Potential buyer for Zahn's Building in Downtown Racine? Plus floor plans for 'new' Walden

We have a few new developments in the idea of turning the former Zahn's Department Store building on Monument Square into Walden III School. First, local real estate insiders say there are at least two people interested in buying the building, including one who has made an offer on the building. No one would talk on the record, but appearently there's some action around the Downtown eyesore/potential jewel.

As for moving Walden to Monument Square, the ideas seems a little more solid than, well, an idea. Patrick Flynn, a Walden parent and active member of the school's Parent Student Teacher Association, sent over floor plans for the proposed school. Here's the plans:

Street Level

Lower Level

Second Floor

Third Floor

Fourth Floor

It's unclear how serious, if at all, Racine Unified is taking this idea. But the parents appear to be putting some resources into the proposal in case the district and city want to take a closer look.

Beautiful day for a concert ...

A RacinePost reader sent in these pictures from Friday's Music on the Monument. A beautiful Friday drew a big crowd to hear The Roy Edwards Band. Next week's concert features acoustic duo Blue Heron. Here's a full list of the Friday afternoon concerts.

BOOM went the cannons...and the kids all smiled

The Air Force Band serenaded, and Civil War re-enactors in authentic wool uniforms were present, as Racine's two Civil War cannons officially returned to their rightful place -- since 1889 -- at the center of Monument Square.

Although the fireworks display was cancelled at the last minute by the two vendors, plenty of noise was provided across Main Street on Sam Johnson Parkway by re-enactors from Battery A, 3rd Ordinance, and Battery B, 4th U.S. Artillery, both of which were present at Gettysburg and at Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Both brought field cannons smaller than our two 30-lb. Parrott cannons -- one was a bronze field cannon actually used in the Civil War, the other a replica -- but when fired with 6 ounces of powder (a normal charge would have been 16 ounces) they made one hell of a bang.

In any case, as you can see from the top picture, the kids present last night at the rededication ceremony understood perfectly well that the city's cannons, reinstalled last Thursday, are back by the monument for them.

Below, Battery B readies its 10-lb. "Napoleon" cannon for firing, and then, bottom photo, fills the air with a loud BOOM and smoke as it fires. It was a reasonable substitute for the missing fireworks and a fitting welcome for our cannons, back after a three-year hiatus.

Civil War cannons are back on Monument Square

Gently lowered into place, hopefully for the last time

The Civil War cannons are back on Monument Square, where they were originally placed back in 1889.

Despite all the Sturm und Drang accompanying the debate over their removal three years ago when Monument Square was refurbished, they returned to their place alongside Racine's 61-ft. tall Civil War monument this afternoon, with nary a skirmish.

The official celebration schedule is HERE.

Alderman Jeff Coe was present, seemingly making amends for his advocacy of the proposal the cannons be sent to Kenosha to take up residence in that city's new Civil War Museum.

"The only thing we did stupidly was put them into storage," he said today. "We should have given them to Kenosha. I just thought, what better way to honor them than to give them to a museum, where they could take care of them?"

But as they returned to their place today, he said, "I'm OK with their return. I'm just glad the city got it resolved."

Coe recalled playing on the cannons as a child, and admitted to bringing his daughter to the square when she was young to also play on them. Today, he brought Heather, now 17, to Monument Square to help remove the paving bricks to make room for the heavy granite bases on which the cannons will sit. "Maybe in 100 years they'll debate this again," Coe said philosophically.

Both cannons were placed aiming north. Nobody could recall why, except that's the direction they faced originally. Coe showed a picture to prove it.

Today's reinstallation operation was led by Monte Osterman of Osterman Granite and Tile, assisted by David Carbajal. The crane from Meyers Racine Monument Works was operated by Jim Anspaugh. First they gently lowered the 3,300-lb. Mesabi granite bases into place, and then the two cannons themselves, one weighing 3,650 lbs and the other 3,530 pounds -- according to the engravings on their barrels. One is RPP No. 228; the other RPP No. 53; RPP stands for Robert Parker Parrott, the designer, who apparently also oversaw their construction personally. See HERE for more on their historical background.

