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Advocates work to save downtown Jordan

Renee Jones, Star Tribune

In this photo from December 2004, Father John Mitchell peered out a window from the St. John the Baptist School, then under construction. Outside is the historic Catholic church in Jordan.

The Historical Society is trying to draw attention to its historic character as the city itself looks at rewriting laws to preserve it.

By DAVID PETERSON, Star Tribune

Last update: June 30, 2009 - 11:20 PM

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TO LEARN MORE

Jordan is one of 10 metro-area fringe communities selected for extra assistance in managing their growth by a coalition led by 1,000 Friends of Minnesota, a smart-growth advocacy group. The so-called Community Growth Options program, paid for by the McKnight Foundation, also encompasses cities such as Afton, in Washington County, and Victoria, in Carver County.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT PROGRAM:

www.1000fom.org/cgo

TO FIND A SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOUR AND OTHER INFO:

tinyurl.com/lh8wss

ABOUT NEXT WEEK'S WALKING TOUR:

From 8 to 9 p.m. Wednesday; meet at the southwest corner of Broadway and Water Street. $10 fee includes booklet. Registration required; call 952-445-0378 or e-mail info@scott countyhistory.org.

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The Illinois riverfront town of Galena is just an itsy-bitsy place, barely over 3,000 people. Yet its meticulously preserved downtown helps it attract 3 million visitors a year.

Are you listening, Jordan?

"Jordan has some really fantastic historic buildings," said Kathleen Klehr, director of the Scott County Historical Society. "Water Street alone has so many on the National Register -- just on that one street alone."

A week from today, Klehr's organization will kick-off a series of events intended to draw attention to the historic fabric of the county's small towns.

A series of walking tours, beginning with one in Jordan, will continue with others in New Prague, Belle Plaine and other towns.

And they're happening at the same time Jordan is drawing metrowide attention and funding to an effort to rewrite its laws to make sure its downtown area doesn't wither away as suburban-style development creeps closer.

"How to grow without wreckin' the place" is Mayor Pete Ewals' summary of the purpose behind a partnership between the city and a coalition of outside groups concerned about the impact of development on metro fringe communities.

Local businesses -- especially those with a New Age tinge, such as a creative design consulting team and a bed-and-breakfast in a historic mansion -- are teaming up to help. Among other things, they have gathered the material for a Web-accessible video, slide show and printable, do-it-yourself walking tour, all gently highlighting the city's historic treasures.

The live walking tour next Wednesday will stick to just one of Jordan's downtown streets -- Water Street -- yet will manage to fill a full hour.

At least seven buildings along that street are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Historical Society says, including 224 Water St., dating to roughly 1875. During the Depression, it reports, a building that was then Ruppert's Bar "was raided by federal officers several times."

The walking tour booklet being produced for distribution that evening is a first for the society but won't be the last, Klehr said.

In the meantime, the process of creating rules designed to protect downtown's historic look is proceeding slowly, Ewals said.

"We're still in the process of putting ordinances together," he said, "building heights, setbacks, all of the standard stuff we have to do, right down to the color palettes" designed to ensure a subdued, authentic look.

David Peterson • 952-882-9023

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