Wednesday, July 18, 2007

The 'in' calendar for 2008
Minneapolis has a reputation for smashing old buildings in favor of new ones. Preserve Minneapolis is trying to change that. The new advocacy group and
AIA Minnesota’s Historic Resources Committee have teamed up to produce a calendar celebrating the state's historic past. The calendar includes 12 images of historic buildings, many of the them in Minneapolis. The buildings include Minnesota Stoneware Company (later part of Red Wing Pottery), Fort Snelling, Mill City Museum, Christ Church Lutheran and the Band Box Diner. The Band Box, photographed by Brandon Stengel, is a personal favorite. The greasy burgers go down easy and the hipster vibe is huge. The owner struts around in a black "Grease for Peace" T-shirt and listens to music on KFAI or the Current.

Bob Roscoe of Design for Preservation designed the Band Box's slight expansion a few years ago. He's also a moving force behind Preserve Minneapolis. If you're interested in learning more about the city's architectural past and preserving it for the future, the group is sponsoring a tour of Water Power Park at 5:30 p.m. on July 25.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

No kidding! While I was working in the basement of Moose Tower, I lived a block away from the Band Box on Park 'n' 9th. My roommate worked there along with the owners Brad and Orin before and after the renovation. The place looks great, and the food is as good as ever, but the hipster vibe has overtaken the lunatic vibe that some of us hipsters went there for in the first place. We'll just have to wait for those hipsters to age a little bit before we start calling them lunatics again.

Anonymous said...

It's Water Power Park on Hennepin Island for the next Preserve Minneapolis tour.

toddmelby said...

Thanks for the correction. For a moment there, I must have thought I was in Chicago.

Anonymous said...

Tahnks for the nice mention of me in the Band Box feature, but I hasten to add that Karen Gjerstad, AIA was an equal half of the design team.