Dear Friends of Landmark Center,

Thank you for your support of Minnesota Landmarks and Landmark Center during this past year. We are pleased to

report on the success of our community programs and other accomplishments that occurred in the building, as we

strive to fulfill our goals and advance our mission to present Landmark Center as “a work of art serving people.”

Our year was filled with exciting visual arts initiatives in the North Gallery, as well as the Summer Arts Discovery

exhibition (now into its third year). We also presented accessible and affordable cultural programs with a wide

array of community partners (including the new Carpathian Festival and the ever popular Urban Expedition).

Building projects included the carefully restored ceiling of the Musser Cortile and designing a much needed

renovation to the Landmark Center restrooms that will start next fall.

We completed a strong fiscal year. For the first time since implementing an annual campaign in 2008, we exceeded

$200,000 in contributed income from development activities, due in part to the success of the fourth annual Once

Upon a Time Gala. With direction from our five-year Strategic Plan adopted last September, we are seeking

additional ways to develop support for Landmark Center and create new ways of engaging the community.

Minnesota Landmarks has a very strong and committed board and staff that strive to do the best job possible for the

benefit of Landmark Center and its mission. On behalf of our Board, staff, and community partners, we also

recognize and appreciate Ramsey County’s support, whose funding makes it possible for Landmark Center to anchor

Rice Park, one of the most beautiful locations in our city and county. Together, we believe in and facilitate vibrant

and successful possibilities for creative use of this

awe-inspiring historic building.

Sincerely,

Scott Knudson Amy Mino

Chairman of the Board Executive Director

Minnesota Landmarks

Annual Report 2016-2017

Minnesota Landmarks Mission Minnesota Landmarks preserves and manages Landmark Center as a dynamic, historic cultural center. It initiates

programs and partnerships that celebrate the cultural diversity and collective history of the community, and provides a central gathering place for organizations and

activities that enhance the quality of life in our community.

Minnesota Landmarks presented over 244 cultural programs and history tours in 2016 and collaborated on many

more with other community partners and resident organizations, as we worked to fulfill our mission. In addition,

our Events staff oversaw over 400 corporate and nonprofit meetings, weddings and special celebrations that took

place in the building, bringing in over $618,000 in revenue to support building activities. Over 235,000 people

frequented Landmark Center during the year to attend concerts, festivals, book talks, history programs and many

more events presented by Minnesota Landmarks and Landmark Center’s resident organizations.

Sundays at Landmark Family-oriented Public Programs,

2016-2017 Season

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, St. Paul Civic Symphony Fall Concert, Great

Pumpkin Festival, Saint Martin’s Day Celebration, Santa’s Workshop, St. Paul

Civic Symphony Winter Carnival Concert, Day of Irish Dance, A Scottish

Ramble, Minnesota Boychoir Annual Winter Concert, The Friends of Skylark

Opera, Carpathian Festival, Urban Expedition (Denmark, Switzerland,

Colombia, Togo, Karen Culture of Burma), The Rose Ensemble, St. Paul Civic

Symphony Mother's Day Concert

Building & Specialty Tours

Building Tour (155), Rice Park (5 summer tours),

Heart of the City (5 summer tours), Vintage Saint

Paul Tour, Great River (5 summer tours), Gangster Ghost Tour

Visual Arts Experiences

2016 Summer Arts Discovery Exhibition &

“Landmark Soundbeam” (Philip Blackburn), “Luminous Landmark” (Jeff

Barlett), “The Art of Opera” (Mike Reed), “On the Line” (Ford Motor/Brian

McMahon), “Reinventing the Rathskeller” (U of M Design School), “Talking

Threads” (Truly Unruly Fiber Arts), “I am a Woman” (Mary Sue Englund),

Landmark Center Volunteer Association Retrospective, “Makers and

Shakers” (paintings by Caroline Mecklin)

Special Landmark Programs & Collaborative Partnerships (selected list)

Red House Live from Landmark Center (4), Ballet Tuesdays (8), Music in the

Café (3), Old-Fashioned Holiday Bazaar, St. Patrick’s Day Celebration,

Landmark Literati (4), "Sworn to be True" Trial Reenactment (3 performances),

Raise Your Voice (U of M Opera), “Summer Melodies” (Minnetonka Civic

Orchestra), “Landmark to Lowertown” (American Composers Forum), “Talkin’

‘bout My Generation” Concert (Friends of the St Paul Public Library), Cognitive

Health Seminar, Global Conversations (3), Jayanthi Kyle Winter Carnival

Concert, World Storytelling Day (2), Uncle Sam Worked Here History

Conversations (2), and Star of the North Holiday Band Concert

“The cultural breadth 

and authenticity of 

the program was 

perfect.  No 

commercialization.” 

