What's Historic?

Featured in Minneapolis Downtown Journal

The 108-year-old Milwaukee Depot has been restored as a Marriott hotel and skating rink.

By Jeremy Stratton

The condominium craze has had developers buying up old buildings like they're going out of style while the city tries to preserve its history. Historic designation helps keep that history alive, but not by making it static. Instead, city and state historical departments have encouraged, and even partnered with, developers on projects that have resurrected some of the city core's most treasured places of the past.

City planners say that historic preservation is not about freezing a building in time, but making sure it remains viable while retaining its historic character. “The goal is to guide change,” said Greg Mathis, senior planner with the city and one of two staffers dedicated to the city's Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC), which designates historic properties and districts for the city.

The HPC's list - as well as the National Register of Historic Places, which is administered by the State Historic Preservation Office - is heavy with Downtown designations. Some are obvious, and two - the Pillsbury and Washburn “A” Mill (now the Mill City Museum) - are national historic landmarks, the highest designation possible. Others are hidden gems, and a few that aren't on the list, like the tallest building in the state, might surprise you.

The historic designation low-down

Properties can be designated historic on the city, state or national level. The HPC has seven criteria for designation, as paraphrased below. A property may be designated by the city if it:

- is associated with events or periods exemplifying patterns of cultural, political, economic or social history.

- is associated with significant persons or groups.

- includes distinctive elements of city identity.

- embodies distinctive characteristics of architecture, engineering or construction.

- exemplifies an innovative or rare landscape design or development pattern.

- exemplifies works of master builders, engineers, designers, architects, artists or craftspersons.

- has yielded or may yet yield important information about history or prehistory.

The National Register of Historic Places follows similar guidelines but requires properties to be at least 50 years old. Roth said that a state register of historic places does exist, with fewer listings than the HPC's or the national register.

Locally and nationally designated historic districts protect even more properties. On the local level, there are six HPC-designated districts in the eight neighborhoods covered by the Downtown Journal. The St. Anthony Falls Historic District - the largest by far - covers all of the Downtown Mississippi riverfront between South 2nd Street on the west bank and University Avenue on the east.

Other official districts include the turn-of-the century brick buildings surrounding Stevens Square, historic homes on Southeast 5th Street in Marcy-Holmes, former auto industry buildings around Harmon Place near Loring Park, 9th Street South in Elliot Park and the historic buildings that give the Warehouse District its name.

The HPC will soon add a complete list of historic properties and maps of the districts to its Web site, www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/hpc.

While not all buildings within a district are historic, Susan Roth, national register historian with the Minnesota Historical Society's (MHS) State Historic Preservation Office, Roth said that “contributing” buildings have the same protections as individually designated properties. The Standard Mill at 150 Portland Ave. S. - more recently known as the Whitney Hotel - is a good example, Roth said. (See related story, p. 13)

Other buildings are eligible but not yet designated, according to Mathis, and the HPC must sign off on the demolition of any building in the city.

Developing history

Preservation and development are not necessarily antithetical to one another. Mathis noted the past decade of development in the mills district and North Loop, where crumbling mills and abandoned warehouses have given way to housing, shops, and civic and arts establishments such as the Mill City Museum and new Guthrie Theater.

He pointed to two recent examples: the Milwaukee Railroad Depot at Washington & 3rd avenues south - now a Marriott Hotel and skating rink - and the Washburn “A” Mill, which was restored by Brighton Development as the Minnesota Historical Society's Mill City Museum and offices.

Across the river from the Washburn Mill, the Pillsbury “A” Mill could soon be restored as part of a 1,000-unit condominium and commercial space project by developer Schafer Richardson. Connecting the two national historic landmarks is the Stone Arch Bridge, built in 1883 - itself a National Historic Engineering Landmark, the highest designation a bridge can receive.

“I'm a big believer that we have so little history to preserve, we need to be fanatical about preserving what we have left,” said Peggy Lucas, partner with Brighton Development. “It creates value and ambience Š that wouldn't be there if you tore it down and started over. You can't create charm from scratch.”

Since converting the North Star Blanket building into condos in the early 1990s, Lucas' Brighton has rehabbed nearly all of the West Bank mills district, which was largely vacant and deteriorating. The Washburn “A” Mill itself was nearly destroyed by fire in 1991. “The firemen were out there with their big pressure hoses, and the thing would have collapsed,” Lucas said, had an Historical Society employee not called Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton. “We're all fortunate that it was salvageable,” Lucas said.

The city's involvement has not been limited to putting out fires, so to speak. Minneapolis acquired and then sold the building to Brighton, which used public subsidy - tax-increment financing (TIF) - for the project. In turn, much of the property tax revenue from the TIF subsidy went to fund the museum, Lucas said.

David Frank, property manager for Schafer Richardson, said there are both economic and creative reasons for restoring historic buildings like the Pillsbury “A” Mill.

“Buyers and investors are more interested in things that are different,” Frank said. “They like the sense of living with history.”

Developers can also receive up to a 20 percent federal tax credit for renovating historic buildings, with some qualifications. Schafer Richardson may pursue tax credits on a very limited part of the “A” Mill project, Frank said.

