Willard-Hay Architect Firm Gets A Write Up In Metro Magazine

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramparts54/233343354/

The owners of the "Silver Cocoon" architect and design firm have received mention in this article:

http://www.metromag.com/0p203a2957/resident-experts/

Congrats to Souliyahn Keobounpheng and Tia Salmela, fine NoMi neighbors! 

By the way, according to the article the name "Silver Cocoon" was derived from an RV which once functioned as their gallery and studio. 

(Do not click "Read More")

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Special Guest Blog Post By Brian Reichow: SUSPECTED WILLARD HAY GARAGE BURGLAR ARRESTED!!!

Stock Photo By John Hoff

(Dictated verbally by Brian Reichow)

For the last several weeks garage and home burglaries in the Willard Hay neighborhood have been so numerous that it warranted a Fourth Precinct alert. Homes were getting broken into MULTIPLE TIMES, with the perpetrator returning to get stuff he didn't steal the first time.  On one occasion, the burglar was chased off when somebody wired their garage with...

...a baby monitor to hear when somebody broke in.

BUT THE WILLARD HAY RESIDENTS ARE AN ENTERPRISING AND ORGANIZED BUNCH. Some of the most involved residents communicated constantly via a neighborhood listserv. They shared information including all details that could be recalled about the suspect's appearance and clothing. The burglaries were happening as early as March. His MO was he'd case houses, knocking on doors to see who was home. If somebody was home he'd be all, like, "Is Tom here?" He appeared to know exactly when people were and were not home.

Today, according to the Willard Homewood Organization (WHO) listserv, a resident observed somebody who appeared to match the description of the suspect in the 500 Block of Russell Ave. N. attempting to break into homes. (That location is actually in Harrison, but who's counting?) Prior to that, the suspect had been working the 700 Block of Queen, 1000 Block of Russell, 2600 Block of Plymouth, among others.

The resident stayed in his/her vehicle and observed, actually narrating the actions of the suspect to 911 dispatch until police squads arrived. The piece of dirt (this is JNS writing at this moment, not Brian's words) has been arrested.

Now (back to Brian again) he is being held pending charges and investigation. The police want individuals who can provide info that identifies this person specifically to COME FORWARD. He will be held for 72 hours pending charges. Here is the contact info for the Fourth Precinct: Sergeant Holley, 612-673-5714. Be sure to quote this case number: 09-125063.

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Digging Up More History At Casa Del Brian

This is the last of my material about "Casa Del Brian" from my visit to Homewood the weekend before last. Hopefully I'll see Casa Del Brian again as it continues to progress, but word is the house will be included on a home tour in the near future.

While visiting, I kind of (sort of) helped Brian dig up more history. See, there was this really big crawl space, with some paperwork laying in plain site. Brian hadn't crawled in there because...

...first of all, he's a busy guy, but also most of the paperwork visible was just endless copies of the Pentecostal Evangel. (It's a weekly publication of the Assemblies of God Church, I believe) There was a big black file cabinet inside the crawl space, laying sideways, but it was missing three of its four drawers.

Now, I'm a very document-oriented person. If that had been my house, I would have been in that crawl space before everything else, sifting through the scattered copies of the church magazines, looking for the smallest papery clue of the history of the house. Brian had been putting off the contents of the crawl space. I was all, like, "Mind if I---?"

Well, I had some pretty good luck going "history fishing." Yes, most of the drawers were missing from the file cabinet, but there was a fairly large remnant of documents spilled out of the bottom drawer into the tipped over cabinet. Most of these things were business papers regarding "Danny and the Brewerettes," the professional gospel singing group which was connected with the previous owner of the property, Vera Brewer, later Vera Jenkins. I even found some kind of baptismal certificate.

The prize find, however, was a dorky gilded bird statue made of ceramic, I think. I'm not sure if it was partially painted or partially gilded. Anyway, it was a pretty cool find and, oddly enough, might actually compliment another bird statue that Brian already has on his mantel.

Or not.

Another thing we found: zinnia flower seeds from 1975. The obvious question is: if you plant 'em, will they grow? Somebody may need to check with Brian later in the spring.

Anyway, it was pretty fun to be invited to Brian's house and participate in a sort of historical treasure hunt.

Last night I was out eating and drinking with Connie Nompelis, Jeff Skrenes, and Megan Goodmundson, and I asked Connie why realtors (REAL-tors, not real-a-tors) don't make more of an effort to gather up a bit of history to go with the houses they sell. Connie basically told me it wasn't cost-effective to put any time into that kind of effort, and historical research on houses was probably going to be--perpetually--the realm of proud new owners, not realtors.

Well, I think it's a pity. Trash out crews arrive at these foreclosed houses and they toss out big boxes of paperwork which would provided hours, days of fun to the next owner of the house. Here's an idea for any trash out crews that might be reading:

Let's suppose you set aside a box, throw potentially historical documents and photos in that box, and then just sort of "forgot" the box in a crawl space? Think how much history you would preserve, think how much fun you would provide to the next owner, with very little cost and effort on your part.

