Birdwing MINNESOTA CHAPTER Photo courtesy Tim Quigley OF THE SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS MARCH 2021 | MNSAH Annual Meeting Presentation via Zoom Wednesday, March 31, 2021, 7:00 p.m. SAH TO ARCHITECTURETO WITH RESPECTWITH MN Lloyd Wright in Minnesota TIM QUIGLEY, KEYNOTE SPEAKER 2 Photos and images courtesy Tim Quigley Left: Rendering of Birdwing Below left: Lloyd Wright Below: Rendering of the Arthur Erickson House MARCH 2021 | twelve-acre site, which was maintained with a Polymath Park. Once reassembled, Birdwing, like park-like appearance. When it came time for the the Lindholm House, will be available for tours last owner, James Rupp, to sell the property, he and overnight lodging. was determined to find a preservation-minded Finally, Tim will describe the new setting for buyer. But the house did not sell and in 2018 these relocated Minnesota houses in Polymath a developer proposed demolishing the house Park, a fitting location not far from Frank Lloyd and subdividing the property. It appeared that Wright’s famous Fallingwater House. WITH RESPECT TO ARCHITECTURE preservation efforts were about to fail. Fortunately, after national publicity about its impending demolition, a team from western Tim Quigley is principal of Quigley MNSAH Annual Meeting Pennsylvania raced to Minnesota, dismantled Architects, a Minneapolis residential firm specializing in single-family residential all key elements of the house, packed them Presentation via Zoom work for 25+ years. He is a former board into shipping containers, and transported president and current board member Wednesday, March 31, 2021, 7:00 p.m. Birdwing to a site known as Polymath Park of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, former board vice president for eventual reassembly. Polymath Park is (and founder) of the Minnesota chapter of the vision of Thomas Papinchak, who had Docomomo and former board president of the Goldstein Museum of Design at the previously purchased the 130-acre property, University of Minnesota. He is co-author which already contained two houses designed by of John H. Howe, Architect: From Taliesin Wright apprentice Peter Berndtson, and became Apprentice to Master of Organic Design, published by the University of Minnesota Press. Previously, Tim Lloyd Wright a champion for the preservation of Wrightian taught architectural studio and history courses for twenty years buildings slated for demolition. In 2015, he saved as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota and Ball State University. Most recently, he has tried, and failed, at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Lindholm House in Cloquet retirement. in Minnesota from demolition and reassembled the house at TIM QUIGLEY, KEYNOTE SPEAKER This year’s annual meeting keynote presentation homes for brothers Arthur and Alfred Erickson features architect Tim Quigley, who will be in the Parkwood Knolls area of Edina, and the speaking about the Minnesota work of Frank related Pihl House in Minnetonka. Lloyd Wright’s Lloyd Wright, Jr. (1890-1978), known as Lloyd long career will be discussed in order to place the Wright. Often confused with his more famous three houses within the context of his body of father, Lloyd Wright at one time assisted his father work. and worked on well-known projects including Tim will also present the complex history of the supervising the construction of the Hollyhock 1961 Minnetonka house built for Charles Pihl and House in Los Angeles, where he established his his wife Marjorie, who was a daughter of Arthur own thriving architectural practice. Erickson. Known as Birdwing, the expansive Tim will discuss how Lloyd Wright came to 6,500 square-foot house was built with stone, design multiple Minnesota projects, all for glass, and copper, and featured complex geometry. REGISTER FOR MNSAH’S Annual Meeting AT WWW.MNSAH.ORG/EVENTS/ANNUAL-MEETING members of the Erickson family. He designed The house was located on an equally impressive MINNESOTA CHAPTER OF THE SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS 3 4 Left: Loras Hall, ca. 1900. MNHS Photo Below left: Loras Hall. Photo Marjorie Pearson Below left: Aerial view, ca. 1921. Photo MNHS Below right: Administration Building, ca. 1900. Photo MNHS Right: Sanborn Insurance Map of the St. Paul Seminary Campus, 1903. MARCH 2021 | and the Saint Paul Seminary leaders. In late 1884 or early 1885 he formed a Not only was partnership with James Knox Taylor, who had WITH RESPECT TO ARCHITECTURE important family connections. The firm designed the seminary residences, churches, office blocks, and warehous- es. The most notable of these was the Endicott Gilbert’s first Building on Robert Street, an elegant Italian Renaissance inspired design. educational Cass Gilbert Cass The firm of Gilbert & Taylor dissolved in 1892. Meanwhile Gilbert was cultivating his relation- complex, it was ship with Hill as a means of gaining work. In September 1890, Hill announced that he was also his first putting up $500,000 for the construction and endowment of