I was reading the autobiography of the Archbishop of Tver on microfilm in the sub-basement of Wilson Library at the University of Minnesota when I had a revelation: My life was too short to finish my Ph.D.--and three people at most would read it if I did. So I crawled out of the academic world and decided to write about historic preservation, which led to writing about architecture, which I have done for 40 years now. 

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My first published piece was about Minnesota's architectural gems, in the Star Tribune opinion section. When the newspaper hit the front steps of our house on Irving Avenue that morning, I knew I had found my calling. I went on to become managing editor, then editor of Architecture Minnesota before joining the Star Tribune as architecture reporter and columnist in 1986. I covered a compelling arc of urban development from the opening of St. Anthony Main and the Lake Harriet Bandshell to the arrival of the new Guthrie Theater and Central Library and the expanded Walker Art Center, MIA and Children's Theatre. 

 

I was liberated from my job in 2007, wrote a book on Madeline Island Summer Houses, and have been freelancing and volunteering on various boards since then. 

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