HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-09-17_WORK SESSIONAGENDA
CITY COUNCIL & HERITAGE PRESERVATION BOARD
WORK SESSION
COMMUNITY ROOM
SEPTEMBER 17, 2013
6:00 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER
II. ROLL CALL
III. HERITAGE PRESERVATION BOARD INTRODUCTIONS
IV. BOARD MEMBER EDUCATION
V. 2013 WORK PLAN REVIEW — 25 Minutes
I . Midcentury Modern Historic Context Study — Completed
a. Next Steps
2. Voluntary Heritage Landmark Designations — 4 Invitations /0 Accepted
a. Pending Wooddale Bridge Designation
3. Southdale Center Recognition — Edina Heritage Award
a. Potential for Additional Recognition
4. Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings - Adopted
VI. INITIATIVES IDENTIFIED FOR 2014 — 20 Minutes
I. Develop Videos on Edina Heritage Landmarks & Heritage Preservation Program
2. Tupa Park's Cahill School & Grange Hall — Update Accessibility to Buildings
3. Develop a Heritage Resources Disaster Management Plan
4. Update Edina's Heritage Resources Inventory & Convert to Electronic Format
5. Increase Board Member Participation at State & National Preservation Conferences
VII. ADJOURNMENT
The City of Edina wants all residents to be comfortable being part of the public process. If you need assistance in the way of hearing
amplification, an interpreter, large -print documents or something else, please call 952 - 927 -8861 72 hours in advance of the meeting.
SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING MEETINGS /DATES /EVENTS
Tues
Sep 17
Closed Session
5:30 P.M.
COMMUNITY ROOM
Tues
Sep 17
Work Session —joint Meeting with HPB
6:00 P.M.
COMMUNITY ROOM
Tues
Sep 17
Regular Meeting
7:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Tues
Oct I
Work Session — Boards & Commissions 2014 Work Plan Review
5:30 P.M.
COMMUNITY ROOM
Tues
Oct I
Regular Meeting
7:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Mon
Oct 14
Work Session — Business Meeting/Utility Rate Study
5:30 P.M.
COMMUNITY ROOM
Mon
Oct 14
Regular Meeting
7:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Mon
Nov 4
Work Session — Human Services Task Force
5:30 P.M.
COMMUNITY ROOM
Mon
Nov 4
Regular Meeting
7:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Mon
Nov I I
VETERANS DAY HOLIDAY OBSERVED — City Hall Closed
Tues
Nov 19
Work Session — Final Budget Review /Finalize 2014Work Plans
5:30 P.M.
COMMUNITY ROOM
Tues
Nov 19
Regular Meeting
7:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Thur
Nov 28
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY OBSERVED — City Hall Closed
Fri
Nov 29
DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY OBSERVED — City Hall Closed
Tues
Dec 2
Work Session —joint Meeting With Edina Housing Foundation
5:30 P.M.
COMMUNITY ROOM
SWLRT Housing Corridor Report
Tue
Dec 2
Regular Meeting
7:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
les
Dec 10
Special Meeting - Public Improvement Hearings
6:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
s
Dec 17
Work Session —TBD
.jes
Dec 17
Regular Meeting
7:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Tues
Dec 24
CHRISTMAS EVE HOLIDAY OBSERVED — City Hall Closed at Noon
Wed
Dec 25
CHRISTMAS DAY HOLIDAY OBSERVED — City Hall Closed
Tues
Dec 31
NEW YEAR'S EVE HOLIDAY OBSERVED — City Hall Closed at Noon
—� Heritage Preservation Board
2013 Annual Work Plan
2013 Initiative -I Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support
Required
Council Approval
Complete updating Historic Context August 2013 Yes Yes
yes
Study to include the Mid - Century CLG & Legacy Grants 20 hours
period of 1945 - 1974 $5,000/$5,000
Progress Report: Completed study submitted to MNSHPO August 31, 2013. Presented to HPB at the September meeting.
2013 Initiative - 2 Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Council Approval
Required
Promote voluntary landmark December 2013 No Yes yes
designation of Edina Heritage 30 hours
Resources to include: At least 3
Morningside bungalow homes, and 1
property on the designated eligible list
Progress Report: Invitations sent to 4 determined eligible property owners (3 Morningside Bungalows) =1 Decline & 3 No Response
2013 Initiative - 3 Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Council Approval
Required
Work with Southdale Center on December 2013 No Yes yes
recognizing the significance of the 15 hours
nation's first enclosed shopping mall.
