Sunday, August 8, 2010

311 The Hard Way--The Sequel To The Sequel!

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

More than a year ago, I wrote about a graffiti-scarred building along the light rail line, and the difficulty of determining the address of the building and making a 311 report, click here. But I wasn't going to give up. SOMEBODY had to submit a report about that building, no matter how difficult the process.

Later, after some follow-up, I wrote another blog post about doing "311 the hard way," click here. Turns out the property isn't even in Minneapolis so it's outside of 311 jurisdiction, as discussed in comments on the previous story.

However, I'm pleased to report that, recently, the owners of the building (which I strongly suspect to be part of the kick-ass Fort Snelling facility) have been...

...slapping up anti-graffiti paint like it's going out of style. The picture at the top, taken about a week ago, tells the tale. In the meantime, however, the building has been hit again. But now the owners of the building seem to be into the spirit of revitalization, and never grow tired of painting over.

Hey, it's like mowing grass. Just because the grass grows back doesn't mean you despair. You just start all over, humming a happy tune.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like the MNDOT facility at Hiawatha and Crosstown.

Hans said...

That warehouse is on the now abandoned Bureau of Mines campus.

http://www.nps.gov/miss/parkmgmt/bomhist.htm

The main building at the site was recently boarded due to hundreds of broken windows.

There is also a historic coldwater spring at the site.

http://www.preservecampcoldwater.org/index.htm
http://friendsofcoldwater.org/home.html

There is a pond near the spring (directly behind the warehouse) that doesn't freeze over in the winter and serves as a watering hole for hundreds of ducks. It's kind of amazing to see a pond full of ducks in the dead of January.

The site is a strange combination of urban explorer/graffiti park and historic/sacred nature spot. I would encourage anybody who likes history and the outdoors to check it out. It's just south of Minnehaha falls, adjacent to a massive dog park along the Mississippi.

I can't find an address but this google satellite image should help you out. You can see the warehouse on the left and the pond right next to it.

Anonymous said...

So it's on Federal Land, not under the jurisdiction of Minneapolis.

NoMi Passenger said...

Hans, how does one get there? I am familiar with the dog park, so do you just walk(south/east) down that frontage type road near the dog park?