Real Estate Snippets

St. Paul's Winter Is Almost Over

That's the tail end of Minnesota's Seasonsasaurus created by Cheryl Pudas for Custom Drywall, Inc.  It's not only the tail end of the dino, but St. Paul residents are hoping it's the tail end of this year's winter as well.  The snow is rapidly melting and everything is turning brown or dirty gray.  Yuck!  There's not enough natural snow left for sliding and making snow men and the recent melt followed by refreeze left a layer of ice under everything.  Yes, it's time to switch seasons in St. Paul.

How about this?  Spring to summer.  I'm all over that!

Minnesota's Seasonsasaurus spent the 2007 summer in front of Custom Drywall, Inc., at 488 Atwater.  I spent about 15 minutes cruising up and down Front looking for Atwater where it was supposed to be!  Hah!  The key to the lost street was its suffix: Circle!  Circle implies no outlet to the adjoining street.  Sure enough.  Checking the map book revealed Atwater Circle right where Atwater was supposed to be except on the other side of the berm from where I was cruising.  The bonus to my search was finding a bunch of Peanuts characters inside the Custom Drywall atrium. 

Bright Greenasaurus

I found myself staring through green gel gem shamrocks on my kitchen window at the melting snow and longing for the green to start sprouting from my garden.  St. Paul will probably get several more cold spells and some snow yet before green hits our beautiful city, but green is where my mind was today.  As a result, Bright Greenasaurus seemed apropos for this week's Diggin' Dino.  Bright Greenasaurus was created for the McGough Companies by Aime Feirke and spent the 2007 summer at the Landmark Plaza. 

The green of Bright Greenasaurus is not the green of spring that I was thinking of.  Instead the McGough Companies were advertising their expertise in smart sustainable practices.  They are headquartered in St. Paul and bill themselves as "the premier construction sustainability expert in Minnesota".  Having sold houses to McGough employees, their more traditional development and building expertise were familiar to me.  The green aspect of their practice was not, however.   You can check it out here.

Cent-A-Saurus

After the news from MGIC this week about their 4th quarter losses in 2007, it seemed fitting that Cent-a-Saurus Diggin' Dino would appear this week.  Possibly the pennies adorning his back would help allay the MGIC losses?  Probably not enough pennies for that.

Cent-a-Saurus spent his summer in front of the Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul.  The design was created by Mel Ferrer for Andersen Corporation, the windows and doors people.

 

Winter Carnival Parade

Great Rivers Parkasaurus

St. Paul has been experiencing below zero temperatures this week and even though we're a hardy bunch up here in the cold Northland, we still dream of lazy summer days when it gets cold like this. 

Great Rivers Parkasaurus is the perfect reminder of our long awaited summer days.  We love the water of our great Mississippi and St. Paul's beautiful walkways and parks that allow us to enjoy the great river.  Here, on the sides of this great dinosaur created by Josh Porter from Avalon Studios for the St. Paul Riverfront Corporation are some seasonal depictions of our beloved river.  Remember to click on the picture to enlarge it.

I M Special

Today is the perfect day for I.M. Specialasaurus because tomorrow (Sunday, the 13th) is my "special" day, the second anniversary of my blog!   So when I scanned the Diggin' Dino's I have left to post, this seemed the best choice for this weekend.

I.M. Specialasaurus was created by Michael  Gonzo for the Securian Financial Group.  During the summer the clover covered dinosaur roamed the  courtyard area in front of the Securian headquarters at 400 Robert St. N. in St. Paul.  The day I took the picture I spent quite some time looking for the lucky 4 leaf clover which the dino's tag proclaims is there.  I looked and looked and could not see it anywhere.  Today, I breezed through the pictures looking for the best one to post and the clover stood out clearly in the picture.  Check to see if you can find it, too.  (Clicking on the pictures will enlarge them.)

The Dinosaur Puzzle

Corey Donovan visited my blog a couple weeks ago.  His/her company sponsored what I've dubbed the puzzle dinosaur for the St. Paul Science Museum's celebration this summer.  As Corey stated, the puzzle is a symbol used for autism much like the pink ribbon for breast cancer.  Corey left two links to additional photos of Autism Spectrum-A-Saurus which was created by Shane Anderson for St. Croix Solutions.  The new home for the pretty green dino is at the Holland Center in Excelsior.

To see Corey's photos of Autism Spectrum-A-Saurus click here or here.

Where Have All the St. Paul Dinosaurs Gone?

Imagine my surprise after Thanksgiving when an e-mail came as a result of my Diggin' Dinosaurs series.   Elizabeth Giese, a commercial real estate closer in the Twin Cities, contacted me because she and her husband are the proud owners of three of the Diggin' Dinos!  How exciting!  She wrote telling me of the dinosaurs' new home, two of which will live at her primary residence and the third (Comcastasaurus II) with its beach theme will live by the lake at their vacation home.  I'm not sure this kind of contact is my broker's picture of networking, but I love meeting new people this way.

What great luck for me.  Liz had purchased one of the two dinos which I had not photographed.  My request for pictures was granted and she added a few of the truck that delivered the beasties to her home.  She willingly tromped through the snow (remember our first snowstorm), brushed off the dinosaurs, and sent me the fantastic pictures in the slide below.  Thanks, Liz, for going to all that work.  Should I suggest your dinosaurs be "fruitful and multiply"?  Probably not.

The Saint Paul Hotel

St. Paul finally has REAL snow, the kind that actually looks like it's going to stay and create a white Christmas!  The snow makes the Christmas season seem closer and more festive.   With measurable snow, comes a reason to sit by the fireplace with a cup of cocoa or turn on all the Christmas lights and enjoy the sparkle and bling that snow adds to the season.

The holidays also encourage us to put "on the Ritz".

  (or the more modern version)

One of the best places to put on the Ritz in St. Paul is Minnesota's historic landmark hotel, THE Saint Paul Hotel at 350 Market St.  A five star hotel, The Saint Paul Hotel is nestled among important places like the Ordway Center, Landmark Center, the Xcel Center, the James J. Hill Library, and more.  History, state of the art facilities, elegance and service all converge in a beautiful setting summer or winter.  Private summer gardens have little nooks for doing business or relaxing.

Winter views include the beautifully decorated trees at Rice Park across the street.

It was at The Saint Paul Hotel main entry that Doormanasaurus greeted me this summer.  Like the other doormen, the dino was dressed to the nine's complete with tails and a top hat.  The Saint Paul Hotel's dino rendition was made by Stephen J. Gallivan. 

Eat Rightasaurus

After the feasting done for Thanksgiving it's fitting to have this Saturday's Diggin' Dino be Eat Rightasaurus.  Painted on his lovely blue body are fresh veggies and healthy foods.  I wonder how many of those we ate on turkey day.  I know I'm dreading my doctor's physical on Wednesday.  What was I thinking when I scheduled it?

Eat Rightasaurus was sponsored by Medica and created by Robyn Berth.  Before extinction, he was grazing along St. Paul's Kellogg Boulevard just east of the Minnesota Science Museum.