Sunday was the final day of business for Erick's Bar, a longtime East Side watering hole on E. 7th Street near N. Forest Street.
The St. Paul Port Authority has bought the site and plans to tear down the small building as part of the redevelopment of the former 3M plant site in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood now called Beacon Bluff. The prime corner location on the triangular piece of land is a "front door" to the project, said Tom Collins, Port Authority spokesman.
The bar is where, in the early morning of May 6, 2006, St. Paul Police Sgt. Gerald Vick, 41, was fatally shot while he and his partner were working undercover. The suspect was captured and sentenced to life in prison.
Later this month the Port Authority will unveil a "historical and environmental hub" at the Beacon Bluff site, a patch of green space that will include plaques describing 3M's history and association with the site, which served as the company's world headquarters from 1910 until 1962. It will also describe the sustainable development practices being used in the site's redevelopment.
JIM ANDERSON
