Downsizing the Public Realm

MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 246 6/5/13 1:37 PM coworkers but also with strangers In 1891 Winona’s elite had de- Building from diverse backgrounds. The sired large, expensive, and ornate lobby was a busy social hub where public buildings meant to last Winonans bought stamps, deposited for centuries. In 1956 leaders felt and Razing mail, checked their brass mail boxes, strongly that their commercial suc- exchanged gossip, and launched busi- cess depended on tearing down those ness deals. The building also housed Victorian structures and replacing Winona’s a federal courtroom, representing the them with smaller, signifi cantly federal presence in the city. Its im- cheaper ones. By this time, the busi- Grand Post pressive tower dominated the skyline ness class nationwide had concluded and proclaimed that the community that economic growth required new was part of something larger than buildings in an architecturally mod- Offi ce itself: a nation that had survived the ernist style. But something more was Civil War and was becoming a world at stake. Winona’s business leaders power. During the New Deal, the fed- had also changed their attitude about Greg Gaut and Marsha Neff eral presence in Winona grew when the signifi cance of public space. the Public Works Administration Buildings ultimately represent the funded an addition to the post offi ce.2 values of their creators. Public build- n an October evening in 1891, Although Winona’s leading busi- ings, in particular, refl ect the political, OPostmaster Daniel Sinclair nessmen had taken great pride in the economic, and cultural priorities of hosted the dedication of a new post grandeur of their new post offi ce in the societies that construct them. The offi ce building in downtown Winona. 1891, business leaders in the 1950s fate of structures that outlive their As expected, the assembled members had very different attitudes about original owners indicates how atti- of the local elite gushed with enthu- public buildings. A fairly mundane tudes toward the built environment siasm for the massive Romanesque event brought their new viewpoints have changed. Frequently, historic stone structure. After all, they had to the surface. In 1956 the federal properties are torn down and re- campaigned for more than fi ve years government proposed a $100,000 placed with little fuss, but not always. to obtain a larger and grander build- upgrade to the historic post offi ce When the Chamber of Commerce un- ing than the one Washington had building. Surprisingly, the Chamber veiled its 1956 plan to demolish two originally offered. In his speech, the of Commerce, successor to the Board of Winona’s prominent public build- president of Winona’s Board of Trade of Trade, organized a powerful op- ings, a major controversy erupted. urged Winonans to “point to this position, demanding not only the artistic and beautiful building with demolition of the post offi ce but also satisfaction and pride.” 1 the county courthouse, a building of inona was born as a center For the next six decades this similar vintage. In the interests of ef- Wfor grain milling and ship- building played a key role in fulfi ll- fi ciency, the chamber wanted a single ping, but lumbering drove the city’s ing the mission of the Department modern structure to house all federal dynamic growth between 1870 and of the Post Offi ce: to “bind the Na- and county offi ces. Most provoca- 1900. Four companies dominated tion together” by providing universal tively, it sought to take over a city park the riverfront, and their combined service to every household and every to house the new facilities. Too much output made Winona a major lumber American. Like all post offi ces, Win- land, chamber leaders argued, was producer in the Upper Midwest. As ona’s was also a “paradigmatic site of tied up in public edifi ces and parks. the city’s population grew, successful public life,” in the words of one histo- rian, where citizens routinely rubbed shoulders not only with friends and Greg Gaut, a retired Saint Mary’s University history professor, is now a historic pres- ervation consultant. Marsha Neff is the grant management administrator for Trinity Health. They live and work in Winona. Their piece on saving the Winona County Facing: A Red Wing commercial Courthouse (Minnesota History, Winter 2005–06) won the 2008 David Stanley Geb- photographer’s view of Winona’s hard Prize for best article on Minnesota’s built environment. grand post offi ce, 1899

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MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 247 6/5/13 1:37 PM entrepreneurs constructed elaborate Major investment in the public realm was common buildings for their businesses and in the rapidly growing towns and cities of the grand homes for themselves, but they also developed the public compo- midland prairie states in the 1880s. nents of the built environment, in- cluding a fi re department, water and sewage systems, a city hall, county that closely followed the lead of H. H. $103,000 for construction, exclusive courthouse, parks, schools, library, Richardson, whose unique American of land acquisition and architectural and hospital.3 style, now referred to as Richardso- fees. Historical monetary values are Major investment in the public nian Romanesque, dominated the diffi cult to translate into contem- realm was common in the rapidly look of courthouses, churches, com- porary terms, but the cost of such a growing towns and cities of the mercial buildings, and mansions project today would range between midland prairie states in the 1880s. in the 1880s and 1890s. Maybury’s $12.7 and $20.8 million.7 Settlers, whether established Ameri- courthouse showcases the elements At about the same time, Winona’s cans moving west or European im- that make up this style, including leaders also decided they needed a migrants, wanted their new cities to rock- faced masonry, arches over win- new post offi ce. The town’s postal equal if not surpass those of the East. dows and doors, elaborate carvings, service began in 1852, and the post They tended to share, as Judith Mar- asymmetrical towers (one square and offi ce occupied a number of tempo- tin noted, “urban expectations.” For one round), a hipped roof, and bands rary locations until 1872, when the the commercially minded men who of windows separated by pilasters. government leased the fi rst fl oor of formed Winona’s elite, creating the This massive and elaborate build- a new three- story building at the public institutions they associated ing was just what Winona’s leaders corner of Third and Center for it. with great cities was very important. wanted. They felt it proclaimed to In 1885 Minnesota politicians in They preferred structures made of the world that Winona was a grow- Congress succeeded in securing a brick and stone even though lumber ing city with a great future.6 $100,000 appropriation for a new was plentiful and cheap.4 Maybury could build an impres- federal building in Winona. At that In the 1880s Winona’s leaders sive building because the county time, the U.S. Department of Trea- devoted a great deal of time and po- leaders were willing to pay for it. sury owned only one other building litical capital to the construction of They wanted a courthouse at least in Minnesota, the Custom House in two massive government buildings the equal of those built by compa- St. Paul, although appropriations downtown. The fi rst was the county rable midwestern cities, and they had been approved for a Minneapo- courthouse, an imposing stone knew this required a substantial in- lis post offi ce, completed in 1889. structure completed in 1889. The vestment. County offi cials allocated Winona became the third Minnesota second was the U.S. Post Offi ce and Federal Building, similar in appear- ance, which opened two years later. Charles G. Maybury, a prolifi c and talented local architect, was central to both projects; he was the designer of the fi rst and building superinten- dent of the second.5 When the Winona County com- missioners asked Maybury to pro- pose a design for the new courthouse in 1887, he responded with a plan

