Check out Southern Minnesota Magazine—entire issues can be viewed online.

The Summer 2009 issue includes a guide to identifying historic house styles (with examples from southern Minnesota cities), a profile of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Elam-Plunkett House in Austin, MN, and a feature story about the restoration of the only remaining FLW hotel, in Mason City, Iowa.

Fall 2009 has “Sunday drive” itineraries through scenic and historic areas of southern Minnesota, as well as a list of 25 things to do in Freeborn, Mower, and Steele counties. I’m definitely bringing that list along on my next field visit!

by Erin Hanafin Berg, Field Representative

August 24, 2009

The Saint Paul Pioneer Press reported today that eleven houses in the Dayton’s Bluff area of Saint Paul are for sale, some for as little as $1. That’s right, one measly dollar. But the houses come with strings attached, in that the buyers must demonstrate that they have the financial ability and renovation experience to successfully rehab the homes. The houses are owned by the Saint Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority, which will only sell the houses to “buyers who demonstrate they can finance repairs that could cost anywhere from $140,000 to $190,000. Buyers must explain how they will do the work and agree to make fixes that satisfy city rules and historic preservation guidelines for the neighborhood.”

The article outlines several reasons why this is a great plan—the rehabilitation of these houses, which must be owner-occupied, will stabilize the neighborhood and increase property values. The resulting private investment could reach as high as $1.7 million, according to the article. What isn’t mentioned is the “multiplier effect” that these renovations could have. Provided that the rehabilitation work is done by hired contractors, carpenters, and tradespeople—rather than by do-it-yourselvers—the program could serve as a small-scale, privately-financed economic stimulus. To paraphrase Donovan Rypkema, the well-known preservation economist, a sheet of drywall doesn’t tip his barber, but a restoration carpenter stops on his way home to get a haircut, buys groceries or takes his family out to eat, goes to the movies. . . . The money that is put into renovating these houses will not only stabilize the neighborhood, it will be spent on local goods and services and will, in turn, help stabilize our local economy.

These houses have been a project of our local partner, Historic Saint Paul. Six of the 4th Street Preservation Project homes will be on display during an open house from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, August 25. The other five will be open from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, August 27.

Read more about Distressed Urban Neighborhoods, one of the Alliance’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2009, on our Programs page. And send your comments to PAMfieldnotes@gmail.com

by Erin Hanafin Berg, Field Representative

August 21, 2009

Right after the Fourth of July, I made a field visit to the Iron Range. I visited Hibbing, Chisholm, Virginia, and Eveleth, and reveled in the preservation opportunities that about in these cities. All four have good commercial historic districts that would be a great fit for the Main Street program that the Preservation Alliance hopes to launch in 2010, and I’ll blog about those eventually. But I was also captivated by the variety of homes and housing styles in these communities, and I love to imagine the history they represent.

The W. Bailey House, Eveleth

The W. Bailey House, on Pierce Street in Eveleth, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The bottom of the house is brownstone, although this photo does not show it well. The house, built in 1905, also had a “For Sale” sign out front in early July, although I can’t find a current listing.

I thought this triplex was quite stunning. Maybe just the answer for a harried household with two working parents, small kids, and two sets of retired grandparents. Or maybe not.

Triplex, Pierce Street, Eveleth

What a cool juxtaposition of this high-style, urban townhouse with the two vernacular cottages. Notice how all three lots are the same width? Judging from the narrow lots, Eveleth was platted for a dense population—and probably also to keep the ore-rich earth underneath the city as accessible as possible. I wonder what the two gable-roofed houses looked like with their original siding.

Brick townhouse, Jackson Street, Eveleth

I think these three following photos illustrate the range of historic workers housing in Eveleth. The difference between laborers, supervisors, and mining company executives, perhaps.

Vernacular cottages near downtown Eveleth

A variety of house styles near the Manual Training School in Eveleth.

(The Manual Training School, my point of reference and a very cool Moderne style building constructed in 1914 (decades before the style became really popular), is also listed in the National Register.)

Mining company executive homes (possibly), Eveleth

Tons more pictures where these came from. I’ll post more, of Hibbing’s variety of residential architecture, next week. (Sorry, no picture of Bob Dylan’s house, though.)

Feel free to send your comments to PAMfieldnotes@gmail.com