the Saint Paul Seminary. But it was campus plan. not until 1891 that Hill was ready to proceed. He allotted about $200,000 for construction and the remainder of the gift for an endowment that would be controlled by a trust under the supervi- sion of Hill and his designated trustees. MARJORIE PEARSON, PH.D. Ireland. Saint Paul Seminary and its buildings are It is likely that Gilbert lobbied Hill for the an underappreciated part of Gilbert’s career. It Saint Paul Seminary commission. It would be In January 2021, Marjorie Pearson spoke to was the first of his educational complexes, it was the largest and most complex of his career to Not only was the seminary Gilbert’s first edu- MNSAH about her research on Cass Gilbert and his first project that involved several buildings on date. Ireland was the ostensible client, but Hill cational complex, it was also his first campus the Saint Paul Seminary. As a follow-up to her a site, and it incorporated a landscape plan. This controlled the purse strings and reviewed every plan. He designed seven buildings, six of which talk, Marjorie prepared this summary of her find- project served as a precursor to his later highly aspect of the project. Gilbert biographer Geoffrey were constructed within the constraints of Hill’s ings. Unfortunately, the University of St. Thomas regarded educational and institutional work. The Blodgett explains that Gilbert toured the site with budget. They included a centrally placed adminis- is planning to demolish Loras Hall, one of the new seminary revealed and tested the relationship Ireland and developed preliminary sketches for tration building on the axis of Grand Avenue, two Gilbert-designed buildings. Information about among the three men in the course of its design the building and grounds that were shown to Hill symmetrically placed dormitories, a symmetrical- this preservation issue is found in the News from and construction, and provided important lessons in the fall of 1891. Hill told Gilbert that he was ly placed refectory building and a gymnasium– the Board column. for Gilbert’s career. responsible to Hill, not Ireland, on all matters power house flanking the Grand Avenue terminus, of design, construction, and cost. In December, and a classroom building to the southwest of the In 1891, Cass Gilbert was commissioned by rail- After a year at MIT, traveling in Europe, and when Gilbert and Ireland presented Hill with South Dormitory. The chapel was not built until road magnate James J. Hill to develop plans for a working for McKim, Mead & White in New detailed plans, Hill rejected them to assert his 1902-1904 to the designs of architect Clarence new Saint Paul Seminary campus, located at the York, Gilbert returned to St. Paul in late 1882. He control of the project. Gilbert wanted to quit, Johnston. west edge of St. Paul, south of Summit Avenue, sought to build up his networks among the city’s but Ireland dissuaded him. on 40 acres of land donated by Archbishop John lawyers, bankers, merchants, and other business Continued on page 7 MINNESOTA CHAPTER OF THE SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS 5 6 Loras Hall. Photo Martha Douglas MARCH 2021 | Like MNSAH’s annual meeting of St. Thomas, which now By the time you receive this last fall, our Works in Progress manages the property, is newsletter, Loras Hall will MNSAH 2021 Nominating Committee Report program in January was held making plans to demolish have been demolished and MNSAH members who attend the annual meeting virtually for the first time. The one of the buildings, Loras the architectural heritage on March 31, 2021 will vote on the following slate PRESIDENT ROLF ANDERSON result was record attendance! Hall, originally known as the of perhaps the state’s most of officers and board members submitted by the VICE PRESIDENT DENNIS GIMMESTAD Our member Mimi Fisher North Dormitory, in order to famous architect will have been nominating committee (Rolf Anderson, Dennis TREASURER BOB FRAME joined us from California and construct a new building on diminished. Gimmestad, Bob Frame, and Barb Bezat). New SECRETARY BARB BEZAT former board member Patty the site. ■ board nominations may come from the floor. Dean joined us from Montana. In other news, Elizabeth WITH RESPECT TO ARCHITECTURE MNSAH has officially support- AT LARGE RENEE BARNES Others attended from through- All officers are nominated for a one-year term. ed the preservation of Loras Scheu Close: A Life in Modern MARTHA DOUGLAS out the country. We even con- Board members Dennis Gimmestad and Martha Hall. Not only is the building Architecture, by Jane King GREG GAUT nected with another Society of Douglas are nominated for an additional two- designed by Cass Gilbert, it Hession, and published by REETZ GARY Architectural Historians (SAH) year term. The remaining board members will be is also located within the the University of Minnesota MATT SELTZER chapter--John Guenther, pres- serving the second year of the two-year term to West Summit Avenue Historic Press, is a finalist for this year’s ident of the St.