Rented building at Third and Center Streets, home to Winona’s post offi ce from 1873 to 1891

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MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 248 6/5/13 1:37 PM city to have a freestanding post of- fi ce, beating out Duluth (1894) and Mankato (1896).8 As soon as the money was appro- priated, the Department of Treasury appointed a local commission to assist in selecting a site. There was a minor controversy in early 1886 when Treasury chose the northwest corner of Fourth and Main, a block or so from the site recommended by the commission, apparently as a result of some back- door infl uence.9 The disagreement was quickly for- gotten; Winona’s leaders were much more interested in the size and qual- William Windom, about 1867 Architect and builder ity of the building than its location. Charles Maybury, 1902 They actively lobbied for the grand- est building possible, intervened to foot building to Winona. The press Sinclair, lumber baron A. B. You- enlarge the footprint of the design, reported that local citizens found the mans, and Jefferson Maybury, junior and carefully monitored construction plans to be “manifestly inadequate partner of Maybury and Son.12 details. They felt that it was crucial for the needs of Winona” and argued Winona’s leaders achieved their to anchor Winona’s downtown with that the project be delayed while the goals through the efforts of a group grand, long- lasting public buildings. city’s allies in Congress won an in- of lawyer- politicians who felt a Until World War II, the Offi ce crease in the appropriation. Thomas strong allegiance to the city. Justice of the Supervising Architect of the Wilson, Minnesota’s First District Mitchell and former Lt. Gov. Wil- Department of Treasury was respon- representative, succeeded in gaining liam H. Yale looked out for Winona’s sible for designing federal buildings. approval of an additional $50,000 interests from home. Rep. Wilson Although supervising architects at the very end of the 1889 congres- shepherded the necessary funding were political appointees who were sional session.11 bills through Congress. But the most replaced frequently, their staff ar- In 1889 James H. Windrim important of Winona’s power law- chitects generally produced sturdy became supervising architect, and yers was Secretary of the Treasury and attractive buildings that were in July he sent revised plans with William Windom. After moving to well accepted by local communities. an enlarged footprint to Winona’s Winona in 1855, he became Wilson’s Regardless of who was in charge, the postmaster. The Board of Trade law partner. In 1859 Windom was more- than 50 draftsmen in the offi ce organized a public review session, elected to Congress and then to the typically refl ected national trends, at which the general sense was that Senate. He was appointed secretary which at the time were transitioning $150,000 should buy a more impres- of the treasury by James Garfi eld but from Gothic to Romanesque styles, sive building than the one proposed. resigned when the president died in especially as Richardson became The board’s president argued that 1881. When Benjamin Harrison be- more infl uential among architects. the “new Winona county court house came president in March 1889, Win- Post offi ces in the 1880s tended to was a larger and better building than dom was reappointed to the post, a be picturesque buildings of brick or the one contemplated in the plan position he held until his death in stone that usually featured a promi- and its cost was only $103,000.” A 1891.13 Fortunately for Winona, the nent tower.10 Winona’s would be no powerhouse committee was created supervising architect reported to the exception. to pursue the matter, including Min- secretary of the treasury. After a two- year delay, Super- nesota Supreme Court Justice Wil- On August 2, 1889, Postmaster vising Architect Will Freret sent liam Mitchell, Postmaster William Whipple forwarded the commit- preliminary plans for a 48- by- 60 Whipple, newspaper editor Daniel tee’s demands to Washington. Very