Progress Report: Southdale received the 2013 Heritage Award recognizing the significance of the Mall as well as the improvements embracing
the original Midcentury Modern architectural style. Will work with the mall on a permanent display celebrating its "15` mall in the country"
status.
2013 Initiative - 4 Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support Council Approval
Required
Develop guidelines for sustainability in
December 2013
No
Yes
yes
connection with renovating historic
10 hours
properties
Progress Report: Adopted the
August 2013
Secretary of the Interior's Illustrated
Guidelines on Sustainability for
Rehabilitating Historic Buildings
2013 New Initiatives - 1
Target Completion Date
Budget Required
Staff Support
Council Approval
Develop video on Edina Heritage
2013-2014
Yes
Required
Yes
yes
Landmarks and historic preservation
Potential CLG Grant
20 hours
in cooperation with City's
$5,000
Communications Department
Progress Report:
2013 New Initiative - 2
Target Completion Date
Budget Required
Staff Support
Council Approval
Required
Update accessibility to Cahill School &
2013-2014
Yes
Yes
yes
Grange Hall in Tupa Park
Potential CLG Grant with
20 hours
matching funds $5,000
Progress Report:
2013 New Initiative - 3
Target Completion Date
Budget Required
Staff Support
Council Approval
Required
Develop a heritage resources disaster
2014
No
Yes
yes
management plan for all heritage
10 hours
resource properties
Progress Report:
2013 New Initiative - 4 Target Completion Date Budget Required Staff Support
Council Approval
Required
Update information in the Heritage 2014 Yes Yes
yes
Resources Inventory and convert it to Potential CLG Grant 20 hours
electronic format (adaptable for GIS $5,000
users) so that it can be manipulated,
and available to the public.
Progress Report:
2013 New Initiatives - 5 Target Completion Budget Required Staff Support
.. .
Date Required
Establish annual meeting schedule with State of Ongoing No Yes
yes
Minnesota Historic Preservation Office to enhance 10 hours
education and communication. Investigate enhanced
use of state resources in education and education
Progress Report:
2013 New Initiatives - 6 Target Completion Budget Staff Support
Council Approval
Date Required Required
Increase number of Board members' attendance at Ongoing Yes Yes
yes
state and national preservation Conferences Scholarships 8 — 24 hours
often available
Ongoing ..
Research: Evaluate potential heritage resources to add to the determined eligible for landmark designation list
Preservation: Review Certificates of Appropriateness (COA) Applications for heritage landmark designated properties
Communication & Education: Educate public on the importance of heritage preservation to the vitality of the community
properties in the City in response to the completed Historic Context
Study CLG Grant.
Develop and implement effective, voluntary, non - regulatory
approaches to preserving significant heritage resources.
Proposed Month for Joint Work Session
COA application fees: $600 or $1,200 for a new home: 2011 = $4,800; 2012 thus far = $4,800.
rd
SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT IN
EDINA SINCE 1935:
A HISTORIC CONTEXT STUDY
,i
:ln rla'drr;s o/ Distinction `
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UPPER DtIDWESTS CHOICE
SUBURBAN 1)f VELOPMENT
t Individual homesites of unexcelled
i scenic beauty. Everyone different.
i Winding roads with sweeping views.
Natural sites for Ramblers .
Designed for them, in fact!
ON HIGHWAY 164 (SHAKOPEE ROAD)
!i MILE FROX SWM S THE BELT LINE
If Port are bzging ur selling a
hone our ,rewire it rontplrle and
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run?entntted in Grattti /n! Edina.
The Spring Co.
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43rd & Upton Ave. So. WN 2766
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Prepared for:
Edina Heritage Preservation Board
Prepared by:
Robert C. Vogel
Preservation Planning Consultant
A Certified Local Government Grant Project
Federal Project Number 27 -12- 41930.008
August, 2013
1
'MeCI`IZ'ot
;Oy EDINA
4' i
0
The activity that is the subject of this report has been financed in part with
Federal funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of
the Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial
products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior.
