program. Come prepared to ask SHPO team members your questions and learn about how you can partner with SHPO to advance preservation in your community.
521 W 2nd Street
Decommissioned in 1985 and threatened with demolition in 2010, the historic St. Louis County Jail is currently being revitalized as Leijona -- 33 units of mixed-income housing. The owners have generously offered conference attendees a firsthand view of the rehabilitation in progress with an opportunity to see the renovation of the interior including historic finishes, common areas, cell operating equipment -- and the steel walls, ceilings, and bars that will be integrated into the new living units. All participants will be required to wear hard-soled and closed-toed shoes. Note: THERE IS NO PARKING AT THE JAIL, so please either use the shuttle bus or walk. The bus will depart from and return to Greysolon Plaza.
Greysolon Plaza Lobby, 231 E. Superior Street
Coffee, tea, and water will be provided on Thursday and Friday, but there will not be a continental breakfast.
Zeitgeist Arts Center, 222 E. Superior
Renée Barnes, Bolton & Menk; Jeremiah Ellis, Arthur C. McWatt Senior Fellow, Ramsey County Historical Society; Erin Que, 106 Group; and Greg Donofrio and Jade Ryerson, University of Minnesota
Panelists from a variety of backgrounds in cultural resources will engage attendees in honest and open discussions about current perceptions of and representation in the profession around the lack of diversity and inclusion. In addition to collaboratively identifying what and who is missing from our process, the panelists and attendees will seek to identify first steps to making improvements that will hopefully lead to more diversity and inclusion in historic preservation.
This will include attempting to define the current obstacles to having a more diverse and inclusive historic preservation process, including representation on the National Register of Historic Places, funding, public perception, and interest. *Opinions and views expressed during this session are our own and not representative of our affiliated organizations.
Greysolon Plaza Moorish Room
Stephanie Atwood Hatzenbuhler, MnDOT; Jake Foss, MnDOT; Maggie Jones, MnDOT; Bruce Koenen, Office of the State Archaeologist; Jim Krumrie and Ginny Way, MN SHPO
Almost 100,000 of Minnesota’s historic resources have been inventoried over the past 50 years. Until recently, viewing the resulting inventory forms required a visit to one of several state agencies. In response, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and the Office of the State Archaeologist are working together to digitize paper documents, acquire accurate GIS locations for resources, and build online applications to allow users with internet access to view these resources anywhere and at any time. The Minnesota Geospatial Information Office is providing its digital solution expertise to achieve these goals. These digital records will help historians, archaeologists, and preservationists perform their work with efficiency and accuracy with an additional goal of making much of the data available to the public. This session will detail the applications that have already been built, the current work in progress, and provide a glimpse of what the historic preservation community can expect to see in the future.
9:00-11:45 a.m. Steven Robertson, City of Duluth, Tour Leader
This bus tour will highlight three historic buildings – the Duluth Board of Trade, Old Central High School, and the Duluth Telephone Exchange – that were or are currently being repurposed for multifamily housing using a variety of funding sources and strategies. Note: participants MUST register in advance; capacity is 20.
Zeitgeist Arts Center, 222 E. Superior
Alice Thomas and Baird Jarman, Save the Northfield Depot Board Members
This case study describes efforts to save and rehabilitate Northfield’s Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific Railway Depot, a locally designated building that was scheduled by the railroad for demolition in 2010 due to liability issues. Constructed in 1888, the Depot was moved 250 feet and meticulously rehabilitated by Save the Northfield Depot, a local nonprofit organization. The project succeeded by addressing numerous barriers and taking advantage of various assets such as original architectural plans; a community that valued its history and identity; extensive public input; engaged volunteers; generous local businesses; and collaborative local and state governmental units.
Greysolon Plaza Moorish Room
Royce Yeater, Jeffris Family Foundation; Wendy Biorn, Carver County Historical Society; John Fulton, Minnesota Historical Society
The Jeffris Family Foundation (JFF) is the only private foundation in the Midwest focused exclusively on capital funding for historic sites. This presentation will outline how sites are selected and how JFF partners with these sites, providing guidance on project development as well as funding. Two recent Minnesota projects have used JFF grants to leverage local giving, but Minnesota Legacy Grant funding has also been part of the match. One of those, the Andrew Peterson Farm in Waconia, will participate in the presentation to explain how the two funding sources complement each other.
Greysolon Plaza
Buses will depart from and return to Greysolon Plaza
This bus tour highlights four massive landmark properties – the NorShor Theatre, the Duluth Union Depot, Sacred Heart Music Center, and the Duluth Armory – that once served important civic, religious, and social functions and have been or will be rehabilitated as significant cultural and entertainment facilities in downtown Duluth.
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, the Duluth Commercial Historic District contains over 100 buildings dating from 1872 to 1929 that reflect a variety of retail, banking, professional, entertainment, and related services. This walking tour will discuss evolution and change within Duluth’s central business district and highlight the history and challenges of preserving specific properties within the historic district, including the Pastoret Terrace and the Clayton Jackson McGhee Memorial that recognizes the 1920 lynching of three African American men.
Duluth’s East End neighborhood reflects the prosperity the Zenith City enjoyed in the decades bracketing the turn of the twentieth century, when it emerged from a collection of ramshackle pioneer villages to become, by 1910, an urban metropolis 28 miles long and three miles wide. It was during this time that the population boomed, with the wealthy settling in the East End in part because the terrain was rocky and too costly for the working class to develop – which explains the neighborhood’s concentration of distinctive houses and mansions. This will be a bus and walking tour.
Pandemic Precautions
We will adhere to CDC guidelines current in September and follow the Minnesota Department of Health’s lead regarding guidance for attendees and organizers of events. Masks will not be required, but attendees may choose to wear a mask at any time, based on personal preference. Those who are feeling ill should stay home. Specifically for our event, all rooms are larger than our anticipated audience; chairs can be set apart. Extra masks and hand-sanitizer will be available. Bus and walking tours will have reduced numbers.