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MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 249 6/5/13 1:37 PM quickly, Supervising Architect Win- onstrates the extent to which the opened, it was lit only by gas, al- drim responded, “It is the wish of local elite lobbied for upgrades to the though the fi xtures could accom- this offi ce to give the city of Winona building. Several prominent citizens modate gas or electricity. To fi nance the best building within the ap- apparently thought Windrim had these improvements, Minnesota sen- propriation.” When the fi nal plans selected an inferior variety of local ators and congressmen engineered were received in February 1890, stone for the exterior. Maybury asked the passage of an additional $10,000 the footprint of the building had Windom to intervene, “seeing as you appropriation in early 1891.15 grown again. Although four years are a citizen and directly interested.” On October 10, 1891, the city’s had passed since the initial appro- Windrim changed the stone. Later, two major newspapers, the Daily priation with little result, progress Maybury communicated concerns Republican and the Daily Herald on the building now accelerated. about fi reproofi ng the upper fl oors, (Democratic), published special edi- Within days, Charles Maybury was and Windrim agreed to the requests. tions announcing the near comple- appointed superintendent of con- The original plans called for “brick tion of the new, three- story federal struction. Shortly thereafter, Chicago paving” around the building, but building. The structure was about 69 contractor Charles Gindele won the Maybury wrote that “brick sidewalks by 129 feet, with its longest façade bid to build the post offi ce. Ground are in great disfavor in this city” and the primary entrance facing was broken on April 25, 1890.14 and won an upgrade to limestone. Main Street. The main tower— Maybury’s job as superinten- Citizens demanded that the wood its primary purpose was to impress— dent required constant contact with stairways be upgraded to iron, and soared 121 feet above the street. Washington. His correspondence this request, too, was honored. Then The walls of Whitewater stone had with Windrim and Windom dem- Maybury tried to have the building a “creamy, white color,” the Daily wired for electricity. Here Windrim Republican reported. There were Building the post offi ce, 1890 drew the line. When the building carved stone trimmings, including a

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MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 250 6/5/13 1:37 PM “Here the millionaire and the day laborer pass in and out of the same door.”

Above: Postal workers, patrons, and letter boxes in the spacious new lobby. Right: Behind the scenes in the mail room and offi ce space.

winged wheel over the entrance that “symbolized the present rapid fl ight of the United States mails across the country.” The sidewalks were of “heavy brush- hammered Gilmore Valley stone.” 16 dated the municipal sewage system, the people. Every citizen of this Passing through the Main Street delivered storm water and “closet Republic . . . possesses a joint entrance, citizens entered an 80- drainage” more than 1,200 feet down ownership in this indivisible foot- long lobby separated from the Main Street into the river. property of the government of mail room by “handsome screen Both newspapers gushed with which he is a component part. work,” mostly of oak and plate glass. civic pride over the new building. Here the millionaire and the There were about 400 letter boxes. To the Daily Republican, it was “an day laborer pass in and out of At the north end of the lobby was the architectural poem in granite and the same door, where each is wrought- iron stairway to the second stone” and “an ornament to the city.” entitled to the same privileges, and third fl oors. The largest room on The paper proclaimed it to be “one the same consideration, the same the second fl oor was the courtroom, of the handsomest buildings at the courtesy, no more no less, from which featured a 23- foot ceiling and cost ever erected by the United States the accredited offi cials and their oak- paneled wainscoting fi ve feet government” and concluded, “This employees, of the United States high. There were also rooms for the building is one which citizens will be government.17 judge, clerk, marshals, district at- proud to show to visitors.” Under the torney, witnesses, and the Internal headline “A Magnifi cent Structure,” Press reports estimated that Revenue Service. The observation the Daily Herald noted that the about 4,000 people attended the deck in the tower was accessed from building was “imposing in appear- dedication on October 22, 1891. this fl oor. The third fl oor contained a ance and beautiful in architecture.” Board of Trade president William jury room and space for railway mail In its lead paragraph, the Democratic Yale noted, “There is no city in Amer- clerks. The basement was for storage paper clearly articulated its civic ica or in any of the nations of the as well as the steam- heating boilers value as a public space. earth, but what the character of its and their coal supply. The building buildings is, to a large extent, a sure had ample lavatories and its own This magnifi cent structure be- index of the character of its people.” sewer pipe which, because it pre- comes the common property of He thanked the politicians who had

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MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 251 6/5/13 1:37 PM secured the funding, especially the recently deceased William Windom, suggesting that “this marble palace is a testimonial of his love for the city of his adoption.” 18 Charles Maybury reported that the structure cost $145,000 to build, the site $15,000, and the furnish- ings $16,000. (The total expendi- ture— $160,000— is in the range of $19.7–$32.3 million today.) Corne- lius F. Buck, a former legislator and postmaster, closed the ceremony by noting that the new federal building was “in keeping with our fi ne court house and commodious hostelry, in keeping with our temples of wor- ship, in keeping with our superior Sylvester J. Kryzsko, who argued Lewis I. Younger, who fought to educational institutions, and in keep- for a modern building preserve the old post offi ce ing with our large and commodious business blocks and residences.” the heart of the city when we are concluded, “What woman today Together these structures “furnish us hemmed in the way we are.” The 26 would come out wearing the fashions an absolute guarantee of Winona’s leaders in attendance agreed, as did of yesterday? Would you like it if she glorious future.” 19 their guest, First District Congress- did?” 21 man August Andresen.20 Support for Kryzsko’s project was Following the chamber’s initial confi rmed when the chamber held he great change in twentieth- meeting, the Winona County Histor- a second lunch meeting on Febru- T century business leaders’ at- ical Society’s board of directors, led ary 14, 1957. An engineer from the titudes fi rst came into the open in by its president, Dr. Lewis I. Younger, General Services Administration September 1956, when Robert Sel- a local physician (and Chamber of (GSA), which after 1949 controlled over, a realtor and president of Wi- Commerce member), published an federal buildings, told the crowd that nona’s Chamber of Commerce, and open letter in the Winona Daily there was no reason why the post Sylvester J. Kryzsko, a banker who News defending the post offi ce, “an offi ce could not be effectively remod- chaired the chamber’s governmen- historic landmark beloved by our eled. Nevertheless, the 80 business tal affairs committee, called a lunch people.” Chamber leader Kryzsko leaders, apparently all men, voted meeting at the Hotel Winona. It was responded with a letter of his own. almost unanimously in favor of the here that chamber members attacked The question, he wrote, was whether chamber’s plan, with Younger the Washington’s planned $100,000 up- Winona should “work to achieve the lone dissenter. The Daily News also grade of the post offi ce and proposed clean fresh look of a modern city” or endorsed the plan, not only in its edi- that a modern structure housing all instead, “rest on past laurels with an torials but implicitly in its news cov- federal and county functions be built array of old fashioned monuments?” erage. In addition to its lead story on on the downtown block that was He could not see “how this sentimen- the February 14 meeting, the Daily then Central Park. Kryzsko argued tal attitude of living in the past will News printed two front- page photos, that “the present courthouse and the help us in the more essential need of separately headlined “This Com- post offi ce could both be torn down planning a civic program of forward bined County–Federal Building” and to make way for stores and other progress for us and the generations “Would Replace these Antiquated commerce.” He favored Central Park to follow.” Kryzsko was sure that the Structures.” 22 as the site because Winona could majority would “vote for a clean fresh The chamber soon learned that not “afford the luxury of a park in look for a fi ne old city.” After all, he the GSA would not agree to a com-

