This week, you can read What’s Next for streets.mn and How You Can Help Us Get There. Back in December, the streets.mn board did some strategic planning and plotted a direction for our future. We really do need your help; streets.mn is 100% volunteer (although hiring someone to help with volunteer management is in the […]
Sometimes preservation gets a bad rap as being anti-development. I don’t see preservation that way, quite the contrary, I see it as one of development’s greatest resources. This is why I love that the National Trust for Historic Preservation has dedicated the month of May to raising awareness of preservation advocacy. There are so many […]
There was a fire on Sunday night (January 17, 2016) at the Harris Machinery warehouse in the “Prospect North” neighborhood. In an area full of potential and challenge for redevelopment, the Harris building was one of the few old buildings with realistic prospects of re-use. Built in the 1880s the building was rare for surviving […]
There is a modest, white house at the corner of 46th Street East and Columbus Avenue South in Minneapolis’s Field neighborhood. The architecture of the 1923 home eludes classification — its low-pitched rooflines hint at the craftsman style, but the white exterior, columns, and pediment seem neoclassical. The house lacks the charming stone work and […]
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about historic preservation as a social cause. This is not entirely new for me (I spend an embarrassing amount of time thinking about these things), but I have slightly changed my view on the topic given recent events. I get so frustrated by the way I see preservation presented […]
The podcast this week is a conversation with Jeff Skrenes, Brian Finstad, and Will Lumpkins, all about the historic preservation, transportation and neighborhood revitalization in North Minneapolis. Jeff, Brian, and Will are all very active in the community organizing and local politics in North Minneapolis, as well as posting and writing on the internet. We […]
In a previous post on my own blog, I mapped out properties in Minneapolis that were listed in the property records database as having been built before 1900. This was to get a sense of where older properties are and how many there are. It was also in response to a bout of local hand-wringing […]
Ever since Mayor Chris Coleman introduced his 2015 budget in August, I’ve been anxious to learn more about the details of the Mayor’s proposal for a new $42.5 million “8-80 Vitality Fund”. Last week a list of projects were posted online in preparation for the City Council’s October 8th budget review session. I shared the list […]