That's what I'd be doing, but then again I'm fairly well-known as a "give-a-damn" kinda guy and, well, a chronic scavenger.

Oh, by the way, Connie Nompelis' last name is pronounced like "Nobeliss." The "mp" combination makes a "b" sound when writing out a Greek name in the English alphabet.

Just thought I'd toss that in there at the end.

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Digging Up History At "Casa Del Brian" In The Homewood Enclave Of Willard Hay

The guy second from the right in the photo above is none other than Prince, arguably one of the biggest stars ever produced by North Minneapolis. The photo was taken a short distance from Brian Reichow's home, "Casa Del Brian," in the Homewood enclave of the Willard Hay neighborhood...

Brian says 1244 Russell was where Prince lived in the mid/late 1970s at the home of the original "Prince & The Revolution" bass player, Andre Symone. (Second from the left) Brian says Morris Day is third from the left. I'm not sure who Morris Day is. Brian is really into his music.

Brian claims "Prince has lyrics in several songs that reminisce about the sights and sounds of this particular block of Homewood."

To which I would say, "Insert the word 'apparently,' and I could go along with that, sure, unless you can show me where Prince was was quoted saying such a thing."

I can't help but think of the fruitless speculation that Dylan was inspired by The Witch's Hat in Prospect Park when he sang about 'All Along The Watch Tower.' And I have my own pet theory about the title of the 'Positively Fourth Street' album.

Brian's own house has quite a musical history, as well. It was owned by Vera Jenkins, who sang backup vocals on Lipps Inc.'s "Mouth To Mouth" album, such as the song "Funkytown." She was "Vera Brewer" before she was "Vera Jenkins." The house was home to a popular gospel group called "Danny and The Brewerettes" who, as it turned out, left a lot of random documents in Brian's house for Brian to pore over.

The Jenkins/Brewer family owned what is now "Casa Brian" from 1977 to 2004. The only time the house was not owner-occupied was late 2004 to its foreclosure in late 2005. The house was then vacant until rehab started in 2007.

When Brian bought the house, he also inherited a cache of photos discovered by the guy who rehabbed the place, including some Brewer/Jenkins images of gospel singing activity. The guy who did the rehab also took a lot of "before" pictures to document the transformation of the house. Of particular interest was writing on the walls; it appears there was a failed, aborted rehab prior to the final rehab. Another guy who tried and failed to rehab the place had a habit of sketching his renovation schemes and dreams on the white interior walls of the house. 

To which I say: well, he wasn't planning on LEAVING the walls that way, that's just how things turned out! 

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Brian's Art Deco Light Fixture And His Critique of My "Gangster Cam"

Top Photo, Brian Reichow

Bottom Photo, John Hoff

with his "Gangster Cam."  

Brian Reichow told me my "Ghetto Cam" didn't take a very good picture of his light fixture, so he sent me a much better picture suitable for inclusion in one of those glossy magazines about gorgeous houses.

Actually, the term I use for my camera is "Gangster Cam." Regular readers are familiar with my habit of buying dirt cheap digital cameras from pawn shops, publicizing the photos I find on the memory cards, then using the cameras until I break 'em in some dumb mishap. 

I've included another photo to show what a good job an affordable "Gangster Cam" can do, when it's comfortable and in a familiar surroundings. This photo is not as bad as it looks, but I'll let readers guess how that image came to be. 

Here's a clue: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD!!! 

(Do not click "Read More")

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Images, "Casa Brian" In The Homewood Neighborhood

From top to bottom:

Once my son Alex was in front of Brian's 30-inch computer screen, we didn't hear from Alex for a while...

Second, "hard pine" flooring in the kitchen, which Brian says "can't be had for love or money." Third, Brian's pinball machine from 1976, the year when the company "went digital" but that was a little while after they made THIS machine.

Art Deco doorknob in a part of the house still being fixed up; Art Deco light fixture in the entryway; and an "enclosed radiator." Art by Brian's grandmother. A graffiti-scarred remnant of a time when the house was not so well-maintained and luxurious. Brian's itsy-bitsy closet, which he is plotting to expand, somehow. 

Working laundry chute. One of the unique arches in the house. Brian's old Zenith radio with vacuum tubes... 

"December the 7th, 1941...a date that will live...IN INFAMY!"

Second to last; the cedar closet in the old "nanny's room." Last, the windows in the nanny's room. I can't help but think of something my friend Connie says about old houses. She walks into a house and wonders, "Who rocked a baby in this room? Who was that baby, and who did they grow up to become?"

My next post about "Casa (Del) Brian" will include some of the history Brian has gathered about his residence, including "Danny and The Brewerettes." 

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