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MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 252 6/5/13 1:37 PM bination federal- county building nounced its renovation plans for months earlier. The formal announce- and so pursued two parallel strate- the post office, including an eleva- ment was made not by the GSA but gies. The first sought county board tor, new flooring, new lighting, new by Rep. Quie and Sen. Thye.26 support, and then voters’ approval, plumbing fixtures, and a suspended Attention now focused on secur- to demolish the county courthouse ceiling in the lobby. Kryzsko reacted ing Central Park as the site for the and build a modern one on the same by inviting “all organizations inter- new post office. Central Park was one site. This plan provoked an 18- year ested in the economic growth and of four blocks, one for each city ward, preservation battle that ultimately business prosperity of our city” to that had been donated to the city to left Maybury’s courthouse standing, a third lunch meeting that would become public parks when Winona as it is today, but with its interior consider “whether to go all out for was platted in 1857. Originally called Second Ward Park, it was the gift of Orrin Smith, Winona’s founder. The question was whether Winona should In the early years, the city did little to develop the four parks. Ironi- “work to achieve the clean fresh look of a modern cally, it was the Board of Trade that city” or instead, “rest on past laurels with an pushed for a commission to improve them in 1899. Even then, private array of old fashioned monuments?” philanthropy financed most park development. In 1902 businessman William J. Langdon decided to give completely gutted and redone.23 The a new combined post office- federal the city a life- sized statue of Princess chamber’s second strategy sought building.” Representatives of 40 local Wenonah as a centerpiece for Central federal approval for a new post office organizations voted almost unani- Park. He commissioned Isabel Moor in Central Park. (The federal district mously to petition Humphrey, Thye, Kimball, a New York sculptor, to cre- court in Minnesota no longer held and Albert Quie, who had replaced ate the figure, which was installed in sessions in Winona.) This plan also Andresen in Congress— as well as a cement fountain with turtles and met with opposition, but the out- the GSA— for a new post office. pelicans spraying water. Langdon come was quite different. Younger, acting as a private citizen, meant to memorialize his deceased wrote an open letter defending the wife, but the statue and fountain post office and highlighting its links came to represent the entire city. usinessmen focused on chang- to famous Winonans like William Younger may have had this in mind Bing the GSA’s position and, just Windom and Charles Maybury. The when he warned his fellow business- as their predecessors had done in city would not be well served, he ar- men to “give pause!” in his open let- 1890, they looked to friends in Wash- gued, if the post office was destroyed ter. Destroying the park with its trees ington for help. Rep. Andresen had and replaced by “the new factory- and statue of Wenonah, he wrote, already introduced a bill directing type efficiency structure we are al- was “so grossly blasphemous that I the GSA to build a new post office most certain to get.” 25 recoil in horror.” 27 in Winona. The chamber’s efforts The chamber’s strategy began to Nevertheless, the city council quickly won over Senators Edward bear fruit in late March, when the voted in July 1960 to recommend Thye and Hubert Humphrey. Dur- GSA announced that it was consider- Central Park as the site for the new ing 1957, however, the GSA held its ing a new building. According to the post office, with the proviso that an ground. In a letter to Humphrey, the Daily News, the GSA “apparently was 80- foot section along Broadway re- regional commissioner said that the nudged” in this direction by Repub- main a park. But, since the original existing post office was “structur- licans Thye and Quie and Democrat plat of Winona dedicated the block ally sound and can be placed in a Humphrey, who seemed to be com- as a public square, Minnesota’s at- good state of repair and preserva- peting to show “good service” to their torney general ruled that the city did tion through facility changes and constituents. In April the GSA recom- not have the legal authority to sell improvements.” 24 mended a new Winona post office, it. Therefore, the council invited the In February 1958, the GSA an- reversing the position it held only two federal government to use its power

