Lost Minneapolis III
More beautiful homes lost to time in Minneapolis.
The home of Thomas B. Walker was a fine one located on Hennepin Avenue built in 1874. Built in the second empire style it also had an equally fine carriage house too. With bays and rounded porches it was an elegant home that is now only a memory with photographs. According to records in 1879 he specifically set up a gallery in his home so that the public could see his vast collection. It was open 6 days a week and the house with its 8 additions covered nearly a city block. An article of the 1890s states " A family of eight children were raised, and today the elegant mansion of Hennepin Avenue, with its treasure of art, is the happy consummation of labor and hope." It is recorded that in 1915 the gallery (mind you this was still the man's home) had around 100,000 visitors annually. The popularity grew and grew and Walker soon needed more space and purchased Thomas Lowry's mansion. Walker moved into the mansion around 1917 and opened the gallery in this larger mansion. Walker's collection and popularity were still growing so in 1927 he broke down and had a beautiful Moorish style gallery built right next to the old Lowry Mansion. This architectural jewel lasted until about 1948 when a plain concrete building was placed here. The Lowry mansion was torn down around 1932. Today the Walker Art Center is well known in Minneapolis, but how many people actually know the story of it's birth in a humble home not to far from today's site. Mr Walker also founded the Minneapolis Public Library.
First gallery location in the mansion
The old Thomas Lowry Mansion that the gallery moved into next
As one can see the home soon filled up
The new building provided much more space.
Mr. Walker on the stairs of his new gallery.
The gallery of the 1940s :
Here is what the walker looks like now:
This is the site of T.B. Walker's 1st home and gallery on Hennepin Ave. It is now the State Theater.
Benjamin Franklin Nelson was a war hero and wealthy lumber and paper baron. This was another grand mansion on a lush lot with a great look out tower on the top of the Victorian Eclectic home from 1883. The other home on these corners survived but sadly not this one and the current site is a playground with a modern building pushed in.
The Charles A Pillsbury mansion of 2200 Stevens (Yes that Pillsbury family). It was built in 1883 for John Johnson and only lived there a few years before selling to the Pillsbury family. Charles Pillsbury and his uncle started the flour milling company and when Charles died, he left the mansion to his two twin sons, John and Charles S. The folklore goes that the sons tossed a coin to decide who would be the sole owner of the house, John won and Charles build a house across which is still standing. Sadly this mansion did not make it and in 1937 was torn down and a church constructed on the lot in the 1950s
If you like what you read and want to see this blog and projects keep going PLEASE feel free to donate something, even if it's only a little bit. Every little bit helps on this restoration project. Thanks again!
The home of Thomas B. Walker was a fine one located on Hennepin Avenue built in 1874. Built in the second empire style it also had an equally fine carriage house too. With bays and rounded porches it was an elegant home that is now only a memory with photographs. According to records in 1879 he specifically set up a gallery in his home so that the public could see his vast collection. It was open 6 days a week and the house with its 8 additions covered nearly a city block. An article of the 1890s states " A family of eight children were raised, and today the elegant mansion of Hennepin Avenue, with its treasure of art, is the happy consummation of labor and hope." It is recorded that in 1915 the gallery (mind you this was still the man's home) had around 100,000 visitors annually. The popularity grew and grew and Walker soon needed more space and purchased Thomas Lowry's mansion. Walker moved into the mansion around 1917 and opened the gallery in this larger mansion. Walker's collection and popularity were still growing so in 1927 he broke down and had a beautiful Moorish style gallery built right next to the old Lowry Mansion. This architectural jewel lasted until about 1948 when a plain concrete building was placed here. The Lowry mansion was torn down around 1932. Today the Walker Art Center is well known in Minneapolis, but how many people actually know the story of it's birth in a humble home not to far from today's site. Mr Walker also founded the Minneapolis Public Library.
The old Thomas Lowry Mansion that the gallery moved into next
As one can see the home soon filled up
The new building provided much more space.
The gallery of the 1940s :
Here is what the walker looks like now:
This is the site of T.B. Walker's 1st home and gallery on Hennepin Ave. It is now the State Theater.
Benjamin Franklin Nelson was a war hero and wealthy lumber and paper baron. This was another grand mansion on a lush lot with a great look out tower on the top of the Victorian Eclectic home from 1883. The other home on these corners survived but sadly not this one and the current site is a playground with a modern building pushed in.
The Charles A Pillsbury mansion of 2200 Stevens (Yes that Pillsbury family). It was built in 1883 for John Johnson and only lived there a few years before selling to the Pillsbury family. Charles Pillsbury and his uncle started the flour milling company and when Charles died, he left the mansion to his two twin sons, John and Charles S. The folklore goes that the sons tossed a coin to decide who would be the sole owner of the house, John won and Charles build a house across which is still standing. Sadly this mansion did not make it and in 1937 was torn down and a church constructed on the lot in the 1950s
The house shortly before demolition showing the sign for the wrecking company. The site now:
Charles Pillsbury Mansion today. Charles's father, George also had a fine mansion downtown built in 1879. It was built of brick with white stone trim and full of outdoor space with porches and balconies.
Sadly with the home being downtown the city crept in and the house was torn down. The site is now:
Lastly is the residence of Senator William Washburn. His mansion was the center of the Washburn/ fair oaks park. It was and still is a HUGE lot that many other mansions were built around including the Pillsbury mansions listed above. The mansion was built in 1883 and was a centerpiece of the community. I think the photos speak for themselves. When Washburn died in 1912 he willed the mansion to the Minneapolis parks board. The board foudn the home too expensive to maintain and torn the home down in 1924. Today the space is a large park.
Washburn's driver
That's all for today folks!
If you like what you read and want to see this blog and projects keep going PLEASE feel free to donate something, even if it's only a little bit. Every little bit helps on this restoration project. Thanks again!
This seems like it may be a long shot, but is there a higher quality version of the bottom left photo in the C.A. Pillsbury residence collage? There is a buffet in the picture that I believe my grandfather came to own. He used to work in Minneapolis and the story is that the buffet came from a Pillsbury residence.
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