New Barnum building combines city services, muni

Changes are underway for the city of Barnum.

A new building houses the Barnum Municipal Liquor Store, a spacious event center and the city offices. The 100-year-old Barnum Community Center - once the Legion Hall - was demolished last week. The brick structure that once housed the city offices and the municipal liquor store is also slated for demolition.

It has been a long process to bring the new building to completion. Discussions about a new structure that would fit within the city's $2 million budget began in 2019.

As preparations were made to build the new city complex and remove two old buildings, environmental preparations were required.

"There was quite a bit of asbestos in the old community center and some in the brick building," said city council member Dale Riihiluoma. "We had the asbestos abated (removed) at considerable expense."

Demolition of the community center took place right before Thanksgiving. Many people in the area shared memories on Facebook of events as the old building was being razed.

One woman asked if they would look for her shoes. She had lost them after she took them off during a dance at the hall many years ago.

"That building was built by the World War I veterans right after the 1918 fire as a Legion Hall," said local historian Dan Reed.

The precise construction date for the brick building is not officially known. Information in "Always Onward," a history of Barnum's first 100 years, noted that Carl Hanson opened the first occupant of the building, the Standard Oil Company, in 1923.

That concurs with a date that Rick Rudebeck has. He's a descendant of the owners of the building after 1940.

Barnum resident Linda Langness said the bricks used were probably made in Barnum. Barnum brick had been used in construction of many buildings at the time, she said.

A photo of a Standard station in 1940 in "Always Onward" shows the building in 1940 after it had been purchased by Louis T. Rudebeck from the Anderson Motor Company.

Four garage doors on the front of the building and the one on the side shows how many vehicles or tractors could be maintained at a time.

"They used to sell everything," Rudebeck said. "They sold vehicles, tractors and farm implements."

Langness remembered her father bought a tractor there.

Rudebeck said there was a parts store on the main level of the building and offices upstairs. "There was also a ramp to the basement on the south side of the building towards the Legion Hall," he said. "A truck could be backed down that ramp and barrels of used oil were loaded onto it to be hauled away. That doorway wasn't supported well when the ramp was filled in and they had to fix it two or three times when the fill began to pack down in later years."

Langness said Minnesota Power & Light later used the building for its office and a garage for a truck after Rudebeck Motors left.

Several people remembered a doctor's office was located upstairs in the 1950s.

"The city converted the upstairs to apartments after it took over the building," Rudebeck said.

The new municipal liquor store opened Nov. 5.

"The event center is located in the center of the building and is really nice," Riihiluoma said. "It has a 250-person capacity. It's a little bigger than the old community center and it has a catering kitchen. The kitchen is connected to the kitchen in the liquor store. The city offices are on the north end of the building. Each area has its own bathroom."

"We stayed within budget by making substitutions in materials while maintaining the quality," Riihiluoma said.

The Meyer Group of Duluth was the architectural firm that designed the new building. Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson was the construction company and KTM of Duluth prepared the site and is demolishing the old buildings.

The city purchased the former Northview Bank building, remodeled it and moved its city offices from the brick building to the former bank a number of years ago. That building will be sold, Riihiluoma said, and several parties have expressed interest.

The space opened up for parking after the old buildings are removed will remain a gravel lot until next year.

An open house will be planned once the parking lot is leveled and graveled.