WISCONSIN BLUE BOOK 1989-1990


community and in the State Historic Preservation Office have gotten no less
than 17 entries on the National Register of Historic Places, among them busi-
ness, industrial, residential, and cultural sites, including 2 historic districts,
the Residential District and the Mall District. A guide for walking or driving
to these locations is available at the Milwaukee Road Depot, the Chamber
of
Commerce, and elsewhere. Here are some of the highlights:
The Red Wing Historic Mall District*
   Located between the Mississippi River and Seventh Street, and lying adja-
 cent to East and West Avenues, this triangular-shaped area has served as
a
 civic center for Red Wing since the community's early development. Promi-
 nent here are public buildings such as the County Courthouse, Central High
 School, the Post Office, the Red Wing Public Library, and the T.B. Sheldon
 Memorial Auditorium. Seven churches, including Christ Church on Third
 Street, a Gothic Revival structure built in 1871 of local limestone, 3 parks,
 some residences, commercial buildings, and one industrial establishment,
 Fleischman's Malting Company, give the district broad meaning in Red
 Wing's history. They range chronologically from the 1850s to the 1960s.
At
 the turn of the century, when cities all over the United States embarked
on
 campaigns to enhance their beauty and desirability, Red Wing launched such
 a venture. Two of the parks, Levee Park and John H. Rich Park, date from
 this period. So do a number of the public buildings in the mall, the YMCA,
 the Post Office, the Milwaukee Road Passenger Depot, and the Sheldon Audi-
 torium*, the latter located at 443 West Third Street.
   The auditorium, built in 1904, is a monument to the very successful career
of Thomas B. Sheldon, a Massachusetts Yankee who came to Red Wing in
1856 and during the next 4 decades amassed a fortune in a wide variety of
enterprises, principally general mercantile, grain dealing, transportation,
banking, and manufacturing. Always very civic-minded, he provided in his
will that one-half of his estate should go to Red Wing for civic purposes.
Built 4 years after Sheldon's death and constructed of light gray brick in
Ren-
aissance style with classical detail, the city-owned auditorium, continues
to be
operated by the city, serving as a center for legitimate theater and musical
performances. The auditorium opened a new season in the fall of 1988, after
2 years of refurbishing, which included the restoration of the original lush
decor. Nearby and just outside the district are 2 other National Register
sites
well worth visiting, St. James Hotel Complex and the Red Wing City Hall.
St. James Hotel Complex*, Bush and Main Streets
  Built in 1875 using local limestone, the hotel grew from local businessmen's
convictions that Red Wing needed such a facility because the city was a major
commercial center for southeastern Minnesota and a place where both
steamboat and railroad passengers stopped. The hotel added the St. James
Medical Building in 1912 and the Northern States Power Building in 1923 to
improve its financial position. Recently renovated, the 3 buildings now house
a hotel, boutiques, art galleries, shops, and offices. The attractive Italianate
hotel, once regarded as among the most elaborate Mississippi river town ho-
tels in Minnesota, maintains its place in Red Wing's business community
through change and adaptation.


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