I think its time to give Mayor Kelly his due. Building the structures Dan mentions in his post will bring people to St. Paul. In many communities, the revival of the downtown area was driven by the strategic placement of public attractions. That said, does not mean I support taxpayers building a stadium without significant resources from MLB and the MN Twins. As for the submarine, it alone will not be vehicle that will attract a lot of people to the river front. It would work with other attractions. However, lets get creative. In today's PP, there is an article that suggests we get the Navy to raise the two man submarine that was sunk by our own Navel Reservists to begin WWII. I would like to suggest that we should add to this discussion the raising of the USS Ward, the destroyer these men served on. Historically both would be significant. Especially for St. Paul. However, unlike other ports where former navel vessels are berthed, its unlikely you would be able to tour them. The raising of the submarine sunk by the Ward's crew is evidently possible. Its size would make transporting it to St. Paul possible. On the other hand, If it is possible to raise the Ward, its transportation to St. Paul would probably be the largest obstacle to overcome.
I do not know how much damage the USS Ward suffered when it was sunk by the US Navy on December 7th 1944. I do know the kamikaze pilot who crashed into the Ward did just enough damage to raise concern it would block the mouth of the harbor should a Pearl Harbor like attack in the offing. Mike Fratto Payne Phalen >>> "Dan Dobson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 02/04/2005 1:18:36 AM >>> Let's see there's not a grocery store downtown, no video store, no office supply store, no mens clothing store, no mens shoe store only one main chain store (which was drastically downsized) and a dozen other things I'm sure I'm missing, but Mayor Kelly spends his days trying to get baseball stadiums, casinos and now submarines downtown. Has this guy totally flipped his wig? He hasn't revived Norm's old idea of a gondola ride to Harriet Island yet, but I'm sure that not far behind. Shall we start a pool to see what lunacy Kelly proposes next? I'm betting on Camp Snoopy East, Disneyworld Harriet Island and a hotair balloon ranch. He's making Rudy Perpich's old chopstick factory idea not look so dumb. Dann Dobson Summit Hill - Saint Paul Dennis Tester <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: "No one has done more to prevent conflict - no one has made a greater sacrifice for the cause for Peace - than you, America's proud missile submarine family. You stand tall among our heroes of the Cold War." General Colin Powell Back in the day, I served 4 years as a NAVET aboard the USS Patrick Henry SSBN 599(G). http://www.rontini.com/599crew.html You would think that in land-locked Minnesota there wouldn't be much submarine history, but there are hundreds of submarine vets in and around the twin cities. And of course, we were honored with the commissioning of the USS Minneapolis-St.Paul (SSN 708) back in 1984. And let's not forget the torpedo from the USS Swordfish (SS 193) that sits out in Como Park and figured prominantly in a Winter Carnival treasure hunt a few years ago. When I got out of the Navy, the entrepreneur in me had this great(?) idea of buying a scrapped US diesel boat, mooring it downtown, and turning it into a bar for the adventurous drinker. I even had a name picked out: "Down the Hatch" (get it?) Anyhoo, there were only two obstacles to my dream ... buying a submarine, and then getting the city to allow me to moor it. Come to think of it, they probably wouldn't have given me a liquer license either. And since I spent my tour hiding from the evil Ruskies, I don't think I'd have much enthusiasm for St. Paul to feature a Russian boat, as was mentioned in today's PP article. But if it's money the city needs to make this fly, I bet there's enough former bubbleheads in this town who could come up with some respectable dough. Dennis Tester Mac-Groveland -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.4 - Release Date: 2/1/2005 _____________________________________________ 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/ _____________________________________________ 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/ _____________________________________________ 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/
