Regarding that Infamous Minneapolis Landmark-- Cedar Square West:

There are times I find the awards that the AIA gives out amazing (other
times I strongly agree).  In the case of Cedar Square West:

First, it was a failed project--only one phase of this massive project* was
ever built and HUD ended up foreclosing on it.  (* What was built was only
the first of six planned "neighborhoods" of high-rises--plus a commercial
center.)

Second, while I really like some of Rapson's buildings (Hope Church on Cedar
Avenue, the Glass House, parts of the original Guthrie), not everything of
his was great* (Not everything Frank Lloyd Wright designed was great
either--he had some real duds).  In the case of Cedar-Riverside, I view it
as a very poorly executed copy of Le Corbusier's apartment building in
Marseilles, France that seemed to be on steroids.  It also had (and probably
still has) a lot of the same problems as the infamous Cabrini Green project
in Chicago. (*Rarig Center at the U of M also comes to mind as a ugly
building)

And regarding Victoria's claim of never taking government money for anything
(OK, I'm paraphrasing here)--

- How about all the government support of Cedar Riverside Associates (CRA)
against the community groups in Cedar Riverside that were opposing the CRA
project.

- How about the funding for Cedar Square West from Housing and Urban
Development under the New Town program.

- How about the foreclosure by HUD for nonpayment of the mortgage?

Just thought I'd provide an alternative view of Minneapolis history.

sheldon
.................................
Sheldon Mains
Seward Neighborhood, Minneapolis, Minnesota 

> -----Original Message-----

>Victoria Heller
> 
> The following link highlights the award that I accepted as 
> President of Cedar-Riverside Associates along with our 
> architect Ralph Rapson.
> 
> http://www.aia-mn.org/awards/25YearAward.cfm
> The property accumulation in Cedar-Riverside, led by my late 
> husband, was the largest privately financed land assembly in 
> the history of the United States, at that time anyway.......
> 


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