Under each of the bases, Osterman put his traditional good luck pieces. He had wanted to place a 2008 Wisconsin quarter under each -- to tell some future generation when the cannons were reinstalled -- but had to settle for 2004 Wisconsin and 2008 New Mexico quarters; Johnson Bank across the street simply didn't have the right coinage on hand. No doubt, this will confuse the heck out of whoever moves the bases in 2108!

Jeff Coe shows picture with cannons aiming north

Final touches to cannon bases precede reinstallation

Just a few finishing touches need to be completed, and Racine's two Civil War cannons will return to Monument Square.

Reinstallation is scheduled for Thursday, but the cannons' official welcoming ceremony will be held on Saturday, heralded by the U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, fireworks and all the accoutrements. Details of the ceremony are HERE.

Before then, however, Monte Osterman of Osterman Granite and Marble, who designed the bases for the city and ordered them from a quarry in Cold Spring, MN, has a little more work ahead of him. See, the 3,650 lb. cannons don't fit perfectly onto their new 3,300 lb. granite bases. The fit is a tad too tight, so Osterman has directed his crew -- led by master craftsman Asael Torres, assisted by apprentice Kyle Perroni -- to widen the semicircular bed just a hair -- an eighth of an inch here, another eighth there.

"Some CNC work (computerized numerical control) is involved," Osterman said, "but it's mostly hand work."

Osterman and Torres were hunched over the cannons this afternoon, carefully measuring, then transferring those measurements back to the bases, which arrived in Racine last week. At first, the tools involved were no more complicated than squares, rulers, duct tape (Yes!) and a propane torch, but soon would involve the delicate application of gentle cuts from a 12" diamond saw blade, grinders and elbow grease. All to ensure that the two cannon barrels fit perfectly onto the Mesabi black granite bases. The cannons themselves have been given a coat of an epoxy-type black paint, which makes them look far newer than their 1863 origins.

The cannons were originally installed on Monument Square in 1889, about five years after the monument itself. (Inflationary note: The 61-ft. tall monument cost $8,000 in the 1860s; some 140-years later, the two cannon bases cost almost $15,000.) The cannons stood sentinel alongside the monument until 2005, when they were removed during the renovation of Monument Square ... almost to be lost to Kenosha's new Civil War museum, until a public outcry and the deliberations of an Ad Hoc committee brought them back permanently.

I learned more about our cannons from a Civil War buff named Michael Haynes, in Victoria, TX:

Our guns, he says, are 30-pounder Parrott rifles, with a 4.2 inch caliber tube. The initials RPP engraved on the rear end of our cannons "indicate that the ordinance officer who proofed them was none other than the inventor of this cannon design, Robert Parker Parrott." The following item appeared in the April 30,1864, issue of Scientific American:

"Parrott Guns.--A 30-pound Parrott gun, in Fort Putnam, Morris Island (off Charleston S.C.) was recently tested by firing until it burst. The weapon threw 4,615 shells into Charleston, five miles distance, at regular intervals of five minutes, before it burst. Such endurance is unprecedented."

The writer might also have noted that shelling the civilian population of Charleston was illegal, but that would have led to the magazine being shut down by Lincoln's military censors and quite possibly jail time for the publisher

Here is an article about Parrott from the Civil War Artillery website:

One famous U.S. inventor was a former West Point graduate and ordnance officer named Robert Parker Parrott. Robert Parker Parrott In 1836, Parrott resigned his rank of captain and went to work for the West Point Foundry at Cold Spring, New York. This foundry was a civilian operated business and Parrott, as a superintendent, was able to dedicate some forty years perfecting a rifled cannon and a companion projectile. By 1860, he had patented a new method of attaching the reinforcing band on the breech of a gun tube. Although he was not the first to attach a band to a tube, he was the first to use a method of rotating the tube while slipping the band on hot. This rotation, while cooling, caused the band to attach itself in place uniformly rather than in one or two places as was the common method, which allowed the band to sag in place.

