HEART OF STEELE

I haven’t lived in Owatonna long, but it hurt my heart a bit to watch the Smersh house on Oak Avenue come down last Friday.

Even in its dilapidated state, I could see it had once been a shining jewel in the community. Built in 1896 and designed by owner Dr. F.M. Smersh, the brick house with the quaint tower is included in a historic walking tour guide. More importantly, though, it was a familiar sight along a busy thoroughfare–something people will miss.

There was clearly no rescuing the property, even if Red Line Development hadn’t purchased the property and torn it down to make way for the new Ascend development. I walked by the house last summer to get a closer look and found overgrown landscaping, bushes and trees encroaching on the front porch, peeling paint, sagging wood.

What must have been a magnificent Victorian died not from any external cause, but from neglect.

Coincidentally, just two days before the fall of the Smersh house, the Steele County Historical Society announced the winners of this year’s Preservation Awards.

Two Doves Boutique in downtown Ellendale and Costas Candies in downtown Owatonna were honored for their “extraordinary efforts to preserve their unique and historically important building.”

At Two Doves, a shimmering pool of pennies lines part of the floor in the former Security State Bank building, and it’s a remarkable thing to see in person.

When I stopped by the shop last year to speak with owner Gwen Reiss, I fought the urge to drop to my hands and knees and get a closer look. (Chances are, I never would have made it up without help.)

What struck me most about the shop, though, was the obvious care that had gone into its transformation. Gwen and her husband, Ed, repurposed original fixtures to preserve as much as they could of the 123-year-old building.

Grant and Julie Schultz put that same level of effort into a remodel at Costas Candies, keeping the glass candy cases, revealing the original tin ceiling, and uncovering more of the distinctly tiled floor.

Preserving and maintaining historic buildings requires significant financial investment. But more importantly, the process requires a property owner with a heart not only for the property, but also its story, its place in the community.

Absent that, progress–in the form of our new riverfront development–is clearly the better way forward.