Roch. = 2nd Deadest city?

So the Pioneer Press (you know that little paper in St. Paul) sends columnist Beth Gauper to Rochester to do a local travel piece. In the column/story that ran on Sunday, there were a few things that probably were not read with pleasure by the Rochester CVB, the Downtown Alliance. Mayo Clinic or the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce.

To save my blog readers the time of wading through a pice that states many obv ious things known to all Rochesterites, here are the controversial statements:

• The Mayo Clinic is interesting; we've all heard about the sheiks and kings who get treated there. But Rochester?

It is now the third-largest city in Minnesota, after Minneapolis and St. Paul, and still growing. Yet, it doesn't have a four-year university. Its big festival, Rochesterfest, is little known outside the area. It doesn't have much street life. It barely has a downtown.

• Many Twin Cities tourists consider Rochester the gateway to Lanesboro, pop. 767.

• Around the corner at the Iridescent House, named for its glowing art glass, proprietor Richard Townsend showed me a first edition of "Profiles in Courage'' signed by John F. Kennedy as well as John Glenn, Bill Clinton and other famous people who have visited his 36-year-old store.

Its stock is worthy of "Antiques Roadshow''; for only $25,000, I could have bought a Tiffany lamp or a Faberge maid's bell.

But Mayo wants the city to condemn his building so it can build a new genomics center there, says Townsend, who organizes the annual Rochester Gold Rush and other antiques shows. Mayo's new Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics is one of the projects expected to make the city grow.

"The projection by the City Council is, in 10 years, we'll be bigger than St. Paul,'' he said

• For dessert, we walked back to Historic Third Street and had cake and coffee at Jasper's Alsatian Bistro. When I found a used Equal packet stuck to the bottom of my coffee cup, we were thankful we hadn't eaten there, especially after the young server neither apologized nor took the coffee off the bill.

• We'd been chatting with Wayne Baker of Stewartville, and we confided we'd heard Rochester was kind of dead.

"It is dead, but not tonight,'' he said. "We're not the deadest city in the nation, but we've got No. 2 all wrapped up.''

Comments

[Bill]

Truth hurts, doesn't it?

[taxpayer]

What a hoot. Someone from St. Paul whose downtown died decades ago but they don't seem to know it makes snide comments about another town's downtown. And then she gets a quote from someone from Stewartville, you know, that totally hoppin' town.

Of course I know a young couple who moved here from Grand Forks and then returned because "the bar scene in Rochester sucks".

[Ryan]

Actually, taxpayer, St. Paul is kind of undergoing a resurgence. Attending the Body Worlds exhibit at the Science Museum a couple months ago, I was struck by how much activity there was compared to just a year or so ago when my girlfriend lived there (or very close to there).

Compared to Rochester, St. Paul is Disney World.

[arleen]

the fact is rochester can be considered "dead" at time with little/no night life. but what we do have is very nice and id like to take this person out for a day/evenign and get her opinion afterwards. most outsiders that come to town and do what she did might so the same thing. i cant imagine one from stewartville having much good to say either.

rochester people need to get over the self-loathing of our town and get on with the good. there is so much good here!

[Chris]

rah rah bleech.

Sorry to say, but downtown is dead after the day shift Mayo people leave. There's nothing to do other than go to a bar or cruise Broadway.

What is there to do? I hear that there's a downtown that's fun to visit, but never have been shown these things. There's 1st Ave which has the Galleria, Marriott and Kahler on one end. The other has Newts, a few stores that close at 6, a porn shop and a parking structure. 2nd Ave NW? MAYO. 3rd? MAYO. 4th? MAYO. 5th? some residential, motel and MAYO. 6th? at that point we're not downtown.

Let's look at Broadway which should be our main street. Radison, Hilton, Red Lobster, Michael's and plenty of bars and shops that close at 6.

Across the river? Mayo Civic and the city building. When's the last time you heard someone say "Hey! Let's go to a Council meeting!" without sarcasm?

Let's take a look at the Street. 4th has MAYO, Parking lots, shops that close early and the labor temple. 3rd is one way and has the only touch of life in downtown. Of course, that's east of 1st St. SW. To the west it's all MAYO.