This program receives Federal financial assistance for identification and
protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Department of the Interior
prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or disability in its
federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any
program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information,
please write to: Office for Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, 1840 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Chapter I: Introduction 1
Project Description 1
Research Design and Methods 2
Report Organization 3
Chapter II: Historical Background 5
Legacies of Suburbia 5
Early Suburban Development in Edina (to 1935) 6
The Role. of Transportation in Suburban Development 7
The Role of Government in Suburban Development 12
The Great Depression and World War II 15
Chapter III: Postwar Neighborhoods 18
Historic Context. Statement 18
Associated Property Types 26
Chapter IV: Midcentury Modern Architecture and Landscapes 36
Historic Context Statement 36
Associated Property Types 48
Chapter V: Edina's Recent Past
52
Historic Context Statement
52
Associated Property Types
55
Chapter VI: Conclusions and Recommendations
56
Principal Findings
56
Information Gaps
59
Recommendations
59
Appendix A: Bibliography of Selected Readings 61
Appendix B: List of Edina Platted Subdivisions, 1935 -1975 73
Appendix C: Preliminary Inventory of Midcentury Modern.
and Recent Heritage Resources 77
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 1. Northern Edina in 1913
8
Fig. 2. Edina primary and collector streets
11
Fig. 3. Edina neighborhoods
21
Fig. 4. Example of Edina subdivision plat
28
Fig. 5. Standard suburban street patterns
29
Fig. 6. Minimal Traditional style house
37
Fig. 7. Cape Code style house
39
Fig. 8. Ranch style house
40
Fig. 9. Split -Level style house
42
Fig. 10. Age of Edina housing
58
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Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
CHAPTERI
INTRODUCTION
In 2012, the City of Edina was awarded a Certified Local Government (CLG)
grant to carry out a historic context study to guide planning for the preservation of
heritage resources associated with suburban development since 1935. This report
presents the results of that study, which was prepared under the auspices of the city's
Heritage Preservation Board (HPB). The report delineates a series of historic context
statements that describe significant broad patterns of local development and identifies
related heritage resource property types, with context -based goals and priorities for
implementing the results of the study.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The purpose of the historic context study was to develop historic contexts dealing
with the most important patterns of historical development in Edina since 1935 that may
be represented by properties eligible for designation as' Edina Heritage Landmarks.
Historic contexts were developed on the basis of" background data on local, regional,
and national history. The study delineated three thematically based local historic
context study units:
• Postwar Residential Neighborhoods
• Midcentury Modern Architecture and Landscapes
• Edina's Recent Past
Each study unit describes one or more aspects of , historical development and
identifies the significant patterns and trends related to particular types of heritage
resources. The organizational framework is conventional: each context narrative is
characterized by a theme, geographical limits, and chronological period. Together, the
study units represent a comprehensive overview of Edina's suburban heritage from
circa 1935 down to the present.
Historic contexts are the cornerstone of the preservation planning process and
the present study builds on the results of previous historic context research and
preservation planning work undertaken by the Edina HPB since the 1970s. In 1999, the
city approved a planning document containing an initial statement of local historic
contexts, organized in a two -tier format, which formed the basis of the city's current
1
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
comprehensive preservation plan. The first -tier historic contexts are organized
chronologically and describe in broad, general terms the composite patterns and trends
superimposed on the landscape by large -scale cultural processes that unfolded over
long spans of time. In contrast, the second -tier study units are organized geographically
or thematically, focusing on particular locations where concentrations of related heritage
preservation resources are .believed to occur. Recent historic context research has
focused on broad cultural- historical themes, such as the heritage of women, and
specific heritage resource types, such as Morningside bungalows.
The current comprehensive plan, adopted in 2008, includes a first -tier historic
context entitled "The Suburban Landscape," which focuses on the evolution of the
suburban built environment from the 1880s through the 1970s. The chronological limits
of this broad, city -wide study unit have been expanded to encompass heritage resource
management themes associated with the "modern" or "recent past" periods; that is, the
time period has been extended down to the present day. The comprehensive plan also
identifies some second -tier historic contexts which overlap to some extent with the
scope of the present investigation. With the exception of the study unit devoted to
Southdale, the previously delineated historic context statements have not paid much
attention to property types associated with post -World War II suburban development.
RESEARCH DESIGN
The objectives of the study were as follows:
• Identify a range of historic contexts that describe significant aspects of Edina's
historical development since circa 1935
o Identify the heritage resource property types associated with each historic
context
® Identify information gaps to be filled by future archival research and field survey
Establish goals and priorities for implementing the results. of the study
v Present the results of the study in the form of av narrative report
The study was primarily an exercise in historical research, i.e., the search for and
synthesis of textual information about events and patterns of events significant in the
physical development of the city's built environment. Research methods were
straightforward and reflected current standards of professional practice in public history
and cultural resource management. Archival research selectively utilized a fairly wide
range of both primary and secondary source materials to address specific issues and
themes. The research effort focused on identifying and analyzing_ the most important
events and patterns of events relating to settlement, land use, architectural history,
2
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
economic development, and the development of transportation systems and other urban
infrastructure systems, within the broad framework of 20th century suburban
development.
