A Guide To The Architecture Of Minnesota

Time Capsules: A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota

By heathercarroll January 10, 2018
Exhibitions, Processing, Uncategorized, University Gallery

Photography has a curious way of encapsulating and immortalizing what might otherwise be a fleeting moment. Contemporary architectural photography is often devoid of people, sometimes placeless and gives a sense that the structures exist outside of time. While processing hundreds of photos for A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota, these uncropped, raw, pre-published versions of the architectural photography struck me as time capsules, outside the norms of architectural photography. Even knowing the intended use, there still seem to be more questions than answers in these photos. Some capture people or places during everyday moments like sprinklers watering a lawn or filling up a battered hatchback at a quaint gas station. Some are dated by non-architectural objects like automobiles and signs, and some imply movement while others are hauntingly still. Moments of happenstance frozen in time.

Fifth in a series, this photo-post was inspired by A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota, published in 1977 as a supplement to University Gallery’s Bicentennial exhibition The Art and Architecture of Minnesota.

—Heather Carroll is the processing archivist for the Weisman Art Museum‘s collection at the University of Minnesota Archives. This project was made possible by funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

Hard Lines: A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota

By heathercarroll January 8, 2018
Exhibitions, Uncategorized, University Gallery

Straight lines, crisp angles, geometric forms, and openly planar surfaces in buildings become an embodiment of human’s power over the elements and ability to manipulate materials and environments. A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota defines most of the buildings included in this post as Moderne (Art Deco) Style, International Style, New Brutalist or New Formalist. Contemporary architectural photography–where buildings appear timeless, monumental and almost separate from their actual locations and with a general absence of people–seems to accentuate and highlight these particular styles.

Fourth in a series of photo-posts inspired by A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota, published in 1977 as a supplement to University Gallery’s Bicentennial exhibition The Art and Architecture of Minnesota, this post samples some of the awesomely geometric, monumental and sometimes hauntingly sparse buildings so popular at the time this book was published.

The first few photos of the post exemplify the Guide’s glossary definition and characteristics of New Brutalism: “heavy, monumental and emphatically permanent…[with] a picturesque variety of forms–volumes projecting horizontally and vertically, contradicting shapes, shed roofs, cylinders.” Click the image to the left for the full description from the Guide.

St. Catherine University’s O’Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul, MN (below)

Dakota County Government Center in Hastings MN circa 1977. (below)Power Plant at the University of Minnesota in Morris, MN circa 19877 (below)

The “new” dormitories at St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN circa 1977 (below)

The following photos of the post might better exemplify the Guide’s glossary definition and characteristics of International Style: “light horizontal volumes (often cantilevered), horizontality strongly emphasized, walls and glass surfaces in the same plane…extensive use of glass…” Click the image to the left for the full description from the Guide.

The United Airlines Hangar (below) was near the intersections of 34th Ave S and 494 in Bloomington MN. Described in the Guide as “a giant and workable hyperbolic paraboloid. Saarinen’s TWA building at Kennedy Airport transformed from concrete into angular steel.”

Southwest Junior High School in Albert Lea, MN circa 1977 (below)St Louis County Courthouse in Hibbing, MN circa 1977 (below)

Butler Brothers Warehouse Building in Minneapolis, MN circa 1977 (below) was remodeled inside with walls of glass and the original heavy wood beams.The image (below) of a humble commercial building turned residence in Tower, MN didn’t make it into the book but instead is described as Streamline Moderne style which the Guide’s glossary describes as “an outgrowth of the machine aesthetic” and characterized here by the “non-symmetric compositions, glass brick for walls and windows, [and] round windows”.

Sculptures: A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota

By heathercarroll January 5, 2018
Exhibitions, Uncategorized, University Gallery

Minnesota has no shortage of roadside attractions, including sculptures of monumental scale. Third in a series of photo-posts inspired by A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota, published in 1977 as a supplement to University Gallery’s Bicentennial exhibition The Art and Architecture of Minnesota, this post is dedicated to just a few of the architectural sculptures across the state.

A detail (below) from the previous post–just one of the quirky sculpture areas of the Nordaas American Homes former landscape/architecture folly in Minnesota Lake.

Hermann Heights Monument aka Hermann the German (below) of New Ulm, MN.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, statues standing 18′ and 10′ tall respectively, made their public debut at the 1937 winter carnival in Bemidji, MN. Paul and Babe have continued to captivate imaginations ever since.

Inspired by the enduring success of Paul & Babe in Bemidji, Pelican Pete (below) “is a 5:1 scale model [in concrete] of a mounted stuffed pelican which is located in the Old City Hall” of Pelican Rapids.

