As demolition begins in the Midway of the Henry Hale Memorial Library, Hamline Branch, the city of St. Paul claims that delays from litigation brought by the neighborhood group Renovate 1558 increased building costs by $2.3 million. However, any price increase since June 2023, when our lawsuit to save this historic library was filed, could have been avoided by pursuing the renovation option created by LSE Architects for Saint Paul Public Library (SPPL) more than a year before. Had SPPL gone with that design, the 95-year-old building, featuring a completely “refreshed” interior, would already be serving the public rather than facing the wrecking ball.

Unfortunately, SPPL leadership refused to consider renovation of the existing building despite its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Why? What was it about the Henry Hale Library building that required its destruction while the city was willing to renovate two other aging libraries — Riverview and Hayden Heights?

We can’t answer that question with any certainty, but there was a clear determination within SPPL to tear down a beloved library that had served the community for nearly 100 years and replace it with a brand-new building that promised all sorts of modern bells and whistles.

For example, a March 29, 2021, email (obtained through a data request) to the city’s planning director from SPPL’s deputy director of operations asserted that “every building component is failing and in critical condition — all must be replaced or upgraded.” Yet, a condition assessments report on the Hamline Library done for SPPL by the Ameresco company found that outside of failing HVAC pumps and chillers, every building component was described as in “fair” or “good” condition, including the library’s concrete foundation and substructure, basement and superstructure.

Moreover, 10 days later when SPPL was preparing its “case statement,” a document designed to generate funding support for its “Transforming Libraries” initiative, SPPL’s former director advised her communications manager to stress that the $21.1 million budget would be used to “transform 3 crumbling neighborhood locations … Crumbling isn’t the right word but you get where I’m going – emphasize the old and falling down.” Subsequently, the case statement released to the public referred to the Hamline branch as “in disrepair” while Hayden Heights was merely “dated and well-worn” and Riverview “historic.” Additionally, the Hamline building was branded as “poorly-functioning” with “significant issues” and “problems,” language that seemed calculated to drum up support for tearing it down.

Grossly exaggerating the condition of the Henry Hale Library was just one piece of SPPL’s disinformation campaign. When a survey conducted by the city’s own Capital Improvement Budget Committee showed overwhelming support for renovating the library versus rebuilding it, SPPL responded by creating its own online survey but made sure not to ask respondents whether they favored renovation or demolition. When Renovate 1558 pressed SPPL to directly engage the community on the fate of Hamline Library, SPPL instead initiated a community process designed to minimize public interaction and limit input to one-on-one conversations. Then, after gathering feedback, SPPL chose to highlight only those comments that supported a new building.

As we continued to express our frustration with the process — we started this effort, after all, because we thought neighborhood voices were being ignored — the city responded by orchestrating a whisper campaign that insinuated someone associated with our group had made rude and racist comments toward planning staff and architects. Without evidence, these rumors were circulated in the community and repeated by at least one City Council member as well as staff at both the Friends of the St. Paul Library and LSE Architects. Deputy Mayor Jamie Tincher even sent a letter on April 15, 2022, to the Hamline Midway Coalition Board claiming that “Saint Paul Public Library and LSE professionals – a team of nearly all women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color – have been cursed out, intimidated, demeaned, and bullied in this process while performing their professional duties.”

These are the lengths to which the city and its partners will go to achieve an outcome they desire. By the time Renovate 1558 entered into litigation, the allegations had been expanded to deride events like a “group hug” of the Hamline building and a cake cutting to celebrate the library’s National Register of Historic Places listing as “angry” protests. At trial, one of LSE’s architects insisted her tires had been slashed following an open house presentation. Really?

Some might wonder how a city engaging in such behavior could still prevail in court. We wonder as well. Ugly allegations can certainly impact the judicial process. However, with preservation law on our side, we filed an appeal, confident we’d gain a reversal in a more neutral setting.
That’s when the city dropped its final bombshell: a request that the district court assess our neighborhood group $75,000 in costs to cover the city’s expert witness fees. That’s money we didn’t have, and exposure to that potential liability had the desired effect; we withdrew our appeal.

Those without ties to the Henry Hale Library may be thinking “so what” if another historic building gets torn down. Except the next fight between residents and City Hall might be over an issue in your neighborhood that you do care about — and you’ll be facing a powerful adversary willing to manufacture facts and impugn the reputations of those in opposition in order to get what it wants. You’ve been warned.

Tom Goldstein is a cofounder of Renovate 1558. He was a resident of the Hamline Midway neighborhood from 2004 through 2023 and a candidate for mayor in 2017.

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