Urban Expedition 2017 

Urban Expedition: Karen Dancers 

“Mesohippus Mirabilis” (Michael Bahl) 

A Scottish Ramble 

Minnesota Landmarks Community Programs and Event Activities June 2016 through May 2017 

2016 Operating Financials 

Expenses   

Building Operations  1,345,973 

Earned Income Activities  334,844 

Community Programs  361,315 

Fundraising (including Gala)  71,996 

Total Expenses  $2,114,128 

An important component of downtown St. Paul's cultural vitality, Landmark

Center is an accessible multicultural center and home for the arts. Minnesota

Landmarks maintains the building as an important historic and cultural resource,

ensuring Landmark Center’s vitality for the next 100 years.

Restored the Musser Cortile Ceiling and walls.

Initiated the design phase of the Landmark Center Restroom Renovation.

Executed replacement of the steps on the north end of the building.

Received the Sustainable Saint Paul award for “Energy Efficiency and

Building Conservation.”

Provided leadership for the Rice Park Revitalization Project, helping to raise

over $1.2 million for Rice Park improvements (project implementation

scheduled for late 2017-2018)

The elegant Cortile decorative detailing restored by Fresh Paint, Inc. 

Hippo Campus, “Monsoon,” Live at Landmark Center (Photo Credit: TPT) 

Building Restoration Corporation installing the north steps this spring. 

Landmark Center has long been an incubator for the arts,

providing a central place where resident cultural

organizations can network, exhibit, perform, and share space

and expertise. From 2005 to 2014, the fledgling Saint Paul

Conservatory for Performing Artists (SPCPA) grew into a 700

student urban campus arts high school. It has since relocated

but its ties remain. This February, four of its alumni, who

form the band Hippo Campus, named their debut album,

“Landmark,” in part to recognize their artistic beginnings in

the building. The band, and Landmark Center, were featured

in an episode of TPT’s “MN Original.”

2016 Building and Community Initiatives 

“My first stop 

anytime I come to 

St. Paul is to the 

Landmark Center.  

What a great start 

to have such 

inspiration.”  

2016 Visitor 

Revenue & Support   

Ramsey County Allocation  879,118 

Contributions and Grants  193,230 

Rents and Admissions  735,379 

Investments/Earned Income  306,401 

Total Revenue & Support  $2,114,128 

Revenue 

Expenses 

The Once Upon a Time Gala was a beautiful evening

set in the 1930s, celebrating the Golden Age of

Hollywood. Costumed Hollywood actors and the

lustrous crooning of Kate Lynch and Her Most

Excellent Fellows topped the evening. Through

generous support of our many sponsors and guests,

revenue exceeded goals to net over $28,000 in

support of Landmark Center’s community

programming activities.

Top: Clark Gable & Vivian Leigh          (aka volunteers Tom Fabel & Erica Moore)   Side: Kate Lynch and Her Most Excellent Fellows 

2016 Once Upon a Time Gala 

Community Partners & Volunteer Support 

Strong community partners and volunteer support are the lifeblood of

Landmark Center activities. Our 80-member strong Landmark Center

Volunteer Association provided over 6,400 hours of volunteer time in

2016, with a value of over $155,000* to the organization. LCVA assists

with community programs, staffs the Visitor Information Center and

Landmarket Gift Shop, and led over 155 tours during the year. Our Board

of Directors provided an additional 2,600 volunteer hours of service for a

total of 9,000 hours in volunteer benefit to Landmark Center.

In addition to our 15 resident arts organizations,

52 community partners and 10 artists assisted

Minnesota Landmarks in presenting the wealth of

programs and activities within Landmark Center

during the 2016-2017 season. These partners help

present programs that are culturally authentic and

artistically excellent, making them accessible and

available to people of all backgrounds at free or low

cost. Key among our external partnering

organizations this season are Ethnic Dance Theatre

(Carpathian Festival), Saint Paul Ballet (Ballet

Tuesdays), Phuoc Tran (Mid-Autumn Moon Fest),

Liz Michaelson (A Scottish Ramble), Irish Music and Dance Association (IMDA), Karen

Organization and Karen Culture Organization of Minnesota, Togolese Community in

Minnesota, Colombian Cultural Integration in Minnesota, and the Danish American Center.

Saint Paul Ballet at Ballet Tuesdays 

“Taught my first 

art class today!! 

Amazing 

experience 

building with the 

youth.”  

Summer Arts 

Discovery Artist  

St. Paul Slim 

“We had a delightful time as did our guests! Congratulations on planning and 

hosting such a successful event!!           2016 Gala Honorary Chair Leaetta Hough 

* Labor value calculate at $24.31 per hour (Indepentsector.org).

Volunteers Bill and Carol Stower and Bob Wagner, supplying the literal ketchup and mustard for Winter Carnival hot dog sales.