St. Mary's Church among state's ten most endangered

Preservation

Alliance puts building on

endangered list, after efforts to convert it into apartments fail

NEW ULM -- The former St. Mary's Catholic church school and convent buildings are on the list of Minnesota's ten most endangered historic properties put out by the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota.

The church and school building, built in 1921, was used as a Catholic elementary school until four years ago, when New Ulm Area Catholic Schools opened its new St. Anthony's Elementary School in New Ulm.

The school building and the convent building, which housed the Educare pre-school program until NUACS closed that program, has stood vacant since then. Parish efforts to have a developer convert the building to apartments were unsuccessful, and this year the parish announced its plans to have the building demolished, retaining the land for possible future expansion.

The move has been opposed by historic preservationists in town, including the New Ulm Historic Preservation Commission, which opposes the demolition. Since St. Mary's parish requested the city to declare the buildings a City Landmark, the parish must get a demolition permit from the commission. If the commission refuses the permit, the parish could appeal to the New Ulm City Council.

The Preservation Alliance's top ten list of endangered historic properties includes:

* Summit Avenue houses and median in St. Paul, which faces an expansion plan by the University of St. Thomas.

* The G. A. Carlson Lime Kiln in Red Wing, which is in need of stabilization measures.

* The Guthrie Theater building in Minneapolis, which faces demolition if the Guthrie moves to a new theater facility. The Walker Art Center next door plans to demolish the building for its own expansion.

* Malcolm E. Willey House in Minneapolis, designed in 1933 by Frank Lloyd Wright. It has been standing vacant for five years and is threatened by vandalism and deterioration.

* Old St. Mary's Church school and convent buildings in New Ulm.

* Mount Hope Cemetery in Afton, which is untended and vandalized.

* St. Rose Catholic Church in Cherry Grove Township, Goodhue County, which was built in 1878 but was abandoned in 1962 and is now badly weathered.

* Western Grocer Company Building in Albert Lea, built in 1888 across from the Freeborn County Courthouse. Despite a study showing potential reuse, the county "seems determined to rid itself of this impressive structure," said the Preservation Alliance.

* B'nai Abraham Synagogue in Virginia, built in 1907, now serves a dwindling congregation that can no longer afford to maintain it.

* Spina Hotel, Ironton. Once the grandest building in town in the early 20th century, the building's re-use is being "thwarted by an ownership situation without a foreseeable resolution" as deferred repairs mount up in the building, according to the Alliance.