Back to energy efficiency
Two years ago we tried LED holiday lights and we were very disappointed. The white lights had an odd blue-ish hue and the lights really did not have very much 'throw'.
Last year we went back to traditional incandescent lamps and the building looked terrific. But, because the lamps are not energy efficient, we had to minimize the amount of time they were illuminated.
This year we went back to LED lights. The lights need to be replaced every year because the squirrels like to chew through the insulation. We opted for a longer icecicles and we are very pleased with the advances of LED technology.
Fall is our favorite time of year
Downtown Red Wing looks spectacular in the fall. The colors absolutely pop and the well preserved buildings look fantastic.
Upon further review
The Creative and Real Estate Legacy of 312 West Avenue
By going backwards through telephone directories (this is known as 'doing a Jim Rockford') and speaking with Barb Tittle (the previous building owner), it was possible to stitch together a more complete history of this building. It has a very significant creative and real estate lineage.
312 West Avenue Chronology:
1894 - 1902: Lidberg Studio (original location)
1902 - 1920: Lidberg Studio (new location)
1920 - 1936: E. H. Lidberg Real Estate
1937 - 1947: Davison Studio
1948 - 1949: Wood's Studio
1950 - 1952: Hodge Studio
1953 - 1979: Chalet Studio
1980 - 2004: InComm Realty and Maas Realty (later Coldwell-Banker)
2005 - 2007: Gary-Donald Arts, a private art dealer
2008 - Present: Red Wing Framing Gallery
For 73 out of 115 years, this building has been home to six different creative studios. For 40 out of those same 115 years, it has been home to at least three real estate companies.
This building has historical bones
A Journey Through Time: The History of The Lidberg Studio
1894 - Andrew Lidberg, an immigrant from Jarpen, Sweden, builds and opens The Lidberg Studio at 443 W. 3rd Street, Downtown Red Wing, Minnesota (the corner of W. 3rd Street and East Avenue), right next to Charlie Wah's Chinese Laundry. The Daily Republican on April 9, 1894, writes, "Mr. Lidberg opened his gallery today, and it is a fine one. He will employ only competent workers and work at the lowest living prices."
1899 - Upon graduating from Red Wing High School, Andrew's son Edward joins the studio full-time. The Lidbergs begin producing the first series of colored souvenir postcards of Red Wing and the surrounding area. The photos are exposed on glass plates and developed at the studio. Negatives are then sent to Germany to be lithographed into color postcards. These postcards are now collector's items with a passionate following.
1902 - Local businessman T.B. Sheldon donates money to the City of Red Wing to build the country's first city-owned theater. To make room for the Sheldon Theatre, The Lidberg Studio is moved across the park mall to 312 West Avenue, where the building is located today. A glass wall is oriented to the east to provide natural light for portrait photography.
1910? - Andrew Lidberg retires. Frank Booth, a graduate of Effingham School of Photography in Illinois, joins the studio.
1915 - Due to the war in Europe, it becomes increasingly difficult to receive color lithographs from Germany. Senator Knute Nelson intervenes to get a production run of postcards released. Production is moved to Chicago (Acmegraph Company) and Milwaukee (E.C. Kropp Company).
1915 - Edward Lidberg begins his real estate career, and the photography business winds down. By 1920, the building becomes a full-time real estate office.
1920-1953 - Very few building details are available. It is believed that from approximately 1920 to 1936, it was a real estate office, and from about 1937 until 1953, it housed various photography studios.
1953 - The Chalet Studio opens. This portrait studio is owned and operated by Ms. Louella Champs.
1972 - Edward Lidberg passes away.
1978 - The Chalet Studio closes, leaving the building in very rough shape with the roof in danger of collapsing.
1979 - The building is repaired and restored by Dick Tittle, becoming home to InComm Realty and Maas Realty.
2008 - The building becomes home to Red Wing Framing Gallery and Red Wing Portrait Studio.
What goes around, comes around—even if it takes 114 years.
The new axis of evil
The Battle with Squirrels: My Rooftop Encounter
As is my want when the weather is nice, I like to sit outside and watch the traffic go by. It's a terrific opportunity to meet people, discuss daily topics, and watch the seasons change.
This past week, I was outside reading an advance copy of my brother's book, The Wakota Incident (shameless plug), when suddenly a piece of wood fell to the ground. I looked up and saw a gray squirrel busy chewing away at the apex of my building roof. He was trying to get behind the spokes and knobs to create a winter nest. Despite the heavy-duty screening behind the woodwork, the determined squirrel wasn't slowed down in his efforts to damage the woodwork.
I had hoped to repaint the spokes, knobs, and balls with a Queen Anne painted lady effect, but if I have to deal with a determined nest of squirrels every year, I'll need to take pre-emptive measures. Forget any earlier implications I may have made about how mischievous and cute squirrels behave. The squirrels must go.