What a Downtown Should Look Like

Red Wing’s downtown has a residential component to it that is comparable to two other wonderful downtowns, Traverse City, MI and Oxford, MS, that I’ve seen in my travels over the past year. Each of these towns has created a very special “sense of place” about their communities as a result. What makes them so special compared to others?

Each of these towns have redeveloped the old apartments and offices on the second and third floors into apartments that are attracting young professionals, empty nesters and retired people back into their downtowns. As a result coffee shops, restaurants and other entertainment venues have relocated into suddenly more vibrant downtowns.

Red Wing’s location on the banks of the Mississippi River puts it into a perfect setting for such a revival. The Red Wing Shoe Company refurbished the 130 year old St. James Hotel, an incredibly magnificent, stately historical building. Their local leadership and investment have encouraged others to transform other historical buildings, turning Red Wing, MN into one of the more picturesque downtowns I’ve seen in my travels.

If you go to visit be sure to check out the “boat house” marina, which is filled with floating structures that date back to the early 1900s. They are held in place by “gin poles” to keep them from floating down the Mississippi River.

I asked Mayor Dummer, “What are gin poles?”

“Why, they were what the owners tied their gin onto during prohibition. They’ve had the name gin poles ever since.”

Red Wing’s downtown isn’t perfect yet. They need to do such things as connecting it to their 20 mile trail system and 900 acres of parks. But they’ve got a visioning process started and I’m betting that they figure it out on their own. I’ll be back to check it out.