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MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 253 6/5/13 1:37 PM Visitors enjoying Central Park’s Wenonah statue and fountain, early 1900s

of eminent domain to condemn editorialist complained that “one ing that it wanted to communicate the property. Mayor Loyde Pfeiffer of the troubles with Winona has to Washington firm support for the noted, “25 years ago he would have always been the fact that some of its project. This new resolution pro- been opposed to a post office in Cen- residents are against progress.” The claimed that there was “currently tral Park.” But now, he asserted, “we editorial argued that a vast majority no extensive use” of Central Park have thousands and thousands of favored the new post office but and that a new post office would be “strong evidence of Winona prog- ress.” In any case, the council con- “One of the troubles with Winona has cluded, “it appears that only a few always been the fact that some of its people are objecting.” A few days later the Chamber of Commerce residents are against progress.” passed a resolution urging all mem- bers “to write to Washington officials to counteract action of minority acres of parks and everyone has an “a small group of short- sighted indi- groups who oppose establishment of automobile to get to them.” In Oc- viduals are attempting to block this the post office in the park.” 30 tober, Quie’s office announced that worthwhile improvement.” Another Meanwhile, Dr. Younger was the condemnation proceedings were editorial asserted that if the post of- writing increasingly impassioned let- going forward.28 fice was saved, it would only stand ters to post office officials and politi- In the final months of 1960, nu- as a “monument to stagnation and cians. The Post Office Department merous letters to the editor on the apathy, a reminder of an opportunity now told him that a careful study had issue appeared in the Daily News, lost and a future neglected.” 29 determined that the present post of- mostly opposing a new post office in As dissent grew, the city council fice “is totally inadequate,” given that Central Park. In reaction, the paper’s reaffirmed its earlier resolution, not- the building contained only 24,500

254 Minnesota History

MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 254 6/5/13 1:37 PM square feet and “our twenty fi ve year anticipated requirements call for 65,000 sq ft of space.” (The new post offi ce, when built, had roughly the same amount of usable space as the historic structure.) The offi cial also reminded Younger that Central Park was taken only after the Winona City Council had unanimously adopted two resolutions affi rming the desire to place the new post offi ce there.31 Park and Recreation Board mem- bers also endorsed the plan. In July 1961 Commissioner Edward Allen was quoted as saying that putting the post offi ce in Central Park was a “bet- ter use of the park than we have been making.” Nevertheless, the board faced the problem of what do with the iconic Princess Wenonah statue and fountain. One commissioner suggested moving it to Lake Park, and that is what initially happened.32

uring 1961, opponents orga- Dnized the Committee to Save Central Park, which on July 28 published a newspaper advertise- ment headlined “They say a new post offi ce is needed in Winona, but Winona Daily News, August 5, 1961 NOT in Central Park!” About 50 committee members were listed, in- cluding such well- known Winonans Although they had gone “down with standardized plans and specifi cations as aviation pioneer Max Conrad; their fl ags fl ying,” they conceded that to builders who erected post offi ces quarry owner Ted Biesanz; Rev. Ed- they had started too late.33 at a set price. The trend was toward ward Fitzgerald, the Catholic bishop That summer, federal authorities simple, modern, single- story, no- of Winona; heiress Gretchen Lam- asked for bids from parties interested frills structures that were economical berton; entrepreneur Ben Miller; in purchasing the land and build- to build and considered more effi - and, of course, Dr. Lewis Younger. ing Winona’s post offi ce, which the cient to operate.34 On August 5 a second advertise- government would then lease. A Mil- The GSA required the new post ment appeared, this one proclaiming waukee investment fi rm was chosen offi ce to have a 176- foot front on “Central Park Is Yours! ACT NOW to as low bidder (in terms of the annual Fifth Street and be 140- feet deep Save This Beauty Spot!” The news- rent it would charge), and that fi rm along Main and Center Streets, papers published many letters to the hired Kraus- Anderson, Inc., of Min- producing a gross area of 24,640 editor, both pro and con. In August, neapolis to construct the post offi ce. square feet. Built on a cement slab, however, the founders of the opposi- By this time, the Offi ce of Supervis- the structure would have a concrete- tion committee privately acknowl- ing Architect was long gone, replaced block exterior except for the front, edged that they had lost the battle. by regional GSA offi ces that provided made of precast concrete with alumi-

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MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 255 6/5/13 1:37 PM num and brick trim and plate- glass employees began working in the new ceremony while the band from Wi- windows. The GSA also specified building, which was dedicated on nona’s Catholic high school, Cotter, eight parking stalls for patrons in September 21, 1963.36 played the national anthem. A Cotter front of the building. Unlike the old It is interesting to compare this student read “Ode to the American post office with its interior and exte- ceremony with the dedication of the Flag.” In contrast, the speakers in rior stairways, the new facility was earlier post office. In 1891 the presi- 1891 tended to focus on the signifi- easily accessible.35 dent of the Board of Trade presided. cance for Winona of a beautiful pub- Ground breaking took place on In 1963 the Chamber of Commerce lic space that was shared equally by September 25, 1962. The day before, played no public role. In 1891 former all citizens.37 when the contractor was scheduled congressman Thomas Wilson spoke; Although Winona’s business lead- to begin felling trees on the site, in 1963 U.S. Sen. Eugene McCarthy ers campaigned hard for a new post anonymous individuals stapled made a speech— about the atomic office, they had little interest in its booklets to those trees. The book- test ban treaty. According to news re- design and made no speeches about lets were reprints of “Good- By to ports, the only speaker who actually how its architecture represented Our Public Parks,” a Readers Digest mentioned the building was Mayor something about their community. article lamenting the loss of parks R. K. Ellings. He lauded the govern- Its cost also reflected the declining to development and calling for com- ment system of leasing post offices role of post office buildings as key munity vigilance and resistance. The from private owners so that the prop- symbols of the nation’s civic life. The mayor contacted the police, and the erties stayed on the tax rolls. (The Daily News reported that the build- Daily News noted that it was illegal new building, assessed at $113,450, ing permit documented construc- to attach material to trees on public would generate $12,000 annually tion costs of $180,000. The federal property. In late May 1963, postal in taxes.) The 1963 event was also government ultimately paid Winona much more nationalistic in tone than $80,000 for the Central Park land. Winona’s new post office, which opened the 1891 dedication. The American All told, the $260,000 that the in 1963 on the site of Central Park Legion conducted a flag- raising government spent in 1963 would be