2nd St SW is a big corridor. Goes from Mayo Civic to Mayo and out to St. Mary's. There's Goonies which is a comedy club at $12 per ticket and a bar. Some small shops which cater to the folks working downtown and they close around 6.

1st St NW has a few Mayo buildings stuck in the middle of it and the Galleria. Center has parking, Mayo and hotels. A restaurant or two and that's it. Oh yeah... the Oakwood which is not really a happening place. Same with the PB building (sorry Jeff... it's true).

2nd st NW? Senior Center, Charter House, parking and Mayo. When you cross the tracks, you're out of downtown.

Here are things that I think we should have downtown:

A children's museum. Think and Mayo can pony up some money for this... right?

A art house cinema. Some place to see a decent film that's not in 3000 screens.

How about a fun place like a Dave and Busters or Gameworks? A place for people of all ages to go to eat at as well as play games. Seems that if I want to play pinball it's Chateau or Leo's.

Yanno, a Science or Medical museum would be interesting to have, given we have IBM an Mayo here...

I'm sorry to say it, but the Rah Rah Rochester campaign that is supposed to make us proud to live here is not doing what should be done. I'm happy I live in Rochester and to do something that does not involve drinking or spending a lot of money I have to go to the Twin Cities. I'd rather BuyRochester but if there's nothing here that is of interest then it's kind of hard.

We're the 3rd largest city and 2nd largest metro area (twin cities = 1) and we have a small town mentality with yearnings to be Mayberry. Many people feel the same way I do, but are afraid of the 800 lb gorilla in town.

Rah Rah Yeah Right.

(btw.. if we are to buyrochester, why is the CVB going to companies outside the area?)

[VLS]

Hey Chris,

Maybe you should take your negative attitude about this wonderful city and move somewhere else where people just whine, moan and complain about nothing to do..is your glass half full, half empty or do you even have a glass? Have you lived anywhere else and if so did that town stink too? I've been in Rochester for 18 years and have yet to be bored.

Lots of excitement and opportunities if you have a good attitude!

[Bill]

So VLS...Chris makes NO valid points?

[Abba]

Let's be honest: Rochester is a town for raising kids, working at a salary that will allow you to drive a new Toyota Camry every 10 years, and getting surgery.

The St Paul writer is right. The simple fact is, no one is this town - especially the doctors - wants to be caught dead letting their hair down. Thus, we have a sterile social scene, and abysmal tourism.

If you want to check out Rochester's social scene, join the blue hairs at Michael's downtown.

[Chris J. Popp]

I like the fact that the schools here are good, that there's good employment for those that want to work.

VLS, do you go downtown a few nights a week and have fun? If so, what did you do?

I have lived in a variety of places. Among them:

Aurora, IL
Bensenville, IL
Rockford, IL
Madison, WI
Huntington, WV
Lahaina, HI
Sun Prairie, WI

When is the last time a true question taking session was done that asked the people that live here what they are interested in? Is it a few myopic people in town that speak the loudest? I can't believe that's the case.

Typically, when there's a concern about how something is that most people do not say something. Sorry, I'm not someone that just throws his hands into the air and says "Ah.. forget it. I'll just read my paper"

Abba, I think you are kinda right. However, I think the doctors (to use the term loosely) might want to let their hair down but there's no place locally to do so. It takes someone that has a vision and the capital to make things happen.

Why not have more cultural offerings? How about a few museums? Why not have a art house or a cinema that routinely plays foreign films?

Ask 10 people why they go to the Twin Cities. Think about the answer and see if you can find a local alternative.

I never said I don't like Rochester. I just think that it should offer more and become a destination where people come and not be a place where people say "just be happy where you are" to those that are already here.

The Rochesterfest is a good point that the Pioneer Press author has. How about taking all of that energy and putting it into 3 days of fun around the 4th of July and having a decent fireworks display that does not fizzle out. Heck, we can borrow a page out of the City of Honolulu's book and instead of having a bed race have a hospital bed race.

If a pool is built in a backyard, it's nice at first. However, the water is bound to get stagnant.

[Bill]

Perhaps they could have put a museum in where they filled in the lower level of the Galleria with sand.

