Last Remaining Home in Downtown St. Paul May Be Losing a Big Fan

ST. PAUL, MN-Even the most ardent preservationist sometimes concludes that the cost to save a historic building may exceed its value. At least, that’s the conclusion of Larry Millett, an architecture critic for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, regarding the historic Amrstrong-Quinlan building near downtown.

Millett, an author of several books on architecture as well as several novels, has long advocated saving downtown St. Paul’s last remaining house from the wrecking ball. The brick duplex, built in 1886, stands on a huge lot across from the new Xcel Energy Center, the home of the Minnesota Wild NHL team. The city wants to build a huge transit hub and parking ramp on the site to serve both the arena and the rest of downtown St. Paul.