I got an unfortunate history lesson last month about Cotter Hall. It was built in 1876 for C.C. Beck, the wealthy owner of a Winona brewery. Saint Mary's acquired the building at its founding in 1912 and it was used as a residence by various people until 1990 when it was boarded up and filled with shit that nobody wanted to dispose of properly that the University likes to call "storage."
On June 12 a fire completely engulfed the Cotter House. I still haven't heard what the cause was but I'm sure its fishy. There were no utilities in the house and the fire started at around 2:00am. Perhaps there are a few students who are second guessing the great idea they had to break into the house and smoke cigarettes in the middle of the night.
Part of me feels fortunate that I got to see the house before it was destroyed but another part of me is sad that Saint Mary's is not as concerned with preserving their history as I wish they were. It is especially unfortunate because with the new president and some other changes that have been happening around campus, the University was actually looking into what options they had to use the house before it became an eyesore at the entrance of campus.
Some pics and interesting facts:
*The house cost $17,000 in 1867
*Dr. Mayo performed emergency surgery in this house in 1915, attending to Bishop Heffron's gunshot wounds after a failed assassination attempt.
Kare11 coverage of fire (video)
"Structurally, the building is a total loss, historically, it's irreplaceable."
1 comment:
You should really become a journalist or something. You write really nice. I like your style!! I had no i dea you had your own website and one that looks and sounds so professional.
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