Here's a sad, but perhaps telling story:
The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, a shrine for stars from all levels of American hockey the past three decades, has closed its doors.The hall may move to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul or the Mall of America in Bloomington, although no decision has been made, officials said. The hall's closure was announced Friday.
Click here to visit the Hall online.
Tell me this: If the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame can't make it in Minnesota, just where could it make it? Here's hoping they move it to the Wild's home rink, where they're sure to get a steady crowd.
Well, as one of your few regular readers who’s been to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, two thoughts: one, eh, it was neat, but wasn’t something that totally overwhelmed you with the magnficence of U.S. hockey history, since U.S. hockey history is well, neat but not magnificent.
Secondly, I don’t know if you know where Eveleth, Minnesota, is, but it’s here:
http://tinyurl.com/rkyrr
Which is to say, it’s so far off the beaten track that you have to take a plane to connect to the shuttle to take you to the horsecart that runs along the beaten track.
The one thing visitors to the U.S.H.H. o’ F. will sure miss however, if it reopens in a more convenient location (and, frankly, what wouldn’t be more convenient?) is the world’s largest hockey stick, which is a short drive away in downtown Eveleth:
http://www.keithv.com/cambridge/large/keith_giant_hockey_stick.jpg
Nice 2005 profile of Eveleth hockey heritage:
http://www.americanprofile.com/issues/20050116/20050116_4406.asp
Claims 15,000 visitors a year for the Hall. Wow. I’m kind of surprised that (a) that’s true and (b) if it is, that they can’t make a go of it.
Anyway, salve atque vale.
Word Guy beat me to it, but Eveleth is a long way from anywhere. To put it in perspective, it’s about 3.5 hours north of Minneapolis — in the summer…
Besides geography, the location also has economics against it. The area is called the Iron Range for the Iron Ore mining that drove the regions economy. Well, that’s all past tense. The mines are closing with predictable results for the population and the economy.
I was in Eveleth about 10 years ago — I guess Word Guy and I are probably your only readers with that claim to whatever — and tried to go to the HHOF… But it closed at 5pm — tough to get there when you have to work.
Now that they love NHL hockey again, Bloomington or St. Paul make a lot more sense for the US HHOF, 100x more people drive past either of those sites daily than live with 50 miles of Eveleth.
The USHHoF can make it fine in Minnesota.
They *can’t* make it fine in the Middle-of-Nowhere Minnesota.