Join the Fargo-Moorhead Heritage Society for their Summer Outing on August 2, 2008.

Outing Schedule

8:00 am - Meet at Herberger’s parking lot at West Acres.

Morning snack and coffee will be provided on the bus. The bus trip will include a trip to Hatton to visit the Hatton-Eielson Museum, then drive through the Mayville State University Campus on the way to McHenry, where lunch will be provided. A ride on the Railroad Loops is next. The day will conclude with a coffee/dessert stop in Valley City on the way back to Fargo, and will return to Fargo in the early evening.

Cost is $25.00 and includes bus, train, and admission to two museums. Lunch is NOT included.

Please RSVP to the Fargo-Moorhead Heritage Society
PO Box 3161
Fargo, ND 58107

Please RSVP by July 12th, 2008.

50th ANNIVERSARY OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT GAS STATIONThe most-photographed and most-asked-about structure in Cloquet turns 50 this year!

To mark the anniversary, several Cloquet and Carlton County entities have come together to refurbish the station and plan a community celebration. The 50th anniversary event will take place THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, at the station, which is located at the intersection of Highway 33 and Cloquet Avenue.

The celebration will include a host of summer events, starting with an exhibition to run June 12-Sept. 11 at the Carlton County Historical Society. The show will feature designs, drawings and photographs of the station and show what life was like in Cloquet during the 1950s, when it was built. Guided tours of the station, thanks to society docents, will also be available on Saturdays afternoons during that time frame.

On Aug. 7, a symposium featuring several speakers including an architect who worked with Wright on the gas station design will take place at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. The event will be open to anyone interested in architecture or history, according to one of the event organizers, Ken Johnson. Pre-registration is required, click here to register.

The communitywide event will take place in the afternoon at the station and so far includes burgers, french fries and malts, station tours, and a 1950s classic car show and contest.

HISTORY OF THE STATION

The R.W. Lindholm Service Station, or more commonly known as the Frank Lloyd Wright gas station, has become an icon in Cloquet in the past half-century. Located on the corner of Cloquet Avenue and Highway 33, the station is an architectural treasure - the only operating gas station ever constructed from the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Wright’s connection with Cloquet began when the Lindholm family was searching for an architect to design their new home. Lindholm’s daughter and son-in-law had studied architecture and encouraged their father to employ Wright. The architect accepted and after designing and building the Cloquet residence in 1952, Wright approached the family with the idea of building a gas station.

The plans for a service station had been occupying Wright for over 20 years. The station’s design was based on Wright’s futuristic Broadacre City plan of 1934, which sought to create a new decentralized urban landscape. Wright’s his new client’s oil business provided a perfect fit for the architect’s vision. He saw no reason “a little beauty couldn’t be incorporated into something as commonplace as a service station”. The station, however, was the only one ever constructed.

Commonplace the Lindholm station is not. Stepped cement blocks support a copper canopy that extends approximately thirty-two feet. A glass-walled observation lounge anchors the signature cantilever while a slender towering pylon reaches from the polygonal roof to a height of sixty feet. It used to hold the name PHILLIPS on the upper portion and the number 66 in the middle. (From its inception in 1958, the station’s gasoline came from Phillips 66. That changed last summer when Phillips 66 decided to pull its brand out of Minnesota altogether. The looming Phillips 66 sign was removed and it now operates as a Spur station.)

Wright originally envisioned eliminating standing pumps and placing fuel lines in the cantilevered roof, thereby offering motorists uninhibited access to the station. This was never carried out due to fire code standards and the traditional ground fuel pumps were utilized instead. The three service bays are fitted with skylights to help facilitate the work of mechanics. Cypress wood is found throughout the structure, from the shelving for auto accessories located in the garage and diamond shaped sales office, to the decorative cut elements in the restrooms.

The site was listed on the Historic Registry in 1984 and has been operating as a gas station ever since it opened on October 31st, 1958.

The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota would like to thank all those who made our second annual “sneak peek” fundraiser, “The Foshay Soiree: A Roaring 20’s Restoration,” such a wild success. This event celebrated the restoration of Minnesota’s beloved Foshay Tower, which reopened on August 13, 2008, as the W Minneapolis - The Foshay hotel. Our Friday, August 22, 2008, event drew a crowd of over 360 people to the newly-restored Foshay Tower, now adaptively reused as the W Minneapolis - The Foshay. Such a response makes this one of the most successful events the Alliance has ever held.

