Newspaper Clipping - Newspaper Clipping Scan - Restoration Planned for Eagan's Historic Town Hall building - 5/1/2015Restoration planned for Eagan's historic Town Hall bui*1di*ng
HALL from NI
finishes of the Old Town Hall.
Built in 1914, it was used for
city meetings until 1965. The
1,040 -square -foot building had
been restored previously and
served as a museum under
the Eagan Historical Society's
care.
While the focus is on restor-
ing the building to its previ-
ous condition, other features,
including air conditioning and
an outbuilding with a bath-
room, could be added if a com-
munity fund-raising effort goes
forward, assistant city adminis-
trator Dianne Miller said.
Opening the Old Town Hall
again aligns with one of the
city's priorities, which calls for
encouraging partnerships "that
enhance the community's iden-
tity through public art, culture
and historic preservation ini-
tiatives," Miller said. "Restor-
ing Old Town Hall will ensure
that our residents and visitors
will be able to enjoy and learn
about Eagan's past in a his-
toric, engaging and hands-on
environment for many years
to come."
Restoring details
Stephen Oliver, an architect
with Mohagen Hansen, char-
acterized the project as a light
restoration.
"From a historical perspec-
tive, the restoration is not try-
ing to get every detail and every
last screw head to be exactly
as it would have been in 1914,"
Oliver said. "Instead it's to put
it back so that it has the flavor
that it originally had, salvaging
as much of the original mate-
rial as possible, at least in terms
of the material that is visible to
the visitor."
Changes made to the build-
ing through the years will
remain, including several six-
inch spikes hammered into a
wall, Oliver said. The spikes
held implements during a
period when the Old Town Hall
— its floor framing removed
and front door replaced with
a garage door — housed a city
vehicle, possibly a snowplow.
"Things that have happened
to the building since 1914 are
considered by the Eagan His-
torical Society to be part of the
Star Tribune
Restoration of the century -old Historic Town Hall in Eagan is expected to begin in June, and be
wrapped up in September. The project is expected to cost about $290,000.
building's history," Oliver said.
Despite the damage the fire
inflicted, it also has revealed
some original touches hidden
under subsequent updates.
Among them is the 1914
interior paint scheme, which
Oliver described as "a very
earthen green color that would
have been typical of the early
teens and '20s." That color
will replace the more modern
sepia -toned paint now inside
the building, and painters will
work to replicate the visible
brush marks and fabric texture
of the original application.
The voting booths are
largely intact but require work
to repair smoke damage and
some charring, Oliver said. The
potbelly stove will be returned
to the building. It won't be func-
tional, but it will be a reminder
of the past.
"It's nice when you get to
work on stuff that's a little bit
outside the box, especially for
things that people are emotion-
ally attached to," Oliver said.
Todd Nelson is a freelance writer in
Woodbury.