What our cannon looked like on the battlefield

The 10-pounder Parrott came out in 1860 and was patented in 1861 and the 20- and 30-pounder guns followed in 1861. He quickly followed up these patents by producing 6.4-, 8-, and 10-inch caliber cannons early in the war. The Army referred to these as 100, 200, and 300-pounder Parrotts respectively. By the end of the conflict the Parrott gun was being used extensively in both armies.

Parrott's name is also associated with the ammunition fired by his cannon. The elongated Parrott projectile employed a sabot made of wrought iron, brass, lead or copper that was attached to the shell base. When the projectile was fired, the sabot expanded into the rifling of the tube. In 1861 Parrott patented his first projectile with the sabot cast on the outside of the projectile.

Our earlier story about the designing of the cannon bases is HERE.

This week's concert: No rain, just rock 'n roll

Unlike last week's noontime concert, which was rained out, today's Music on the Monument went off without a hitch. The south side of the square was packed with an audience for Final Approach's classic rock of the '70s and '80s.

Band members Bridget Kristan, lead vocals, and Kevin Grant, Steve Sustachek, Mike (Moon) Harmann and Mark Grant kept it rockin' for an appreciative crowd perched on chairs, the new granite benches and even a bicycle and motorcycle or two.

In outdoor concerts, weather is king

Music lovers who attended today's first Music on the Monument lunchtime concert got more -- and less -- than they bargained for.

Just two and one-half songs into the performance by the Roy Edwards Band, the concert was cut short by a downpour. The few droplets of rain that greeted the start of the 11:30 a.m. concert grew to a slashing rainstorm and heavy winds within 15 minutes, cutting short the concert.

Chairs and umbrellas were blown over, and DRC's Downtown Ambassadors had to scramble to collect them all, while a couple of hardy concert-goers huddled under an umbrella or two. To no avail. The band packed up, and the crowd was gone within 15 minutes.

And then the sun came out again. Sometimes, a blues band gets no luck at all, just something to sing about the next time.

Was it Racine or New Orleans Friday night?

David Figge of the Racine Kilties played on Main Street

It was the second First Friday of the year, and it couldn't have started out on a better note

Sixth Street merchants were smiling -- no, absolutely beaming -- at having gotten their street back again on Thursday, the first phase of this year's construction work completed. Not just on time, but almost a week early.

The afternoon's nasty weather was barely a memory. The streets were dry, the sky was the bluest of blues and the sun was shining. Music came from everywhere: jazz from a pick-up twosome the far end of Sixth, bluesy tunes from Monument Square, heavy metal at the lower end of Main; Irish folk, blues -- even a lone trumpet! -- and who knows what else inbetween. (Would you believe some Civil War soldiers?) Racine was a poor name for downtown; for a while it felt more like New Orleans.

Shoppers and music lovers wandered around, into this store, listening to that music. Mothers with sleepy kids; a dad showing his three-year-old what an orange 1957 (I'm guessing) BelAir hardtop Chevrolet in mint condition looks like. (Very, very sharp!) It wasn't a large crowd at the start, but it was an enthusiastic one.

Unfortunately, it was cut short by a little rain after not quite two hours. The smart browsers went inside to continue enjoying the music. The wimps -- me, in other words -- headed home on the Vespa, hoping to avoid the wife's "I told you it was going to rain."

Some scenes from the evening:

Gary and DeAnn Lekas in Monument Square

Jim Bednarek filling in for the babysitting Bennett Carl on Sixth

Paul Kaye in JavaVino's courtyard

Cheryl McCrary and the Heir-Born Praise Band, from Nesting

Jeff Ward, inside Molly MaGruder

Kids made pottery keepsakes at Fired Up!

