Library fight comes to an end

The long fight to renovate and save the historic Hamline Midway Branch Library came to an end Oct. 31, 2024 as Ramsey County District Court Judge Stephen Smith ruled that a new library project can move ahead. The decision ends 16 months of litigation over the project.
The $8.1 million project will be built on the current library site at 1558 W. Minnehaha Ave. The project was set to start a year ago.
“I applaud this decision and look forward to finally fulfilling our promise of an accessible, safe, and modern public library that all of our Hamline-Midway families can enjoy,” said Mayor Melvin Carter in a prepared statement
“The Midway deserves major city investment in vibrant public spaces for the future of our diverse community,” said Council President Mitra Jalali in a prepared statement. “I am thrilled that the Hamline-Midway Library will be rebuilt to better serve our neighborhood. This is a victory for all our residents.”
Hamline Midway Library is one of three total libraries slated for transformation through Saint Paul Public Library’s Transforming Libraries initiative.
“Libraries are essential spaces of belonging and connection in our city,” said Library Director Maureen Hartman in a prepared statement. “We are so excited to honor the voices of our neighbors and deliver on this vision with the new Hamline Midway Library.”
The project is anticipated to take 18 months for completion.
The Henry Hale Memorial Library, Hamline Branch, begins in 1890 when Hale, a St. Paul attorney and property owner, wrote a clause into his will that left a bequest for the city to use funds from his estate to build a free library and a free medical dispensary. The funds were to become available 25 years after his death. The Panic of 1893 and property value declines delayed his projects and his wife Mary had to provide support.
Two Hale libraries were built, one in Merriam Park and one in Hamline Midway. The Hamline Midway building replaced small storefront libraries.
Architect Carl H. Buetow, who worked for the city in 1929, prepared three preliminary sketches for the building. One was chosen, construction began and the library opened in October 1930.
Renovate 1558 issued a statement expressing disappointment in the decision, calling it “yet another blow to historic preservation in St. Paul.” The preservationist group said Smith ignored judicial precedent in how the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act (MERA) should be applied in historic preservation matters.
“While MERA requires that demolition of historic resources is only appropriate when the defendant can demonstrate that there is no prudent or feasible alternative to such a step, the court wrongly concludes that alternatives under MERA are only prudent if they are the city’s preferred alternative and that exploring alternatives is, itself, imprudent. The Judge also gives credence to the city’s absurd argument that demolition of the library is consistent with its listing on the National Register due to social and community factors,” the Renovate 1558 statement said.
The group also expressed disappointment that its argument comparing the Hamline Midway Library with the Riverview Branch Library were ignored. Riverview will be renovated as part of the Transforming Libraries project. Hamline Midway project planner LSE Architects brought forward a plan to renovate the existing library.
Renovate 1558 also made the point that the judge sided “with the political agendas of cities, such as the desire to spend valuable resources on new buildings when existing buildings can be successfully renovated to meet community needs.”