256 Minnesota History

MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 256 6/5/13 1:37 PM Although Winona’s business leaders campaigned hard lead to a “death spiral.” They point out that Congress has consistently for a new post office, they had little interest in its design blocked the postal service’s plans to and made no speeches about how its architecture expand into profitable new services and products. Our civic life as a de- represented something about their community. mocracy, they maintain, is crucially supported by the guarantee of uni- versal service anchored by the pres- worth between $2 and $2.5 million in any country— this was a unique ence of local post offices.42 today, a fraction of the $19–$32 mil- expenditure highly favored by the lion (in contemporary dollars) spent private sector, especially the power- on the 1891 structure.38 ful automobile and energy industries. he history of the Winona post Even before construction began Moreover, the enormous funds spent T office provides local evidence in Central Park, the federal govern- on highways required diminished that the demotion of the public ment had classified the historic post funding for other projects, such as sphere had already begun in the late office at Fourth and Main as surplus public buildings. At the time, some 1950s. Just as citizens’ groups today property, available for sale. The theorists worried that governmental are campaigning in many towns to Daily News published a photo tour of policy prioritizing private mobility in save their local post offices, some Wi- the building, noting that the second- automobiles would undermine pub- nonans waged a vocal, if tardy, fight floor courtroom was unused. First lic spaces where citizens interacted to save their historic post office and National Bank bought the building face- to- face with people of different Central Park during the 1960s.43 But and razed it in October 1963 to classes and ethnicities.41 local business and political leaders, make room for a two- story, modern- The movement away from public the congressional delegation and, ist brick bank that occupies the site investment has taken a nationwide eventually, GSA bureaucrats took today. In 2002 Winona County pur- toll on the post office. The Postal the view that private property should chased this building and converted it Reorganization Act of 1970 trans- grow at the expense of public space. into the Winona County Government formed it from a Cabinet- level Fifty years have passed since Center.39 department into an independent, Winona’s new post office opened in financially self- supporting federal Central Park. Thanks to the dedica- agency. As a result, the U.S. Postal tion and competence of the postal eginning in the late 1950s, Service began closing post offices or workers, it still functions as a vital Bsocial theorists such as John replacing them with new, stripped- public space where people mingle Kenneth Galbraith and Christopher down offices located outside of and meet with fellow citizens of all Lasch noted that American elites downtowns. This process accelerated backgrounds. But the trend that were becoming disenchanted with in 2002 when President George W. began in the 1950s continues, and the investment in public services and Bush appointed a commission to long- term future of Winona’s post of- public space. They observed that consider the future of the postal fice, like all others, is in doubt. a business leaders increasingly called service, including the possibility of for leaner government, which would privatizing it completely. Reacting liberate private enterprise to thrive in part to the fact that electronic in the marketplace. These theorists media has led to a decline in first- worried that this turning- away from class mail, the postmaster general in the public realm would have negative 2012 began closing mail- processing consequences for the functioning of centers and limiting the hours of democracy.40 Although the Eisen- smaller post offices. Opponents hower administration in the 1950s argue that this downsizing is mo- committed the country to the inter- tivated by free- market extremism state highway system— perhaps the rather than economic necessity and largest public investment ever made that a reduction in services will