Dad found the car of his dreams parked on Main Street;
( daughter unimpressed)

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War at the Racine Heritage Museum

Students rally for immigration rights

The cadence blared out from megaphones, and got the time-honored response:

"What do we want?"
"JUSTICE!"
"When do we want it?"
"NOW!!!"

Several hundred students, mostly high schoolers, filled the south half of Monument Square at 8 a.m. this morning, for a brief rally demanding immigration rights. Then they marched up Sixth Street, past U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan's office -- he wasn't in -- and back around to Festival Hall, where six buses waited to take them to Milwaukee for an even bigger rally.

The only elected official I saw was Racine Mayor Gary Becker, who said, "Let's demand respect for everyone in the community." When asked whether all those kids shouldn't have been in school, the mayor said the event "is a good learning experience. I'd take my kids out of school for this."

Meanwhile, the Journal Sentinel reported today that Wisconsin's Wisconsin's Hispanic population grew faster last year than the nation's, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In the past year, the state's Hispanic population grew 4.3% to 271,830. The state's percentage gain was greater than the national Hispanic growth rate of 3.3%.

"The Hispanic population here grew the most of any minority group - 41% from 2000 to 2007. With Hispanics constituting 4.9% of the state's population, Wisconsin ranks 32nd for its percentage of Hispanics and 24th for total Hispanic population," the J-S reported. The full story is HERE.

Kaboom: Price for cannon bases up to $13,870

The cost is going up to display to Civil War-era cannons on Monument Square.

Donnie Snow, head of the city's parks and recreation department, said this week that bases for the two cannons will cost $13,870 - up from the $10,000 price quoted last week.

The increase comes because planners were comparing the cannons to the ones outside of Memorial Hall. The Civil War cannons are much larger and will require a larger base.

Here's an email from Snow laying out the change:

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The purpose of this email is to keep you informed on the cannon restoration for their eventual return to Monument Square (MS). I appeared before the Finance and Personnel Committee, last evening, Tuesday, March 24th to inform the committee of the cost and alternatives for restoring and returning the cannons to the square.

I am writing to inform you that the cost is higher than I first reported to you in my March 19th email. The cost for each cannon base will cost $6, 935.00 each or $13,870.00 for the two bases, instead of the initial report of $4,700-$4,900.00 each or $10,000 for two. This change is because initially Osterman Granite were basing their price on the cannon bases located at Memorial Hall which are a lot smaller than the ones for the MS. To get the right base size and design for these much larger cannons I took Mr. Osterman to the storage site to see the original cannon bases in proportion to the Memorial Hall. The color will be Mesabi Black with a thermal type diamond 10 finish and will match the seat wall, art pedestals and game board pieces.

The Finance and Personnel Committee did vote to recommend allocation of these funds from the remaining funds in the Monument Square Project account with stipulations that an account be established with the Finance Department to receive donations to recover and replenish this account.

If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions contact me at your convenience.

Donnie

Bringing the cannons back to Monument Square

The Civil War cannon, mounted on a temporary base of 2 x4's, sits about five feet above the concrete floor of Osterman Granite and Marble. It has the full attention of Monte Osterman, who pokes and prods it from end to end, measures it this way and that, taking notes on everything he finds.

It is safe to say he is more familiar with the 145-year-old cannon than anyone else.

He has located its center point, learned that it weighs 3,650 pounds. Measured it at its widest point -- 19 inches; its length -- 113 inches. Taken notes of all the embossed information found here and there: RPP No. 228, the cannon says on its rear end; "1863" on one of its pivot points; a patent date of 1861.

With a flashlight and a metal coat hanger straightened into a grappling hook, he reaches down the cannon's barrel, dragging out a nickel, a penny, a blue glass game piece, a shard of broken glass. Treasure from ... when? One hundred years ago? Three years ago?

