(00:00:00) This was a cooperation a Kind of Wonderful learning process where business and the Arts were sitting in the same room deciding things together compromising sometimes being rather stubborn learning to get along business teaching the art of the artist how business does things that produce spaces like this. The intersection of Hennepin Avenue and 6th Street in Downtown Minneapolis for years one corner has been dominated by an eight-story Richard sounion Romanesque structure back in 1890. It's heavy Sandstone perimeter and closed facilities for 11 Masonic groups. The Masonic temple constructed at a cost of over 350,000 dollars had five large halls and fifty Auntie committee and reception rooms. There were large ground floor office has outfitted with both gas and electric lighting but the intervening Decades of grime and sought had grade the pale beige Sandstone the lodge Halls lay in Dusty disrepair and by 1947 the offices of that earlier Elegance had acquired the more common bearings of the merchandise building Corporation. Another 30 years passed and the Sandstone all but blackened only a smattering of the commercial concerns were left to mingle with the dust as Street and pedestrian traffic traveled by ignoring the old Temple to Studio artists managed at least a sidewards glance. Hennepin and sixth sculptor Carol Ann McKay remembers that Day in 1976. We got wind of the fact that there was some space available in this building and we got hold of the owners we contacted them and they brought us through the building for the first time and there were empty spaces the spaces at the Minnesota dance company for instance is now occupying were empty spaces. One of those big studios was a warehouse for watch parts and it was a two-story High Space full of little tiny cabinets full of tiny teeny parts and it was it was quite an interesting place in and of itself, but we looked at the spaces in the building and there were no if there was no freight elevator. I'm a sculptor and my work is heavy outdoor steel and aluminum constructions. There was no way for me to actually occupy that space because I couldn't get my materials in or out of the building that ended it for us and (00:02:45) The building kept haunting me. (00:02:55) Today the building far from hauntzer. It's black outer walls have been chemically restored to their original Sandstone Hue and equal to the exterior facelift has been the temples complete interior renovation, Carol. Ann. McKay is about to formally introduce the Twin Cities to her three-year-old brainchild that Hennepin Center for the Arts. It will house ten Arts organizations, including two major groups the cricket theater and the Minnesota Dance Theater it looks the way I expected it to look the spaces have not changed radically at all. That was one of the reasons it was feasible to do this building was that the space has existed from the outside of the building as you know, you cannot tell that it's anything but a Labyrinth of small offices, but in fact the whole core of the building are every other floor two-story. Hi, gorgeous 5,000 square foot performing spaces. Given the spaces it was very obvious that it was going to look Exquisite clean simple orderly building lots of intricacy on the outside. Lots of drama in the arched windows were looking at it couldn't be bad. You could have painted it pink purple and polka dots and it wouldn't have been bad and because the spaces are there and are workable. And now of course it's full of people and that's all the more exciting. It's stupendous looking with all the dancers in (00:04:17) it. carpeting a regular public building Here are the showers. Do they work? I'm going to kind of dirty right now. (00:06:53) We are finally an organization that can be identified as a major State Arts resource and not just because of the Productions were doing and not just because of the size of the school, but because we have a staff that is living in a place that defines that in and of itself never lie, Seaman general manager for the Minnesota Dance Theater, her organization is the largest tenant with a total space allotment of over 30,000 square feet that makes it one of the nation's largest dance school and rehearsal facilities MDT spent much of the past year living side by side. The renovation dancers would rehearse with particle masks to fend off the dust semen herself watched her own office reduced to nothing more than pipes and molding. But now as she looks out her sixth floor window the general manager assesses what the renovated space really means for her dance company. We will have some of the most excellent office spaces that were Designed with the Architects with every function for that space in mind in every instance and to our specifications to the extent that they could spread the Dollars around it says something quite special and quite unique. Quite unique Beyond physical space. All right and ability to be easy easily identified by our various Public's and that would include our audiences concert audiences as well as our student audiences and in also includes the business Community whom we go to for support and who we hope to bring munnies as a result of our activities here in the metropolitan area. So when they can identify the fact that we are in that building they will understand better who we are buildings do bear some kind of instant