U of M Regents Vote to Demolish Historic Grain Elevator

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The historic grain elevator complex just off the University of Minnesota campus in Prospect Park is unlikely to see 2017. The University of Minnesota Board of Regents voted Friday morning to authorize the demolition of the Electric Steel Elevator Property.

The university bought the complex and the five-acre site it sits on in 2015 for $1.5 million.

The Star Tribune reported that for the past month, opponents of the proposal to demolish the complex flooded the regents with hundreds of emails and letters asking them to save the empty steel cylinders as a remnant of the golden age of Minnesota’s grain industry.

Among the group against the demolition was the neighboring community council, MinnPost reports.

But university officials concluded that there was no viable plan or money to preserve it. The complex, located near TCF Bank Stadium, is a public safety hazard and currently a waste of valuable real estate, they said.

The steel structures, built between 1901 to 1914, were eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, according to the university, but never made it. However, the university is required to look into ways to reuse some of the material from the structure and create a collection of information and photos before it's torn down. The university also plans to donate equipment from the grain elevators to the nearby Mill City Museum.

Gayla Lindt, an architecture instructor at the university, told MinnPost that the university has spent a lot of money and resources to renovate its own buildings, including Pioneer and Tate halls, but won't do the same for the grain elevators.

"Pioneer Hall is not, and will never be, nationally significant; nor would Tate," Lindt said.

"They are important campus buildings, yes, but relatively inconsequential on a national or even global stage. By contrast, the Electric Steel Elevators are globally distinct structures that contribute in powerful ways to the unique sense of place that is the Twin Cities campus. They are iconic structures that signify how this region is distinct from all other regions in the world."

University President Eric Kaler initially proposed to use the site for a new recreational sports facility, but later backed off and said he would come back with a new proposal in December.

Head photo via Michael Hicks, Flickr, used under Creative Commons

Image via Google Earth