First Avenue Wall – St. Cloud MN

Description

The First Avenue Wall located in front of Riverview was one of many improvements made on the St. Cloud Teacher’s College campus in the 1930s. Under President George Selke, the building of retaining walls such as the ones off First Avenue took place in the summer of 1936, made possible with use of W.P.A. labor in conjunction with NYA. The total cost for general building repairs, construction of steps and stairways, landscaping, and retaining walls at the time was $20,400.54. The purpose of building retaining walls on campus was not only for aesthetics, but for convenience and to prevent drainage wash and erosion. The wall, as well as every other granite wall on campus, was constructed using granite cut from the quarry on the Teachers college land. The campus paper, The College Chronicle, reflected with pride how SCSU students could “look out the window of the Main Building, Riverview, or Eastman Hall and see progress and beauty developing under the W.P.A. project.”

On October 30th, 2012, Brian Kostreba, a master mason, placed a granite sign reading, “WPA 1336” on the First Avenue Wall. This act marked the end of a two-month long project that helped to maintain and restore the walls along First Avenue. The restoration project’s total cost amounted to $200,000. The wall still stands outside of Riverview and looks the same as it did 83 years ago.