[Mick]

Hmmmmmmmm. I've been here 13 years + a few months. Who's counting. I've not been bored, either, but I came from a town of 10,000, and before that a town of 1,400. I actually lived 6 miles west of that town. We grew up not requiring city life to find something to do; consequently, I don't go out much.

It is kind of a low blow for the reporter to ask a dude from Stewville, city of lights, about Rah Rah Rochester. (I love that...CVB Buy Buy your Rah Rah from Milwaukee) Not much going on downtown Mnpls, except on Hennepin, unless there is a game at the dome. St Paul? There is a little more excitement there.

I AGREE with the statements about Blachesterfest. Wow, block off 3rd Ave for a week so downtown can eat fair-type food. OH, a duck derby and maybe a hot air balloon. Underwhelming to say the least. Oh, sure, sure, a parade on Friday too. wow.

Everyone keeps saying Rochester does not have a 4 year University. There are a couple of them. (2)

Reporter, be glad the Equal packet was not in the cup, count your blessings.

A medical and computer musuem would be nice. Galleria would be a good place for that, too. Use up that nasty old theatre.

I've lived here 13 years. I like it. Those that need more should build it, and then attend it.

[Doctor FeelGood]

The reason why the doctors in this town don't let their hair down in restaurants and clubs is because they'll get they'll face a Mayo committee inquisition. That's why they prefer to drive to the metro or get bombed at private parties.

[arleen]

ive heard no mention of the st johns block party as being something thats cool in town. the gear daddies also played last summer out at the hangar. i saw doc watson just a couple months ago at the mayo civic...these are all cool things.

unfortunately i think the attitude in rochester is that its cool to bag on your town. i really dont think it is, but who am i. yea there are several things rochester could use: sushi joint, more cool high end bars and restaurants, etc. but in the end we need to support these places for them to survive. there are plenty of business people here willing to take our money if we support them.

as far as the doctors in town go. blah. there are 95k other people willing to let their hair down.

[Chris]

Not saying it's cool, just saying that Downtown is deadtown. St. Johns is one day? two days? There's 365 in a year.

Why not have more places where food is not a part of the focus? That's what I am thinking.

[Bill]

Wouldnt it be nice to have a bowling alley that didnt have league?

[Mick]

We were talking about bowling alleys this morning...we agree that leagues should be limited to certain nights or something of the sort...and then advertised so that we will know when it is safe for us mere mortals to venture onto the lane with our ugly shoes.

Non food related activities. We tend to forget about our 17 highschools in town, and that they all have lots of sports to watch, lots of plays and musical acts to see. At least that is how it is in the small towns where I'm from, anyone can go and see the high school's production of Sound of Music, for example.

Pine Island community theatre had a wonderful production of Joseph and his really ugly coat and deceitful brothers. There is an opera house in Mantorville, a theater in Plainview and Lanesboro, and maybe soon in Theilman. Good luck there. Music? Rochester community band, Honker has music, Dunn Bros has music. Lots of smoky bars have "music".

You know, people used to get together to play cards and other games. What happened to that?

There is stuff, we just have to look for it, as it is not always well publicized.

[Jill from Savvy Singles of Rochester]

Okay, obviously this does not apply to the ENTIRE Rochester community, but here is something fun for the Single folks to check out...

Dear Single Professionals:

It May be COLD outside but come WARM up at our Savvy Singles Holiday Party
Where you can swing in after work to....

*Network with other Fun, Attractive, Gals & Guys in the Ballroom at the Radisson Plaza Hotel
*Dine on delicious Hors d'oeuvres catered by the Radisson [Dessert also included]
*Order up your favorite drinks at the cash Bar
*Heat up the dance floor with your swanky moves while DJ's Jim & JJ keep the music pumping
*Request your favorite songs and ask that special someone to boogie! : )

Seriously Folks?? Where else can you 'hang' in Rochester and know that almost everyone in the room is Single & Available??
Bring a Business card or two for your opportunity to win some wonderful door prizes

Please RSVP by Monday, November 27 to help us estimate food requirements
Spread the word and come check us out!!