Were you on the inside? Foshay Soiree attendees toured, savored, danced, and bid all for a great cause. This event provided support for the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota’s operations in advancing historic preservation across the state of Minnesota. Thanks to your support, the Alliance estimates that this event generated close to $20,000 to support our mission-driven services.

The event had a Roaring 20’s theme honoring the Foshay Tower’s 1929 opening with many guests dressing in period and formal attire. A special pre-event VIP Reception, sponsored by Schuler Shook, drew over 50 Foshay project participants, local and state elected officials, and Alliance donors to kick off the event. Attendees went behind the scenes with special VIP tours led by historic consultants Hess, Roise and Company. They devoured signature hors d’oeuvres to the sounds of Robert Bell’s Hot Swing Combo featuring Maude Hixson. Everyone was a star on the dance floor after taking lessons from The Swing Cats. Guests were able to bid on over 50 auction lots with donations from dinners to archaeological digs.

We have many people to thank for making the Foshay Soiree so successful. The Alliance would like to recognize the support of our event sponsors, the W Minneapolis - The Foshay, Ralph Burnet, our many silent auction item donors, the Swing Cats, our volunteers and Foshay Soiree Event Committee members. Thank you all for your many contributions to this event.

Thanks also to Mpls + St. Paul Magzine for their photo coverage of our event. Please watch for publication of these photos in an upcoming fall issue.

This year’s event was modeled on the Alliance’s successful 2007 event at the Westin Hotel. Called “Banking on Preservation,” last year’s sneak-peek fundraiser was the first event held inside the restored Farmers & Mechanics Bank Building in Minneapolis, now the Westin Hotel. Alliance members and friends loved this event so much, they asked for another-what better place than Minneapolis’ fabulous and famous Foshay Tower?

Our event attendees are now asking the same question, “Where will the sneak peek be next year?” The best way to find that out is to become a member of the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota. Members receive advanced notice of all of our events via e-mail and print. You can join online using Paypal here on our website by clicking on the “Get Involved” tab and then the “Join” feature.

The Foshay Soiree: A Roaring 1920’s Restoration was graciously sponsored by:

We also would like to recognize the generous support of Schuler Shook, our VIP Reception Sponsor.

Generous in-kind support for this event was provided by:

Built in 1906, the home at 1715 James Ave S was designed by noted Minneapolis architect William Kenyon for his own use. As such, it displays an unusual level of sophisticated design, detailing and construction. Kenyon often partnered with John Scott Bradstreet on residential commissions, and this home is no exception. The most distinctive of Bradstreet’s handiwork, the Jin di Sugi wood-carvings, are magnificently displayed in the Kenyon home, with an entire room serving as a veritable museum piece of this exotic craft.

In keeping with the Arts and Crafts/Art Nouveau aesthetic, other accouterments of the interior design include stunning Quezal light fixtures and chandelier, a Grueby art tile fireplace as well as a “river of green” Grueby tiled floor, and magnificent installations of stained and leaded glass, all of which were inspired in their creation by the organic beauty of nature, and are strikingly set off by rich toned mahogany woodwork as well as more common oak.

This home reflects the innovative, international taste of both Kenyon and Bradstreet, and is a happy circumstance of superlative architect, designer, and manufacturers of decorative arts (Grueby Faience and Quezal) all at the apotheosis of their careers. As such, it stands as a mature example of regional sophistication: original, forward thinking, deriving its content, materials and forms from the natural world, executed with a superb level of artisanship by human hands.

More information regarding this exceptional offering is available by contacting the listing agent, Maggie B Hood: mhood@cbburnet.com A website is under construction as well. All inquiries are welcome!

State Grants-in-Aid and Capital Grants open for Applications

You can still beat the deadline for the fall round of state grants-in-aid and state capital project grants-in-aid. Pre-applications are due on July 25^th, 2008 and Final applications are due August 29^th, 2008 (please beware of RNC traffic when delivering applications to the History Center on August 29^th).

State grants-in-aid are awarded twice a year in the categories of interpretive programs, photographic collections, publication and research, historic properties, artifact collections, microfilm copies, oral history, manuscripts collections, museum environments and technology. Matching grants for historic preservation projects of a capital nature are awarded to county and local jurisdictions once a year. Monies for these grants are included in a bonding appropriation from the Minnesota Legislature.

For details about the two grant programs, including guidelines, eligibility and application forms, go to www.mnhs.org/about/grants.