DESIGNATION STUDY: 2445 Park Avenue - The Anson Brooks Mansion Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development Designation Study for 2445 Park Avenue – The Anson Brooks Mansion ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mayor and City Council of the City of Minneapolis Betsy Hodges, Mayor Barbara Johnson, Council President Elizabeth Glidden, Council Vice President Kevin Reich Alondra Cano Cam Gordon Lisa Bender Jacob Frey John Quincy Blong Yang Andrew Johnson Abdi Warsame Linnea Palmisano Lisa Goodman Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission Laura Faucher, Chair Alex Haecker, Vice Chair Chris Hartnett, Secretary Paul Bengtson Susan Hunter Weir Ginny Lackovic Linda Mack Daniel Olson Ian Stade Constance Vork Minneapolis City Planning Commission Matthew Brown, President Ryan Kronzer Council Member Lisa Bender Alissa Luepke-Pier Meg Forney John Slack Rebecca Gagnon Theodore Tucker Ben Gisselman Department of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) D. Craig Taylor, Executive Director Kjersti Monson, Long Range Planning Director Jack Byers, Long Range Planning Manager Paul Mogush, Principal Investigator Sue Hunter Weir, Principal Researcher Ryan Knoke, Principal Researcher Cover Photo: The Anson Brooks Mansion from the southwest at the intersection of Park Avenue and East 25th Street, Minneapolis. Courtesy of Spacecrafting, 2014 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS DESIGNATION STUDY PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND ............................................. 5 PART 1: PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY ................................................... 6 Parcel location, shape, and size .................................................................................. 6 Description of building(s) on the property ..................................................................... 6 Description of landscape and landscape features ........................................................ 7 PART 2: HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE ............................................................................. 9 Anson Strong Brooks Family ....................................................................................... 9 Architects: Long & Long ............................................................................................. 10 Venetian Gothic Style: ............................................................................................... 12 Park Avenue: Minneapolis’ “Golden Mile”: ................................................................. 12 PART 3: RATIONALE FOR LOCAL HISTORIC DESIGNATION ................................. 15 Designation Criteria ................................................................................................... 15 Integrity of historic resource ....................................................................................... 16 Other Considerations ................................................................................................. 17 NATIONAL REGISTER STATUS ................................................................................. 19 STATE DESIGNATION ................................................................................................. 19 PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE ........................................................................................ 19 PART 4: REGISTRATION AND CLASSIFICATION INFORMATION .......................... 20 PART 5: PHOTOGRAPHS, DRAWINGS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS ....................... 22 PART 6: SOURCES AND REFERENCES ................................................................... 35 PART 7: APPENDICES ............................................................................................... 36 Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development Designation Study for 2445 Park Avenue – The Anson Brooks Mansion TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1. Doge’s Palace (built 1340), Venice, Italy, served as Long & Long’s inspiration for the Anson S. Brooks Mansion. ................................................................. 22 Figure 2. Aerial view of subject property, looking east. .................................................. 23 Figure 3. Front entrance pavilion showing original terrace and entry doors. .................. 24 Figure 4. Park Avenue (front) facade with entrance and terrace .................................... 24 Figure 5. South elevation, along East 25th Street .......................................................... 25 Figure 6. Porte cochere looking south between the house (right) and garage (left) ....... 25 Figure 7. Third-floor veranda with Venetian Gothic colonnade ...................................... 26 Figure 8. The Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company noted in The Minneapolis Journal, November 26, 1903. ...................................................................................... 27 Figure 9. Article detail: The Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company noted in The Minneapolis Journal, November 26, 1903. ........................................................................ 28 Figure 10. The Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis, Minn, March 30, 1903, Part II -- Chamber of Commerce Edition. Anson Brooks is pictured sixth row down, third photo from the right. .............................................................................. 29 Figure 11. Moving Father of the Waters to Minneapolis City Hall, The Minneapolis Journal, March 13, 1903................................................................................ 30 Figure 12. Article detail: Moving Father of the Waters to Minneapolis City Hall, The Minneapolis Journal, March 13, 1903. ........................................................... 31 Figure 13. Father of Waters Sculpture, Minneapolis City Hall Rotunda, with plaque showing Anson S. Brooks as one of the donors (photos by Ryan Knoke, 2013) ...................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 14. Anson Strong Brooks as a young boy. Courtesy of Ancestry.com ............... 33 Figure 15. Anson Strong Brooks as a teenage boy. Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society. ......................................................................................................... 33 Figure 16. Anson Strong Brooks as a young man. Courtesy of Ancestry.com. .............. 34 Figure 17. Anson Strong Brooks, 1916, during the time he lived at 2445 Park Avenue. Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society ................................................ 34 4 Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development Designation Study for 2445 Park Avenue – The Anson Brooks Mansion Designation Study Purpose and Background On July 9, 2013 the Heritage Preservation Commission approved Commissioner Hunter Weir’s nomination of the residence at 2445 Park Avenue South for consideration as an individual landmark, established interim protection, and directed the Planning Director to prepare or cause to be prepared a designation study. On April 29, 2014, the Heritage Preservation approved a six-month extension to complete the study and continued interim protection until January 9, 2015, or until a decision is made on the designation, whichever is sooner. This report is the designation study as defined in Section 599 of the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances. Included in this report is a description of the significance of the property, both individually and within the context of Minneapolis planning and heritage preservation goals. The report is based on a review of resources including historic building permits, periodicals, archival materials of the Minneapolis Collection of the Hennepin County Library, State Historic Preservation Office survey records, and city land use records. Table 1: Basic Property Information Current name Unnamed Multitenant Office Building Historic Name Anson Brooks Mansion Current Address 2445 Park Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55404 Historic Address 2445 Park Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55404 Original Construction Date 1907 Original Contractor Charles. F. Haglin Original Architect, Master builder, Franklin B. Long and Louis Long, architects engineer, designer, artist, or craftsmen Historic Use Residence Current Use Office Ward: 6 Neighborhood: Phillips West 5 Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development Designation Study for 2445 Park Avenue – The Anson Brooks Mansion PART 1: PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY This section provides a description of the physical characteristics of the property, including both the parcel and features on the parcel, such as structures and landscaping. Parcel location, shape, and size The subject property is located on Park Avenue South, at the intersection of Park Avenue and East 25th Street. It is located in the Phillips West neighborhood, south of downtown Minneapolis. The parcel is rectangular in shape, measuring 100 by 275 feet, totaling 27,500 square feet. It is one of many stately homes that were built along Park Avenue between Franklin Avenue East and East Lake Street. Many of these homes were demolished and most of those remaining have been converted to commercial or institutional uses in the last half of the twentieth century. The Anson Brooks Mansion is one of only a few remaining in this corridor. Description of building(s) on the property There are two structures on the site: The house is the primary structure on the site, and a garage that was built at the same time