To learn more about the Savvy Singles of Rochester, please visit: http://www.savvysingle.net

Over 400 singles have requested to be added to our e-mail notification list!! [all ages but average 32-52]

Also, if you are a business owner interested in getting more exposure, and would like to donate door prizes for our party, please contact Jill at jtopness@charter.net
********************************************
WHAT: Savvy Singles Holiday Party for Single Men & Women [all ages welcome]
WHEN: Friday, December 1; 6:00 pm - 11:30 pm; Hors d'oeuvres served from 6 pm - 9 pm
WHERE: Radisson Plaza Hotel in the Ballroom; [2nd level of hotel next door to Metro]
Address: 150 South Broadway; Rochester, MN; Complimentary parking in the ramp beside the hotel on 2nd St [after 5 pm]
COST: $20; to be paid at the door
RSVP: Now or by Monday, November 27; E-mail Jill at jtopness@charter.net
WHAT TO WEAR: Business-casual attire; dress slacks or khakis/or comfortable evening holiday-wear [for women]

MORE INFO/WEB SITES:
Savvy Singles of Rochester's web site: http://www.savvysingle.net

Radisson Plaza Hotel's web site: [Directions/Map:

Please forward this invitation to your single friends, business associates, and acquaintances etc.

Reserve your spot NOW!! RSVP to Jill at jtopness@charter.net
~Cheers~

[Iwonder]

Would a gentlemen’s club or to a less extreme Hooters lighten up the stereotype the state has on us? Not to mention the taxes it would create. Or we could fund/build the Vikings stadium.

[getaclue]

What a waste of a post there, Iwonder.

[iwondernow]

Getaclue are you a "stuffy doctor"? There is room for everyone lets not discriminate because you don’t approve. Successful downtowns include this type of entertainment.

[taxpayer]

"Successful downtowns include this type of entertainment."

And ghastly, incredibly UNsuccessful ones do too.

I've lived here since college and I never have had a dearth of things to do. But then my friends and I aren't into the bar/music scene and are somehow able to keep busy and entertained on our own.

[boring]

In order to have a down town that people of all ages want to visit you must have a night life. This includes high quality restaurants, GOOD night clubs, bars, adult venues, GOOD shopping and popular housing. Mankato, St. Cloud, Duluth, and La Crosse put Rochester to shame. If it where not for the unfortunate people that are visiting to Rochester to receive treatment of diseases no one would visit at all. Please state other reason to visit. Please do not include Silver Lake that mud hole.

[taxpayer]

All the places you mention have LARGE universities (some have more than one) and thus their populations are somewhat skewed toward young adults. That makes a big difference in getting entertainment that caters to young adults.

To turn your argument on its head, why would anyone go visit St. Cloud or Mankato if the universities weren't there? Duluth has the whole Lake Superior tourism thing going and I suppose there's some river tourism in La Crosse. I've been to St. Cloud many, many times but it was always to visit one of the universities there or nearby.

[paul]

I grew up in Rochester at went to St. Cloud for school (SCSU). Yes, St. Cloud is geared towards young adults due to the number of large colleges there. While Rochester may have many things to do, not many of those appeal to the 16-30 year old crowd.

Where is the nightlife/bar area?

Arthouse flicks?

Non-high school sports (just because your kid is the starting quarterback doesn't mean I care)?

Where is the small, local music venue which has bands several nights a week? And I'm talking some place that's first priority is music, everything else is second (as opposed to a coffee shop that has some acustic music).

Where can I go to hang out late at night besides Perkins?

After graduating from SCSU I moved to Little Rock, AR for my job. Little Rock had a great downtown feel to it. It also had the River Market, full of specialty shops, all types of restaurants, and many bars/clubs. There was also an outdoor ampitheater for concerts. Now I live in Chandler, AZ. Nearby Tempe has Mill Ave, which caters to the ASU crowd, but there is still plenty to do around there.

Rochester is becoming a big city, and it can't keep it's small town mentality. People need to realize that things change. Those that adapt will do better than those that cling to some happy memories they have of the past.

[VLS]

VLS is too busy having fun, volunteering and working to spend her days on this blog...you and your whining friends could move to New York City or Las Vegas and still be bored because nobody offered you entertainment on a silver platter or knocked on your door to drag you off the couch. Happy Whining! I'm out enjoying life :- )