Architecture History Investigation Volume Four
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PHASE I/PHASE II ARCHITECTURE HISTORY INVESTIGATION FOR THE PROPOSED SOUTHWEST TRANSITWAY PROJECT HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA VOLUME FOUR SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT NUMBER ONE ADDITIONAL AREAS/PROPERTIES IN THE FOLLOWING SURVEY ZONES: ST. LOUIS PARK SURVEY ZONE MINNEAPOLIS WEST RESIDENTIAL SURVEY ZONE MINNEAPOLIS, NORTHFIELD, AND SOUTHERN SURVEY ZONE GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD SURVEY ZONE Authorized and Sponsored by: Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority and Metropolitan Council Prepared by: Heather Goodson, Principal Investigator Mead & Hunt, Inc. 7900 West 78th Street, Suite 370 Minneapolis, MN 55439 April 2012 Management Summary The Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority and the Metropolitan Council are proposing to construct the Southwest Transitway, a 15-mile light rail transit connecting downtown Minneapolis to major activity centers in Hennepin County, including the cities of St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Edina, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie. The action also includes either the rerouting of existing freight rail service or the reconstruction of freight rail tracks in order to provide the Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company with a connection for operational and freight movement to St. Paul. The architecture/history surveys previously completed for the proposed light rail alternatives have resulted in three survey report volumes. Together, these volumes encompass survey work within 13 survey zones. As a supplement to the earlier survey efforts, this fourth volume reports the results of a survey of the corridor of the potential reroute of the freight rail. This corridor is located within four of the original zones, but outside the specific areas covered by the original survey. The Phase I supplemental survey work identified 514 properties, and five properties were identified for Phase II evaluation. Of those, the Helen and Paul Olfelt House and the Prudential Insurance Company of America, North Central Home Office are recommended eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register). The portion of the Great Northern Railroad Corridor that extends into the Area of Potential Effect of the freight rail reroute corridor is also recommended eligible for listing in the National Register. Mead & Hunt, Inc. (Mead & Hunt) was retained in February 2012 to complete this supplemental survey work. The project team consisted of Principal Investigator Heather Goodson and architectural historians Emily Pettis, Shannon Dolan, Timothy Smith, Greg Rainka, and Katherine Haun. Table of Contents Table of Contents Page 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Methods and Research Design ..................................................................................................... 3 3. Literature Search ............................................................................................................................ 4 3.1 St. Louis Park survey zone ................................................................................................. 4 3.1.1 Literature Search.................................................................................................... 4 3.1.2 Previously evaluated properties ............................................................................. 4 3.1.3 Historic context....................................................................................................... 4 3.2 Minneapolis West Residential survey zone ........................................................................ 8 3.2.1 Literature Search.................................................................................................... 8 3.2.2 Previously evaluated properties ............................................................................. 9 3.2.3 Historic context....................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Survey Zone ............................................................. 12 3.3.1 Literature Search.................................................................................................. 12 3.3.2 Previously evaluated properties ........................................................................... 12 3.3.3 Historic Context: Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern .......................................... 12 3.4 Great Northern Railroad Survey Zone .............................................................................. 12 3.4.1 Literature Search.................................................................................................. 12 3.4.2 Previously evaluated properties ........................................................................... 12 3.4.3 Historic Context: Great Northern Railway Company ........................................... 13 4. Results .......................................................................................................................................... 14 4.1 St. Louis Park Survey Zone .............................................................................................. 14 4.4.1 St. Louis Park High School .................................................................................. 16 4.4.2 Walker Building .................................................................................................... 23 4.4.3 Helen and Paul Olfelt House ................................................................................ 30 4.2 Minneapolis West Residential Survey Zone ..................................................................... 46 4.2.1 Prudential Insurance Company of America, North Central Home Office............. 47 4.2.2 United Bearing Company Warehouse ................................................................. 55 4.3 Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Survey Zone ............................................................. 62 4.4 Great Northern Railroad Survey Zone .............................................................................. 62 4.4.1 Great Northern Railroad Corridor ......................................................................... 62 5. Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 65 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 66 \\msn-fp01\entp\0825100\115560.00\TECH\final\120412A.docx i Table of Contents Appendices A Southwest Transitway: A Research Design for Cultural Resources by Hess, Roise and Company, Archeological Research Services, and HDR Engineering (February 12, 2010, updated March 16, 2010, and April 2, 2010) B St. Louis Park Survey Zone Surveyed Properties C Minneapolis West Residential Survey Zone Surveyed Properties D Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Survey Zone Surveyed Properties Tables 1 Phase II Property Details, St. Louis Park Survey Zone .............................................................. 14 2 Phase II Property Details, Minneapolis West Residential Survey Zone ..................................... 47 3 Property Information, Phase II Properties Within the Supplemental APE .................................. 65 \\msn-fp01\entp\0825100\115560.00\TECH\final\120412A.docx ii Section 1 Introduction 1. Introduction This report has been prepared to supplement Phase I/Phase II Architecture History investigations conducted between 2010 and 2012 for the proposed Southwest Transitway Project in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Results of the previous investigations can be found in the following volumes of the reports entitled Phase I/Phase II Architecture History Investigation for the Proposed Southwest Transitway Project, Hennepin County: • Volume One, the Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Hopkins, and St. Louis Park survey zones • Volume Two, the Minneapolis West Residential, Minneapolis South Residential/Commercial, Minneapolis Downtown, Minneapolis Industrial, and Minneapolis Warehouse survey zones • Volume Three, focusing on railroad-related resources in the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad; Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad; Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railroad (MN&S), and Great Northern Railroad survey zones The supplemental work was conducted in accordance with the Southwest Transitway: A Research Design for Cultural Resources by Hess, Roise and Company, Archeological Research Services, and HDR Engineering (February 12, 2010, updated March 16, 2010, and April 2, 2010) in Appendix A of this report. The supplemental Phase I/Phase II Architecture History investigation presented in this report was conducted to address the expansion of the project’s Area of Potential Effects (APE) resulting from the incorporation of a freight rail reroute segment into the project scope. The expanded supplemental APE encompasses the St. Louis Park survey zone (found in Volume One), Minneapolis West Residential survey zone (found in Volume Two), and the MN&S and Great Northern Railroad survey zones (found in Volume Three). The Freight Rail Reroute Segment extends north from Segment 4 of the proposed Southwest Transitway line (southwest of the proposed Louisiana Station), and follows the existing MN&S rail corridor north until it intersects with the Great Northern Railroad corridor south of Interstate Highway 394 (I-394) and west of Trunk Highway 100. At the intersection, the Freight Rail Reroute Segment proceeds east until