The big red K from atop the doomed Lake Street Kmart shone brightly Sunday as a holiday ornament for the first time in the backyard of a Twin Cities family's home.
Jason Pieper planted the 9-foot-tall consonant outside his Lake Elmo home in time for it to be dusted with a light snow.
The 50-year-old real estate agent was the winning bidder for the 900-pound K in a city of Minneapolis auction that wrapped up on Dec. 1. He paid $1,925 for the K, with tax and auction fee swelling the bottom line to $2,339.41.
"And the Lake Street Kmart sign lives on!" Pieper said soon after illuminating the K with ground-level lighting.
The Kmart discount retail outlet opened on Lake Street in 1977 in the middle of Nicollet Avenue, effectively severing the heavily traveled thoroughfare in the heart of south Minneapolis. For decades, it was among the most hotly debated buildings in Minneapolis — either viewed vital to providing reasonably priced essentials to many who had few shopping options or derided as a visual scar and a travel annoyance for motorists and mass transit.
The store had been scheduled to close by June 30 after the city bought out its lease in March, but the riots following the death of George Floyd in May accelerated its closure.
When Pieper took ownership of the K, no long visible was the white "mart" that it wore in sash-like fashion to complete the store's name.
However, Pieper solved the mystery of where the inscription went and has revived it.
"The sign got all covered in graffiti, so the city just painted it all red to sell it," he said. "[It] was fairly easy to trace the outline and freehand paint it. It looks awesome."
The U.S. Postal Service is now sorting letters and packages in the building as it awaits its demise at a date yet to be determined. The Postal Service is operating there to accommodate for losing two south Minneapolis post offices destroyed in the riots.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
The Link LonkDecember 14, 2020 at 09:46PM
https://www.startribune.com/from-lake-street-to-lake-elmo-big-red-k-shines-brightly-again/573386701/
From Lake Street to Lake Elmo, big red K shines brightly again - Minneapolis Star Tribune
https://news.google.com/search?q=Red&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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