The giant Dalecarlian Horse or Dala Horse in Mora, MN honors the towns Swedish roots.

While this winking lumberjack no longer stands outside Bigfork’s WPA-built Village Hall, a new lumberjack does.

St Joseph’s Church sculpture garden in Browerville MN (below). “To the right and left of the church are what appear to be an eighteenth century English folly and grotto, only in this case the intent is religious– a depiction of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. The boulder composition on the right with its sculptured figure, and the cascade on the left were created in the early twentieth century by Joseph Kieselewski.” ~A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota, 1977.

The A&W Root Beer stand in Luverne, MN. This image didn’t make it into the final publication but a description did:
“Three creatures from the wilds of Disneyland, each holding a hamburger and a mug of root beer.”
Creatures from the wilds of Disneyland?? I can only imagine–but will probably never know–the sculpted expressions from the other side.

Quirkiness: A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota

By heathercarroll January 2, 2018
Exhibitions, Uncategorized, University Gallery

Idiosyncratic and quirky architecture seemed to abound at one time in the not-so-distant past. The purpose of these buildings remains in most cases a mystery–perhaps in some cases necessity was the mother of invention or in other cases people someone took matters into their own hands to make the building of their dreams a reality.

The book A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota, which was created “to supplement and augment the Bicentennial exhibition, The Art and Architecture of Minnesota‚ organized and presented by the University Gallery in conjunction with the Minnesota Society of Architects”, includes many unique structures. Here is a just a selection of the unique, quirky and idiosyncratic buildings across the state:

This unique structure (below, circa 1977) known as the Corner House Restaurant no longer exists but stood near what is now a car dealership off Cliff Road and 35W South in Burnesville, MN. I can only hope that this tympanum suspended by exaggerated columns was used as an outdoor dining area or observation deck looking out at the nearby Minnesota River valley.

Bruce Goff, inspired by Antoni Gaudi, Frank Lloyd Wright and more, developed an architecture style was all his own. The small southwest Minnesota town of Mountain Lake was home to two of Goff’s creations: the Jacob Harder House and the Glen Harder House. A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota describes the Jacob Harder House (below) as “somewhat like a pregnant spaceship, sheathed in fish-scale shingles which really look more like chicken feathers.”

Goff’s “Glen Harder House” (below) was described in A Guide: “Three gigantic tree-trunk chimneys of river boulders project upward, each topped by an upturned piece of metal, and between them floats the house in birdlike (turkey?) fashion. The roof is covered with bright orange indoor/outdoor carpet.” Barn swallow perhaps, but turkey seems a bit harsh. Sadly, this house was burnt to the ground in a fire in the 1990’s.

Built by J.B. Johnson the Hurricane House (below) in Osakis, MN “was the home of a man who adjusted very little to any convention and admired bees.” While the home did withstand a tornado, it is apparently a misnomer that it was designed to do so and rather the shape was inspired by industrious bees (according to Historic Homes of Minnesota by Roger G Kennedy).

West of the Twin Cities in Dassel MN, what was once Danielson Auto Sales is today known as The Mushroom Building (below) was restored by the Dassel Area Historical Society and now serves ice cream and hosts town events.

Artichoke Town Hall, was described in A Guide circa 1977 as a shape that strongly suggested an artichoke with trim painted (appropriately) in artichoke green. However, the later application to the National Register of Historic Places suggests it is named for the nearby lake rather than its shape. Prior to becoming a town hall, this was the District 13 School House and is the only known octagonal school house in the state.

The Greek revival bank in Frontenac, MN–aka Frontenac Cycle Sales–has a cast iron facade identical to the historic bank in Marine-on-St-Croix, according to A Guide.

This miniature replica of the Villa Maria Academy in Old Frontenac, memorializes the girls’ school that burned to the ground in 1969 after being struck by lightening. Read more about it in the Old Frontenac history here.

This North Minneapolis garage (below, circa 1977) is still in use but no longer for the birds–today this garage is home only to automobiles and lawn mowers.

“[Kasson’s] major landmark. A circular stone base with a metal spiral staircase wrapped around it and the tank on tom–utility and romance, all in one.”
~from A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota, 1977.

From A Guide: ” Here is an architectural/landscape folly which should be preserved. The main building is a dream version of Mount Vernon, surmounted by a triple tiered drum, a dome and a small replica of the Statue of Liberty. In the adjoining area are fenced statues of cows and horses. The nearby pond has a bridge, a fountain and a battleship…”
If you can believe it, the description of the folly* goes on. Although the site no longer exists, the business Nordaas American Homes is the biggest business in Minnesota Lake. The last building in this post is included as much for its interesting interpretation of Greek Revival architecture as for it’s sculptural adornments, which preview the next post in this series.

