Dear Ms. Carey, Historic Saint Paul, and Others Involved, Thank you for hosting today's brewery redevelopment program - it was quite enlightening. I am compelled to respond to today's fifth Questioner. Like him, I also returned from the UK yesterday, but we have differing views on what British successes might transfer to the USA. London, where he said he visited, is a magnificent city and their recent riverfront revival is extremely impressive, but about the only things London has in common with our city are a large river and a Cathedral of St. Paul. This Questioner suggested that the Hamm's Brewery would be best used by creating residences for 60-odd millionaires. The reused brewery I visited in Kendal, Cumbria, is used and enjoyed by 60-odd million residents, not to mention tens of thousands of visitors. Kendal, in the Lake District, may not closely resemble Minnesota either but it is far more similar to St. Paul than is London, e.g., the lakes themselves, the outdoors economy they create, the price of real estate, etc. As I type this, loads of people from all over the world are descending on the Kendal Brewery Arts Centre for a mountaineering film festival, spending thousands of pounds while in the area. As aficianados of architecture, you will appreciate that the night I was there, both "The Fountainhead" and "My Architect: A Son's Journey" were screened. There is a never-ending list of events taking place at the Centre, covering literature, theatre, visual arts, education, cinema, music, special events, and workshops. The Centre has created numerous jobs, and no doubt has had a positive impact on many pre-existing and new businesses. Several nearby operational breweries, for example, made a killing Saturday night. ;-) Economic stimuli such as these will eventually fill any "financial gap" that may have been created in Kendal by them not choosing the most "economically feasible" scenario. In the case of the Hamm's Brewery, it was clear to me today that the development scenario with the smallest gap is favored and encouraged, when in fact another scenario is far more likely to be more "valuable" to the community and to future citizens and visitors. And it is certainly not necessary to develop the site in one fell swoop - Kendal has taken 30+ years to get where they are today, and things are still evolving. I encourage you to "Mind The Gap." It may seem more sensible to make your money work for you in a bank, to maximize your bottom line at every turn, but eventually you will want to spend some of your money on a holiday. The returns of the former are quantifiable and tangible, but as for the latter, I will never be able to put a dollar amount on what I got out of my trip last week. It was certainly worth more than the $1,000 I spent on it, I can assure you that. In pecuniary-speak, that's "over a 100% return on investment" that comes with the added bonus that I can share it without diminishing it! What I am trying to say is that the people of St. Paul should find a way to afford what they really want and not be pressed into opting for the most "profitable" development plan from which only a handful of people will benefit. It was made clear to me last week that Americans are considered to be driven by selfish greed. It's time we put our grandchildren and our neighbours ahead of our pocketbooks for a change, before all hell breaks loose. Thank you for all your trail-blazing (re Schmidt Brewery), and good luck with it all! Sincerely, Andrew M. Hine West End (the Pimlico of St. Paul) P.S. From http://www.breweryarts.co.uk/about_us.html - A History of Brewery Arts Centre Highgate's first Brewery was licensed in 1758 on or near the site of the town house of the Wilsons of Dallam Tower. Its first owner was John Whitwell, whose family lived nearby at 122 Highgate for many years. The business prospered, was taken over by William Mark, and in 1858, a new brewery was built in the gardens of the old Wilson house. Whitwell, Mark and Co became a private limited company in 1883 and remained as such until a take-over by Vaux Breweries of Sunderland in the late 1940s. The company's boom time was the 1930s, supplying 30 pubs across Westmorland with their famous Auld Kendal. The last brew was produced between 13 and 16 September 1968. After being bought by the Lake District Theatre Trust Limited in 1970, work started on converting the Grade III Listed building into a modern arts centre. On 10 May, 1972, the Brewery Arts and Community Centre, consisting in those early days of a small theatre and two other rooms, opened its doors to the public. Today there is a 350 seat Malt Room for music events (former racking room and cask store), a Photographic Gallery (the sugar store), the Warehouse Gallery for visual arts, a drama studio (malt store), art and crafts workshops (brewing room and cooling room), darkroom facilities (hop room), playgroup and meeting rooms, restaurant (malt hopper), Vats Bar, and an enlarged theatre seating 250 which opened on 29 April 1993. A major capital programme has been undertaken, funded by a �3 million grant from the National Lottery through the Arts Council of England. In January 1998 the existing Arts Centre was completely refurbished with significant improvements to the Malt Room, the Restaurant, and Vats Bar. A lift makes all floors fully accessible. Two new cinema screens with 192 and 115 seats respectively opened in May 2000. Andrew M. Hine Corporate Research Materials Laboratory 3M Center 201-1W-28 St. Paul MN 55144-1000 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (651) 733-1070 Fax: (651) 737-5335 Lab 201-W110 _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
