Category: Land Use

A Place to Play: Mattocks Park

With “a little bit of everything for everyone,” Mattocks Park spans a neighborhood block, nestled snugly between rows of family homes in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood. Housing a large green space with shaded seating, two gated tennis courts, a half-court basketball court, baseball diamond, and playground with a separate “tot-lot,” the park provides a space that […]

Iris Park

Imagine you are strolling down the sidewalk on the busy, urban road of University Avenue in St. Paul, MN. The Green Line train dings to announce its arrival at the Fairview Station as cars fly by and construction vehicles clunk and hum across the street. City life is abuzz all around you. You spot a […]

Concrete support pillars are among dozens of remains scattered throughout the Gopher Ordinance Works, a WWII munitions factory in Rosemount.

Embracing Ruins as Historic Preservation

We tend to ignore ruins or look at them as failures, awaiting either a visionary creative reuse or the wrecking ball. What if we preserved them as they are instead?