Folly noun*
Architecture. a whimsical or extravagant structure built to serve as a conversation piece, lend interest to a view,
commemorate a person or event, etc.: found especially in England in the 18th century.

Familiar Places: A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota

By heathercarroll December 28, 2017
Exhibitions, Uncategorized, University Gallery

It was a great day when I opened a banker box to find hundreds of glossy, black and white photos of buildings–I love the nostalgia of old photographs, I love how architecture can be a time capsule reflecting the sensibilities and priorities of a community at a particular point in time and I have a growing curiosity about what was here before. I was delighted to discover they are all photos of structures that exist(ed) in Minnesota. There are over 2800 2″x 2″ contact prints of over 900 buildings and structures and more than 700 8″ x 10″ glossy photos. Given my job, naturally I ask: How are these connected to the University and the Weisman Art Museum (WAM) archives? Were they in an exhibition? For a catalog?

With a little digging I found the photos were included in the book A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota, by David Gebhard and Tom Martinson and published by the U Press in 1977.

“This book was conceived from its inception to supplement and augment the Bicentennial exhibition, The Art and Architecture of Minnesota‚ organized and presented by the University Gallery in conjunction with the Minnesota Society of Architects. The exhibition was more than three years in the planning stages, and at every step our desire was to publish something other than an exhibition catalogue — something at once less ephemeral and more comprehensive yet not boring that ubiquitous person, the “interested layman,” with heavily erudite prose. In the end we decided to publish A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota.”

~From the forward by Barbara Shissler, Director of University Gallery (UMN) and Daniel Sheridan, Executive Director of MN Society of Architects.

Based on the large amount of large format photos in the archives, I incorrectly expected this to be a coffeetable book. Instead, the book is small, thick and crammed with words in a small font.

Inside: razed buildings

Inside: typical page

While the book is brimming with information, the pictures are tiny and surprisingly few. Here at the WAM Files, you get to enjoy a select few digital versions in comparatively glorious medium-high resolution! All the photos are believed to be taken in the mid-1970s by co-author Tom Martinson. The dates included on the labels usually refer to the construction dates of the buildings.

Mickey’s Diner (below), now on the National Register of Historic Places. Circa 1977 (when 9 year olds could wander downtown St. Paul alone).

Cedar Square West (below), today known as Riverside Plaza, was designed by famed local architect Ralph Rapson who ran with the likes of Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia and Eero Saarinen. It is an icon of the Minneapolis skyline with its primary colored panels, located just outside Minneapolis’ downtown district.

The Stone Arch Bridge (below), today a pedestrian bridge, was in use as a train bridge until at least 1978, just a year or so after this picture was taken.

This view of the milling district (below) on the North side of the river is surprisingly similar today.

Minneapolis wouldn’t be Minneapolis without Skyways (below). Minnesotans have come up with some pretty clever ways to adapt to winter-life here and Skyways have got to be one of my favorites. This shot was taken between the IDS tower and (I believe) the former Dayton’s department store, crossing Nicollet Mall. Circa 1977.

The shelter on the west side of Loring Park (below) is a far cry prettier today with fresh paint and a cupola restored.

The ever-evolving Walker Art Center (below), designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, opened in 1971 and shown here with two Alexander Calder sculptures, Spinner and Octopus.

Modern Cleaner building (below) is today the Modern Times Cafe in south Minneapolis. You’ll know it when you see it by its bright lime green and orange exterior.

Mayflower Congregational Church on Diamond Lake Rd off of Highway 35 W, circa 1977. Today, this is The Museum of Russian Art.

Southdale Shopping Center (bellow)was the first fully enclosed shopping mall in the nation. It was quite luxurious, complete with Harry Bertoia sculptures, at least one of which remains in the space today.

Is that a two-story bird cage?

This is a fraction of the photos that seemed most familiar, but there were so many more. Hence, this is just the first of a few posts yet to come that will contain sculptures, architectural quirkiness, futuristic and brutalist buildings and more. Or if you’d rather, the photos and notes of co-author Tom Martinson are tidily awaiting your visit in box number 248.

A Guide To The Architecture Of Minnesota

*Folly noun Architecture. a whimsical or extravagant structure built to serve as a conversation piece, lend interest to a view, commemorate a person or event, etc.: found especially in England in the 18th century.

Contact Information

Folly noun*
Architecture. a whimsical or extravagant structure built to serve as a conversation piece, lend interest to a view,
commemorate a person or event, etc.: found especially in England in the 18th century.