validation of an organization like in VTS Beverly Seaman a program director of a smaller organization the Minnesota public programming Corporation agrees that increased visibility via the Hennepin Center will lead to increased funding but Lowell pick it adds that the benefits accrue not only on an individual basis, but from the Public's perception of a new Arts consultant. Horsham (00:09:11) the combination of organizations in one unit will make their existence apparent to more people and in that sense more people will appreciate the services that they provide and somewhere there's going to be a watershed effect where that develops more funds for the Arts in (00:09:29) general beyond the funding Factor picket sees the Hennepin Center tenants participating in an ongoing creative interaction which could benefit every organization including his own independent television production company. (00:09:43) Well, there's a cross fertilization that takes place whenever there is an exchange of ideas one rarely learns in a vacuum everything that we do we produce primarily documentary films some we are interested interested in some originally scripted scripted work, but primarily documentary films those films by definition are about something if we're not exposed to ideas and to the activities of other people that we find interesting. We have nothing but the film's to be about There are I'm sure going to be a lot of stories within that building that would be worth making films about and it would be worth making good television programs about for viewers in this area and perhaps (00:10:23) nationally level pickets point is avidly supported by fellow Hennepin Center tenant Carl Brookins an admissions counselor for the newly relocated Minneapolis branch of Metro State University. Brookins views, the potential interaction dovetailing with Metro States commitment to community involvement. (00:10:40) We see a two-way street in a sense we have access to people who can provide information and training and expertise for Arts organizations that are involved in the center. And we also see a closer involvement for our students and our faculty and staff in those organizations both in the center, of course outside the center (00:11:01) in addition to the Future pooling of artistic talent there already are indications that some economic sharing has occurred Hennepin Center tenants are splitting the costs of Already and maintenance in the building and the Minnesota dance theater is working on sharing some of its ample Studio space with the Cricut theater for rehearsal purposes and speaking of the cricket their rehearsals for the new season are already underway, according to the theater staff Advance ticket sales are breaking records. Some people had wondered whether the move downtown would cost the cricket some of its patrons who are partial to the funky charm of the older location at Northeast Minneapolis, but those concerns have apparently vanished amid the new 388 seat theater on Hennepin centers top floor and that includes actor Peter Moore who came to know the old Cricket both on and off stage and who recently discovered his new (00:11:50) surroundings. Oh my gosh. This is the lobby. The lobby is bigger than the entire old Cricket. I don't know how they're going to stand these plush. Surroundings. Ha ha ha. Look at that stage. Oh, we're gonna one two, three, four, five six. Seven eight eight. Nine rows. The furthest seat back is nine rows from the stage. That's perfect. That was oh geez. That was the nice thing about the old Cricket man. That was a wonderful old theater was that the intimacy with the audience was the you were talking right to them. They were right with you. And now this is still a gorgeous new theater and they're still right lie with no seat is rather than nine miles back. That's incredible. A comfortable seat in the cricket. Well, there's a switch that has wonderful as that old theater was for actors because the audience was so close. I sometimes worried about the audience a little bit your knees would bang the head of the Patriots in front of you but the seats these are real live chairs. The floor isn't sticky. Well that just could be because there haven't been any people in here yet, but then carpet doesn't get sticky. This is this is fine. Wonderful. Oh acoustically this is this is perfect. You can you can talk you don't have to shout and you can be heard mommy mom or tralala. Tralala. She offered her honor. He honored her offer and all the night long. He was honor and author. (00:13:44) The road to that heaven has been an expensive one back in 1976 when Carol Ann McKay first mentioned the Hennepin Center project at a figure of two million dollars her businessman husband Harvey Mackay told her she was crazy. But the artist just became more determined to refine her idea toward a workable proposal to provide a nucleus place for Arts organizations throughout the city a place. Hopefully where artists of all working in any area performing our Visual Arts any need of information. They could find it here. There will be resources very Central resources here. Also, it's a central place for to perform. So that neighborhood groups downtown will be able to Neighborhood groups in this in all parts of the city will be able to come downtown have their place on an our little Broadway do shows in the small theater that is designed