Newspaper Clipping - Newspaper Clipping Scan - 6 months after arson Town Hall's future unknown - 3/9/2014LOCAL
St. Paul Pioneer Press TwinCities`r`
SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2014
Eagan
6 months after arson, town hall's future unknown
Council has ruled out vintage restoration for 1914 building
By Nick Ferraro
nferraro@pioneerpress.com
The future of a highly visible
symbol of Eagan's past
remains up in the air.
Six months after the former
town hall was set ablaze by
an arsonist, city officials con-
tinue to consider what to do
with the century -old building,
which in recent years has
served as a small museum
with exhibits.
The city council has ruled
out some ideas, including
restoring the building entirely
with vintage materials, or
moving it to the Community
Center/Central Park land.
One thing is clear: The town
hall, built in June 1914 for
about $1,000, is now a shell of
its former shelf.
Situated across the street
from Eagan's sprawling
municipal campus, the 26 -by -
40 -foot wooden structure was
heavily damaged by the Sept.
8 arson fire. Nearly all the
century -old glass windows
and some historical displays
were destroyed, and the fire
left a large hole in the roof
and compromised the build-
ing's structural integrity.
It came as society members
and city staff had just began
planning for the building's
centennial celebration.
"It was a very emotional
thing to see," Kim Hazel, vice
chair of the Eagan Historical
Society, said of the fire, which
she rushed to after seeing a
report on the TV news. "I was
trying to figure out why it
would have happened. It was
just sad. We were all crying."
The double -whammy, she
said, came when the fire
department ruled it arson.
Hazel said she now prefers
to recall the building's better
days and look to its future.
"We had a lot of kids come
in, classrooms and Boy Scouts,
and they would look at all the
pictures and comment about
how there is no phone and
only three light bulbs in the
place," she said. "They would
be in awe."
Despite the town hall's pop-
ularity, Joanna Foote, the
city's communications coordi-
nator and historical society
liaison, told the city council
last month at a workshop that
its current site has several
drawbacks, such as no bath-
room, office area or storage
space. The 1,000 -square -foot
TOWN HALL, 3B >