There are reasons beyond the marketing and money, Frank said. “They're also some of the most interesting places to be.” Both Schafer Richardson and Brighton have unearthed historic artifacts in their riverfront diggings.

Frank noted that the riverfront is also where the most regulations converge, which means more bureaucratic hoops and jurisdictional red tape like added public hearings and costly environmental impact studies.

“It's more interesting; it's challenging,” Frank said. “It inspires us to work harder, to pick up our game.”

What's historic by neighborhood

Except where noted, these properties are designated historic by both the city's Historic Preservation Committee (HPC) and National Register of Historic Places. Includes construction date or era of significance.

Downtown West

Advance Thresher/Emerson Newton Company, 700-704 S. 3rd St. 1901/1904

Butler Brothers Company(Butler Square), 100 N. 6th St. (sign. 1900-1924)*

Pantages Theatre (interior only), 708 Hennepin Ave. S. 1916**

State Theatre 805 Hennepin Ave. S., 1920-1921**

Shubert Theater 516 Hennepin Ave. S. 1910

State Theater 805 Hennepin Ave. S. 1920-1921

Hennepin Theatre (Orpheum Theater) 910 Hennepin Ave. S. 1921

MacPhail School of Music 1128 LaSalle Ave. 1923**

Young Quinlan Department Store 901 Nicollet Mall 1926**

Chamber of Commerce (Grain Exchange) 400 S. 4th St. 1900-1902

Milwaukee Depot and Freight House 300 Washington Ave. S. 1897-1899, 1879

Farmers and Mechanics Bank (Scheiks) 115 S. 4th St. 1891-1893

Flour Exchange Building 310 4th Ave. S. 1892, 1909

Forum Cafeteria (former Goodfellows Restaurant) 18 S. 7th St. 1929

Foshay Tower 821 Marquette 1927-1929

Gethsemane Episcopal Church 905 4th Ave. S. 1883-1884

Handicraft Guild Building 89 S. 10th St. 1907

Lumber Exchange Building 425 Hennepin Ave. S. 1885-1890

Masonic Temple (Hennepin Center for the Arts) 528 Hennepin Ave. 1888-1890

Minneapolis Armory 500-530 S. 6th St. (sign. 1925-1949)*

City Hall 350 S. 5th St. 1899-1905

Minneapolis YMCA Central Building 36 S. 9th St. 1917-1919

Northwestern Bell Telephone Company Building 224 S. 5th St. (sign. 1925-1949)*

Ogden Hotel (Continental Hotel) 66 S. 12th St. 1910

Pittsburgh Plate Glass/Northern Implement Building 616 S. 3rd St. 1910

Rand Tower 527 Marquette Ave. 1929

Second Church of Christ, Scientist Building (Ivy Tower)1115 2nd Ave. S. 1930

Soo Line Building 105 S. 5th St. 1914-1915**

Gluek Building 14 N. 6th St. 1902**

Downtown East

Architects and Engineers Building 1200 2nd Ave. S. 1920

Washburn “A” Mill (Mill City Museum)***

Loring ParkBasilica of St. Mary 88 N. 17th St. 1907-1913

Charles Cranston Bovey and Kate Koon House 400 Clifton Ave. S. 1913

Elbert L. Carpenter House (Clifton Court) 314 Clifton Ave. 1906

Eugene J. Carpenter 300 Clifton Ave. 1906

William S. Nott House 15 Groveland Terrace 1893-1894**

Frank B. Long House 25 Groveland Terrace 1894**

Loring Theatre (Music Box Theatre) 1407 Nicollet Ave. 1920**

Alden Smith House 1400 Harmon Place (now MCTC) 1887

Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church 101 E. Grant St. 1891

Westminster Presbyterian Church 83 12th St. S. (sign. 1875-1949)*

Stevens Square/Loring Heights

Amos B. Coe House 1700 3rd Ave. S. 1884, 1886

George R. Newell House 1818 LaSalle Ave. 1888

Van Dusen House 1900 LaSalle Ave. (sign. 1875-1899)*

Louis Menage Cottage 1808 4th Ave. S. 1878**

Elliot Park

First Church of Christ, Scientist 614-620 E.15th St. 1897

Hinkle Murphy House 619 S. 10th St. 1886-1887

Henry E. Holmes House 1418 Park Ave. S. (sign. 1875-1899)*

Harry F. Legg House 1601 Park Ave. S. 1887

Madison School 501 E. 15th St. 1887

Band Box Diner 729 S. 10th St. 1939**

Marcy-Holmes

Pillsbury ”A” Mill SE Main St. and 3rd Ave. SE 1881***

Twin City Rapid Transit Steam Plant 12-20 Sixth Ave. SE (sign. 1900-1949)

First Congregational Church 500 8th Ave. SE (sign. 1875-1899)*

Woodbury Fisk House 424 SE 5th St. (sign. 1850-1874)*

Van Cleve House 603 SE 5th St. (sign. 1850-1899)*

North Loop

Moline, Milburn and Stoddard Company 250 3rd Ave. N. (sign. 1875-1899)*

East Bank

Melrose Flats 13-23 NE 5th S. 1890-1892**

Minneapolis Fire Department Repair Shop 22 1st Ave. NE 1909,1922