to be a community oriented. Shooter there is that it's on the bus line. Everyone can get here. The elderly can get here people on low incomes can get here. It's intended to provide that kind of access to high quality Innovative Arts. It now appears her concept emerged in the right place at the right time by 1977. McKay had managed to pull together diverse Arts organizations business representatives and city planners like John Burke to form Hennepin Center for the Arts. I think it in a way epitomizes what we have been (00:15:17) trying to do for a long time there and that is to have a diverse group of entertainment activities. It has you know, in addition to the Cricut theater a number of other facilities in the building which will bring a really a wide wide variety of activities and people coming to these activities to the to the Hennepin Avenue and and and above all focus on (00:15:42) entertainment the center has Mentioned with increasing frequency as a keystone in the plan to upgrade Hennepin Avenue its significance in the total package is reflected in Hennepin Setters. $480,000 Community Development block grant awarded last year along with $300,000 from the US Commerce Department Public Funding for renovation also has come from the Minnesota historical society and the National Endowment for the Arts just as the public sector has found appeal in the Hennepin Avenue Rejuvenation angle, so to the private contributors and no doubt both sectors have taken comfort in the Hennepin Center administrative organization, the board members alone could comprise a list of the who's who of Minneapolis Financial circles board president Bauer Hawthorne a former officer of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune company has marshaled his downtown Council and the Chamber of Commerce for continued support during Hennepin centers development. He assembled a fundraising team headed by Dayton Hudson Corporation President Steve poizner that high-powered Managed to obtain almost the entire amount of the money necessary for the renovation about 4.7 million dollars in just under a year Hawthorne maintains that by securing the funding up front in a clear break with most nonprofit capital projects Hennepin Center as a landlord organization and along with its tenants stands to gain in the long run. The number of (00:17:05) people start. I believe with the attitude that all Arts organizations are deadbeats and that they never pay their bills and that they're always out every year for Grants to keep them going. I have been involved with a number of Arts organizations that operate that way but I would like to have an example of where Arts organizations can be in pay their own way with the contributions. Of course that they get from General support. We have been determined in this project that we were not going back to the community for annual operating grants. So we are scaling the ramps for the A non-profit tennis and for the commercial tenants so that we should break even or do a little better than Break Even each (00:17:52) year. Hawthorne's optimistic projection is based on Hennepin centers policy to stay out of Arts programming his organization will remain strictly a landlord agency which owns and operates the building. Nothing more. There are a great many Arts (00:18:06) organizations in town. We didn't feel that we needed to do attempt to superimpose another one. We have no desire to be competitive with Orchestra Hall or Society of Fine Arts or Walker Guthrie any of the other (00:18:20) institutions and yet you say that there is going to be a theater in this building that will be available to groups is that not on its face programming? (00:18:28) No, we don't think so because we will strictly be renting it to people who come to us. There is a new development occurring. I'm not sure that it's going to materialize but the City Art Center is working on a program. In which they would take over management of four or five or a half a dozen spaces in town that were available for Arts performances. We have been talking with them the last few weeks and it's possible that they may take over the management of this theater in this building. (00:19:03) There's an air of anticipation down at Sixth and Hennepin in recent days. It seems as if the planners dreams of renovating the Avenue are about to finally take shape not just with the Hennepin Center for the Arts opening but with a new funding package to widen the street and put in many plazas many of the small business people along Hennepin seem to be enthusiastic not only about the art center, but about the increased interest on the part of major corporations in the Redevelopment of downtown Minneapolis. However, one business owner has some reservations, he's Joel schinder. The president of Schindler's read more book store Incorporated a long time retail operation just across the street from Hennepin Center schinder claims business is good right now and it stands to get even better with the changes. So on the surface, it appears his comments aren't merely sour grapes. But Joel schinder is concerned about what he views as the political and economic Winds of Change on the Avenue. I think the (00:19:58) people who are on the Avenue will not be here in five years, and I think that the business This is that are on the Avenue will find it. So expensive to continue doing business