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THE
MITCHELL ENGINE HOUSE RESTORATION AND REBIRTH AS
AN ARTS AND LEARNING
CENTER |
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Click
for larger image
Click
for larger image |
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LATEST NEWS |
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I
purchased this historic facility five years ago and have been working on
it with only part time assistance ever since. |
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The
time has come for a call for assistance. The single highest priority is to
get a new roof on this building.. The massive |
| brick walls
(2.2
Million Lbs. of brick in total) are
deteriorating because the roof structure no longer protects the top of |
| the walls. This is
leading to water infiltration. During the Winter months, this water
freezes and expands causing the damage. |
| So now begins my quest
for restoration funds. Thank
You. |
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| A brief note about my
current plans. I am a metal sculptor and metal
fabricator by trade and as such, am currently |
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moving
my metal working shop into a small portion of the engine house. Some of my
sculptures can be seen Here.
Some of |
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the
metalwork
I do for musicians can be seen
Here.
Of the 20,000
square feet available, my shop will occupy approximately |
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5,000 square
feet. ( Under serious consideration is the founding of a School of
Metal Sculpture
. Not to teach Art, but to |
| teach craftsmanship. )
I intend the remaining15,000
square
feet to be used as a non-profit arts and learning center. |
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The performing arts will be a
very important
part of this. The acoustics in the Engine House are simply
phenomenal. |
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Must be heard to be appreciated. More
details here |
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A
Brief Personal History
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I was drawn to this project as a result of a personal experience.
In 1975 I purchased the Oliver Iron Mining Co. |
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blacksmith shop in the
North Hibbing shops complex. I proceeded to dismantle it with the intent
of re-erecting it as |
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my new metal fabricating shop. It was later sold and
replaced with a new building. It was shortly thereafter |
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that I realized
that the dismantling of all of those buildings was a huge mistake. They
should have been preserved. |
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They were constructed so well that they could
have lasted
another 100 years. It was then that I vowed that if I |
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ever had a chance to preserve a similar building, I would. And now I have my
chance. The great irony here is |
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that
both the blacksmith shop and the Mitchell Engine House were constructed in the same year,1906. Furthermore, |
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they were constructed by the same owner, United States
Steel, and probably
built by the same people. Destiny? |
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The Mitchell Engine House played a role
in helping our country to win Two World Wars and there are very |
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few such
structures still standing. It must be preserved. If we throw away our
heritage, we do a great disservice |
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to our children and grandchildren and
to future generations. |
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How you can help |
| We need photos of
the Engine House when it was in operation. If you can help, please contact
Dave |
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Slide
Shows >> Locomotives
being built >>> DM&N
and DM&IR Locomotives |
| Listing of steam
locomotives owned by the DM&N and DM&IR
railroads:
Page 1
Page2 Page3 |
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SCULPTURE |
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Contact
Dave |
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