The Civil War ended in 1865, but a mini-war swirled around the two cannons removed from Monument Square when it was rebuilt starting in 2005: where should they go? The new Civil War museum under construction in Kenosha? By City Hall? Anywhere but back on Monument Square! After much debate, that question has been resolved -- put them back by the Civil War monument, the City Council finally ruled.

And so, now it's all up to Monte Osterman to design and build granite bases for the two cannons.

City Parks and Recreation Director Donnie Snow, who has to come up with the money to pay for Osterman's work, is also involved; his request to the City Council to allocate the approximately $10,000 necessary should come before the Finance and Personnel Committee today. Private fund-raising is another option, but one that would delay the base construction, and the cannons' return past the hoped-for reinstallation date of Flag Day, June 14.

None of that is Osterman's concern: his charge is strictly a design issue. And so he measures, and draws, and makes recommendations to the city, its architect and to the Downtown Racine Corporation, which contributed $600,000 of Monument Square's $1.4 million rebuilding cost. Osterman's preference is for classic bases made from Mesabi black granite -- despite its name a mottled dark gray stone -- rough textured from a quarry on the Minnesota/Canadian border.

The new bases will match the benches already ordered and due here in May. "The monument itself is of medium Barre granite, from Vermont," Osterman says. "Then there are the bricks and pavers. We didn't want to introduce another color and material."

"The compressive strength" of various stone also came into play. "We've got to make sure it will hold up," he says, noting that the earlier cannon bases were carved from Indiana limestone, a B-grade at that. "It didn't hold up," he says, "in part because of the acidic cleaning materials used over the years."

All told, some 60,000 pounds of granite is coming from the quarry for a dozen benches, game pieces (with chess boards engraved on top), and art pedestals. The smallest piece weighs about 6,000 pounds.

Back story: Osterman's showroom and workshop on Washington Avenue (in the former Belle Dodge building since July 2006) is an airy space, home to incredibly beautiful slabs of granite that he and his workers will trim into unique kitchen counter tops and backsplashes, fireplace hearths, tub surrounds and so on, with computer-controlled diamond-blade saws.

But it is Osterman's background that fascinates: he grew up in Indiana, went to mortuary school, and eventually came to Racine, buying the Kasuboski Funeral Home on Douglas Avenue. As a student he'd worked for a monument company, and so he continued to sell monuments to former classmates. Customers who knew he made granite headstones sometimes asked, "would you do a granite hearth for my fireplace." At first the answer was no, "but then I realized there was not a whole lot of that around, and so I agreed to 'learn by mistake'." Eventually, he sold the funeral home and became a full-time granite and marble craftsman, specializing in custom work.

Osterman and his employees built a lot of their own tooling, and have pioneered the creation of a thin-panel stone product, Soterra, for walls and ceilings. He is the national training center for Surfacing Products International which makes and markets Soterra. Soon Osterman's will become a Kohler showroom.

But his funeral director training is still evident. Creating a kitchen, he says, is similar to the "restorative art" of a funeral. "There are no do-overs, you get one shot at it, one opportunity to create a peaceful environment."

A perfect thought for designing part of Racine's Monument Square.

Nativity Scene up on Monument Square

A Nativity Scene quietly appeared on Monument Square this week. It may soon have some company.

A group calling itself the Christmas Coalition of Churches filled out the needed forms for the Christmas display and is also planning a caroling concert Saturday on Monument Square.

The group was required to pay a $25 administrative fee, put down a $300 deposit and have a current certificate of insurance while the display is up.

Tom Molbeck, the city's manager of recreation and cultural services, said Wednesday that another group had taken out forms and is likely to apply for a display. The name of the group is unavailable until they file the forms with the city's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services.

The Nativity Scene is the same one that was put up last year on Monument Square after Wind Point resident Bob Wortock fought for the Christian symbol to be displayed on public property. It is scheduled to be up through Jan. 9.