Historic Roadside Landmark in Robbinsdale Tagged with Graffiti
Cleanup is taking place after a historic roadside attraction in Robbinsdale was defaced by graffiti.
Robbinsdale police say that on Christmas Eve, someone used black spray paint to vandalize the beehive fireplace in Graeser Park with the words, “FREE PALESTINE.”
“I don’t care what the message is,” said Robbinsdale Police Capt. John Elder. “I don’t care if they’d have written ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ on there. The fact of the matter, it’s destruction and it’s a crime.”
Crews from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, which owns the site, have since removed much of the paint. Robbinsdale police and park personnel have increased monitoring in this area and ask the public to call 911 if they see anything suspicious.
“This is just the epitome of senseless destruction,” Elder added. “There is absolutely no reason for this, and the fact that they’ve chosen to pick something historic and something valuable to deface makes it even worse.”
The beehive fireplace was part of a $500,000 project to restore the park. It’s the only one of its kind still standing where it was originally built.
“The people who did this may not have known about its historic worth, and may not have known that it’s actually going to be on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Kristi Gibson, a Graeser Park enthusiast. “Which means that it can never be torn down, altered, destroyed. So I doubt it was an innocent crime, but they may not have known the full value.”
The Robbinsdale Police Department urges anyone who may have information on the vandal to give them a call at (763) 531-1220.
Related: Robbinsdale Celebrates Revival of Historic Graeser Park