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MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 257 6/5/13 1:37 PM Notes Research for this article was supported in worth.com for more information and calcu- day. Another letter reported an accident in- part by a grant from the National Endow- lators (accessed Apr. 15, 2013). All subse- volving a hod carrier who died when he fell ment for the Humanities to the Winona quent conversions are derived from this from the second floor. County Historical Society. The authors wish resource. 16. Here and two paragraphs below, Wi- to thank the following for sharing ideas, 8. Curtiss- Wedge, History of Winona nona Daily Republican, Oct. 10, 1891, 1. helping with sources, and reading drafts: County, 2: 971; A History of Public Build- 17. Winona Daily Herald, Oct. 10, 1891, 1. Mark Peterson, Jennifer Weaver, and Walt ings under the Control of the Treasury 18. Winona Daily Herald, Oct. 22, 1891, Bennick, Winona County Historical Soci- Department (Washington, D.C.: Govern- 4; Winona Daily Republican, Oct. 22, 1891, ety; William Crozier and Rachel Thomas, ment Printing Office, 1901), 313–23. The 1. Yale, an attorney, moved to Winona from Saint Mary’s University library and ar- space at Third and Center is now the loca- New Haven, CT, in 1857. On his career, see chives; John Archer; and Michael Salemi. tion of Blooming Grounds Coffeehouse. Curtiss- Wedge, History of Winona County, 9. Winona Daily Republican, Jan. 2, 1: 270. The paper also reported that Wilson, 1. Winona Daily Republican, Oct. 22, 1886, 2, Oct. 10, 1891, sec. 1, p. 1. one of the politicians who had shepherded 1891, 1. 10. Craig, Federal Presence, 196–203; the funding through Congress, rose to say 2. David M. Hemkin, The Postal Age: Antoinette J. Lee, Architects to the Nation: that although he was happy Winona got the The Emergence of Modern Communication The Rise and Decline of the Supervising building, “he’d confess among ourselves in Nineteenth- Century America (Chicago: Architects Office (New York: Oxford Univer- that I sometimes think that the United University of Chicago Press, 2006), 64; Lois sity Press, 2000), 111–62. The American In- States has put too much money here for Craig, The Federal Presence: Architecture, stitute of Architects campaigned, ultimately good government.” This was an early in- Politics and Symbols in United States Gov- successfully, to open the system so that pri- stance of the long controversy about pork- ernment Buildings (Cambridge, MA: MIT vate architects could compete for govern- barrel politics in postal construction. James Press, 1978). By the Postal Reorganization ment work. The Tarnsey Act (1893) allowed H. Burns, Great American Post Offices (New Act of 1970, Congress abolished the Depart- but did not require the Treasury Dept. to York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998), 77–85. ment of the Post Office and replaced it with conduct open design competitions for 19. Winona Daily Republican, Oct. 22, the United States Postal Service but reaf- major federal buildings. 1891, 3 (Buck quote). Maybury’s figures firmed the long- standing mission to “pro- 11. Winona Daily Republican, Oct. 10, match those in Annual Report of the Super- vide prompt, reliable, and efficient services 1891, 1. For Wilson’s career, see Minnesota vising Architect to the Secretary of the Trea- to patrons in all areas and . . . all communi- Legislative Reference Library, www.leg sury for the Year Ending September 30, ties”; 39 U.S.C. Sec. 101 .state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=11922 1892, 167, showing $160,000 appropriated 3. William Crozier, “A Social History of (accessed Apr. 15, 2013). and all but $151.37 spent, which would be Winona, Minnesota, 1880–1905” (PhD diss., 12. Winona Daily Republican, July 27, carried over to a surplus fund. University of Nebraska, 1976). 1889, 3. Winona lawyer William Mitchell 20. Winona Daily News, Sept. 25, 1956, 4. Judith Martin, “The Prairie City (1832–1900) became a Minnesota Supreme 3. Kryzsko was the president of Winona Comes of Age: Ambitions and Expectations Court justice in 1881 but apparently stayed National Bank. He is well remembered in in the Richardsonian Era,” in The Spirit of active in local affairs. Both Whipple and town for his support of higher education; H. H. Richardson on the Midland Prairies: Sinclair were newspaper editors who served Winona State University’s student union Regional Transformation of an Architec- terms as Winona postmaster. Sinclair edited bears his name. tural Style, ed. Paul Clifford Larson (Ames: the Daily Republican, while Whipple edited 21. Board of Directors, WCHS, open let- Iowa State University Press, 1988), 10. These the pro- Democratic Winona Daily Herald. ter, Oct. 12, 1956, reprinted in part in Win- city- builders preferred the look, solidity, and The rivals were appointed when their re- ona Daily News, Oct. 17, 1956, 3, and S. J. permanence of brick and stone, but two spective party captured the presidency; Kryzsko to Board of Directors, WCHS, Nov. other factors were involved: the persistent Crozier, “Social History of Winona,” 180. 8, 1956, reprinted in full in Winona Daily problem of fire, which in 1862 had swept 13. On Windom’s political career, see News, Nov. 10, 1956, 10— both in post office through downtown Winona, still mostly Robert S. Salisbury, William Windom: file. built of wood; and the nearby, plentiful sup- Apostle of Positive Government (Lanham, 22. Winona Daily News, Feb. 15, 1957, 1. ply of granite, limestone, quartzite, and MD: University Press of America, 1993). 23. Greg Gaut and Marsha Neff, “ ‘Save sandstone. See John Hudson, “The Midland 14. Winona Daily Republican, Aug. 10, the Lady’: The Struggle for the Winona Prairies: Natural Resources and Urban Set- 1889, 3, Apr. 11, 1890, 3; Proposal for the County Courthouse,” Minnesota History 59 tlement,” in Spirit of Richardson, 123. Erection and Completion of U.S. Courthouse, (Winter 2005–06): 316–34. 5. Franklin Curtiss- Wedge, History of Post Office, Feb. 18, 1890, manuscript 576, 24. Winona Daily News, Jan. 11, 1979, 3; Winona County, Minnesota (Chicago: Coo- Winona County Historical Society Archives, W. A. Holloway to Hubert Humphrey, Mar. per, 1913), 2: 879–80. hereinafter WCHS. 4, 1957, post office file. Humphrey for- 6. For the impact of Richardson’s archi- 15. Maybury to Windom, May 3, 1890, warded the letter to Mayor Loyde Pfeiffer, tecture on the Midwest, see Larson, Spirit and Maybury to Windrim, June 20, 1890, who shared it with the press; Winona Daily of H. H. Richardson. Oct. 20, 1890, Feb. 7, 1891— all manuscript News, Mar. 12, 1957, 3. 7. This range is based on two indicators 286, WCHS; Winona Daily Republican, 25. Winona Daily News, Feb. 26, 1958, that try to capture the changing value of Oct. 10, 1891, 1. Although few primary 3, Mar. 19, 1958, 3; S. J. Kryzsko to Clubs labor: the $12.7 million on the unskilled sources from Maybury’s private practice and Civil Organizations, Mar. 19, 1958, and wage rate, and $20.8 million on production- survive, the letterpress book of his corre- Lewis Younger to Fellow Citizens, Mar. 12, worker wages. Since the value of a construc- spondence as superintendent of construc- 1958, both in post office file. tion project is tied to the cost of labor (some tion does (manuscript 286). There are 26. Winona Daily News, Apr. 29, 1958, 1. of it highly skilled), these indicators are about 500 letters: some are illegible and 27. Winona Daily Republican, Mar. 7, more appropriate than the commonly used most are mundane. In one of the first, he 1889, 3, May 10, 1889, 3; Younger to Fellow consumer price index, which is based on a requested permission to hire an assistant. Citizens, Mar. 12, 1958. “Winona” is derived typical urban household consumption bun- As soon as Windrim approved, Maybury from a Dakota word that means first- born dle. See Measuring Worth, www.measuring hired his architect son as clerk, at $4 per daughter.