that they will be transformed or replaced by other businesses. And finally, I think the use of the Avenue will be different in that there will be perhaps more theaters will be perhaps more restaurants fewer retail outlets. That's what I think will occur with a narrowing of the street a widening of The Pedestrian Mall construction of new buildings and renovation of existing buildings (00:20:33) schinder paints a scenario, which leaves Hennepin Avenue a combination of ownership by large corporate investors mixed with an occasional nonprofit Enterprise. He argues that Hennepin centers nonprofit status coupled with its prime location amounts to an economic loss for the city and the taxpayer but Dayton Hudson Corporation President Steve poizner refused, she endures conclusions as they apply specifically to the history of Hennepin Center for the (00:20:58) Arts. I would argue that the only alternative for that building. Would be that it would be torn down and I would think that that's a faulty argument if the building disappears ultimately something else would appear in its place, but we would have lost a real Monument a beautiful building and I think that balance is off against the question of whether it's profit or nonprofit. There's plenty of space and plenty of opportunity to build many profit-making organizations and and buildings on Hennepin Avenue. So I think there's plenty of room for both to exist (00:21:32) side-by-side Stephen Posner president of the Dayton Hudson Corporation and key fundraiser for the Hennepin Center for the Arts Joel schinder. Meanwhile stands by his Viewpoint saying that while the planners in corporation Executives believe a street can be all things to all people. He will keep watching to see whether the renovation of Hennepin Avenue becomes in fact a transformation toward a regional shopping mall concept plugged into the Central City judging by the comments of Hennepin Center officials. It seems they too will be watching Although Carol Ann McKay admits, her original idea was somewhat prompted by a fear that the Masonic temple might be converted into an adult entertainment center. She also claims emphatically that it's not her intention through an art center to sanitize Hennepin Avenue. I don't want to see the Hennepin Avenue people disappear though. It would be a disaster if the king of me and mr. And mrs. White and all the kind of wonderful Hennepin Avenue folks who have personalities and Arc the characters of the street vanished. I really am quite serious about that. I'm an artist too and I would hate to whitewash the street. I think that would that would destroy it. I'd like to see a mix a real healthy II believe in the Minnesota State Fair. I think that kind of mix of people in all endeavors Is a healthy situation and what about those who will be watching Hennepin Center for the Arts as a signpost of this Renaissance of the Avenue. Is there a crucial test in the offing again? Carol Ann McKay? I think we've already passed the test. I don't think Dave McKay would have purchased the lumber exchange a block away and would be renovating that if he didn't really believe that this street is already being recycled and on the way up. I don't think Oxford properties would have gone ahead with the city center over here. Unless they were quite sure that this neighborhood was going to be palatable to out-of-town guests coming to a very high quality luxury hotel kitty corner from here. I don't think Jim Binger would have bought Butler square and all the rest of the property on this block except for our little sliver of land if he didn't believe That this was the time had come for this area of the city to be productive McKay Ponder's those last few words. And as an artist with good reason during the past decade she and others have seen artists renovate decaying commercial properties only to be priced out a few years later by the spiral of land speculation. McKay believes the Hennepin Center for the Arts provided valuable lessons for Art's alliances with the business Community, but now she says artists need more now art has to take another look at business and say okay you guys we learned a lot but now we've got to learn how to have a piece of the action how to avoid being jacked out of this downtown area by high rents. We've got to learn how to invest our money sensibly how to co-op buildings ourselves how to afford a piece of the action. I do. Wonder if if you'll get the same kind of cooperation from a business community that also wants a piece of the action Only you are almost competitors. Oh, no, I don't think so. I'm not talking about fundraising again. I'm talking about figuring out a way that coops of artists can afford to purchase and renovate spaces for themselves. It's not all bad. And I don't think it's compromising. I think it's smart period Carol Ann McKay a founder of the Hennepin Center for the Arts. There is a sense of self-confidence about this new art center perhaps because once polished it may prove to be a diamond in the rough of an evolving Hennepin Avenue, but just as importantly there's a self-consciousness about it because Hennepin Center for the Arts is going to be judged by Twin City ins by minnesotans in general by those in other cities who are going to be looking at whether such a joint economic and artistic commitment is worth attempting elsewhere. I'm Nancy Fusion