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MNHist_Sum13-opt.indd 258 6/5/13 1:37 PM Mail carriers and other dignitaries posing at the post office doors. Carvings of a winged wheel, symbolizing postal speed, and the federal eagle adorn the façade.

28. Winona Daily News, July 19, 1960, 1, 2, Aug. 5, 1961, 2 (emphasis in the origi- 1961); Richard Sennett, The Fall of Public Oct. 11, 1960, 3. Although city councilors nals); Dr. Carl Heise and nine others to Man (New York: Norton, 1974); James enthusiastically gave up the park, they Members of the Committee to Save Central Howard Kunstler, The Geography of No- wanted more for it than the $33,000 the Park, manuscript file 348, WCHS. where: The Rise and Decline of America’s government offered; Winona City Recorder 34. Winona Daily News, Sept. 1, 1961, 3; Man- Made Landscape (New York: Simon & to H. T. Orr, Feb. 7, 1961. The city had the Lee, Architects to the Nation, 287. There Schuster, 1993); Christopher Lasch, The Re- property appraised at $110,000; E. J. Har- were 15 bids; WMC Inc. was the only volt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democ- tert and R. J. Selover to William Theurer, Winona- based bidder. racy (New York: Norton, 1995); Harry Feb. 7, 1961. Eventually, Winona got 35. Winona Daily News, July 17, 1961, 3, Boyte and Nancy Kari, Building America: $80,000. All letters in post office file. June 29, 1961, 3. The Democratic Promise of Public Work 29. Winona Daily News, Dec. 1, 1960, 6, 36. Winona Daily News, Sept. 25, 1962, (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, Dec. 6, 1960, 6. 3, Sept. 24, 1962, 3, Sept. 22, 1963, 3; Al- 1996). 30. Resolution, Dec. 6, 1960, post office fred Balk, “Good- By to our Public Parks,” 41. See, for example, Sennett, Fall of file; Winona Daily News, Dec. 8, 1960, 3. Readers Digest, Nov. 1960, condensed from Public Man, 14; Kunstler, Geography of No- 31. Jack E. Grant, director, Real Estate original in National Civic Review (Oct. where, 119. Leasing, Post Office Dept., to Lewis 1960), the journal of the National Munici- 42. For opponents’ views see, for ex- Younger, Mar. 9, 1961, post office file. Be- pal League. A copy of the reprint is in post ample, Christopher W. Shaw, Preserving the sides his leadership role in the WCHS, office file. People’s Post Office (Washington: Essential Younger had another, more personal stake 37. The more nationalistic consciousness Books, 2006); David Morris, “Too Impor- in this issue. His medical office at 64 W. of the midtwentieth century was probably a tant to be Stamped Out,” Star Tribune, Apr. Fifth St. faced Central Park, and if the by- product of the U.S. becoming an impe- 19, 2012, A13; Save the Post Office, www.sa- chamber had its way, his view would change rial power after the Spanish- American War vethepostoffice.com (accessed Apr. 15, 2013). from a fountain and trees to the front fa- in 1898. Two world wars and the Cold War Among the many historic post offices USPS çade of the new post office. The Younger also played their role. Still, the lack of patri- has put up for sale is the 1936 building that Building, one of the city’s few art deco otic symbolism or rhetoric at the 1891 dedi- anchors Northfield’s historic downtown. In structures, is now an orthodontist’s office. cation is striking. 2012 the National Trust for Historic Preser- 32. Winona Daily News, July 25, 1961, 3. 38. Winona Daily News, Dec. 31, 1963, vation responded by adding historic post of- Princess Wenonah’s odyssey was only be- 12, documenting costs of several projects. fices, collectively, to its Most Endangered ginning. She was moved two more times 39. Winona Daily News, July 1, 1962, 5. Buildings list. before being restored, along with her tur- First National, one of Winona’s original 43. On current activities see, for ex- tles, pelicans, and pool (a citizens’ group banks, was affiliated with Northwest Ban- ample, Kim Ode, “Hoping for a Miracle,” raised $100,000 for the job) and relocated corporation headquartered in Minneapolis. Star Tribune, Jan. 15, 2012, E1. in 1993 to what appears to be her perma- Eventually Northwest merged with Wells nent home: Windom Park, another of the Fargo, which sold the building to Winona original ward parks. Jerome Christenson, County. “Landon’s Princess: Wenonah in Winona,” 40. John K. Galbraith, The Affluent Soci- The photos on p. 246, 248, 250, 251, 254, in his Pieces of the Past (Winona Daily ety (Boston: Houghton- Mifflin, 1958); Jane 256, and 259 are courtesy the Winona News, 2001), 45. Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great Ameri- County Historical Society. All others are in 33. Winona Daily News, July 28, 1961, can Cities (New York: Random House, MHS collections.

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