When the project was in its early planning stage, certain danger signals indicated
that the scope of the study might have been too broad. Specifically, background
knowledge suggested that additional resources needed to be devoted to archival
research and reconnaissance field survey focusing on commercial development. To
better match project goals with consultant resources, it was decided to apply for
additional funds in the form of a small "fast- track" Minnesota Historical and Cultural
Heritage Grant. Unfortunately, the request for Legacy funds was turned down by the
Minnesota Historical Society.
While the study did not include field survey to identify previously unrecorded
heritage resources, the historic contexts were informed to some extent by information
on the general character of the built environment of individual properties and areas that
was obtained through "windshield survey" of selected locations. The historic context
study was not designed to identify and gather data on individual heritage preservation
resources. No survey forms or inventory data sheets were compiled.
The present -day corporate boundaries of the City of Edina defined the
geographical scope of the project, although some of the historic contexts were relevant
to limited areas within the city limits. The study's timelines and deliverables were
specified in the CLG grant agreement. All project activities were carried out in
accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's standards and guidelines for preservation
planning and the revised SHPO guidelines for historical and architectural projects in
Minnesota.
REPORT ORGANIZATION
The report is divided into six chapters and three appendices. Chapter I provides
a brief overview of the scope of the project and the work accomplished. Background
information on Edina's suburban heritage is presented in Chapter II. Historic contexts
and property types are discussed in Chapters III, IV, and V. Chapter VI contains a
summary of the principal findings and important information gaps, with a prioritized list
of recommendations for implementing the results of the study. The appendices contain
a bibliography of the major sources consulted during the archival research phase of the
study, a list of Edina subdivisions platted between 1935 and 1975, and a preliminary
inventory of previously recorded midcentury modern and recent heritage resources.
3
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Brief discursive notes, direct quotations from published sources, and ideas
attributed to other writers are referenced in the text by footnotes. To avoid peppering
the historic context narrative with numerous footnote references to, redundant and
secondary sources, a bibliography of the sources consulted is provided in Appendix A.
4
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
CHAPTER II
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The published histories of Edina are replete with references to its suburban
heritage, and to the links between local events and national trends.'
LEGACIES OF SUBURBIA
As defined by geographers, a suburb is a residential area located outside the
boundaries of a larger metropolitan area —the term is synonymous with the outlying
parts or outskirts of a city. Suburbs vary in land use composition from entirely
residential to commercial or industrial and are usually, though not always, independently
organized local government entities (cities, villages, townships, or boroughs). Although
the concept of a suburb is usually associated with modern urbanization, the origins of
suburban development can be traced back to medieval times in Europe. The Industrial
Revolution produced the "romantic suburb" movement in the United States, which took
hold during the mid -19th century as an attempt to create the ideal rural life on the edge
of the city. It was such a successful movement that the renowned landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmstead declared "no great town can long exist without great suburbs."
The invention of the electric trolley in 1887 fostered the development of streetcar
suburbs and the widespread adoption of the automobile after World War I set in motion
a series of technological and cultural shifts that rapidly transformed cities and the
suburbs themselves.
Urban fringe development and suburbanization have been in evidence in the
Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul since the late 1800s. The earliest nodes of
suburban development in southwestern Hennepin County were small, diffuse residential
neighborhoods which coalesced at West Minneapolis (Hopkins) and St. Louis Park
during the 1880s. Home builders and real estate speculators were particularly interested
in the western outliers of Minneapolis that were opened up by the expanding streetcar
system. Suburban development dominated urban growth in the Twin Cities between
the two world wars and by the early 1950s the aggregate population of the suburbs
exceeded that of the central cities. High -speed freeways were crucial in shaping
postwar development by creating intra - metropolitan flexibility and spatial freedom in the
'The broad outline of Edina's suburban history is presented in William W, Scott and Jeffrey A. Hess,
History and Architecture of Edina (Minneapolis, 1981), 8 -15; Paul D. Hesterman, From Settlement to
Suburb: The History- of Edina, Minnesota (Edina, 1993), 39 -98; and Deborah Morse -Kahn, Edina:
Chapters in the City History (Edina, 1988), 99 -160; see also the pertinent sections in Frederick L.
Johnson and Thomas D. Tuttle, Suburban Dawn: The Emergence of Richfield, Edina, and Bloomington
(Richfield, 2009).
5
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
range of locational choices available to urban residents. The entire region experienced
fundamental changes in land use, population density, and the morphology of its built
environment between 1935 and 1975.
EARLY SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT IN EDINA (TO 1935)
Until the late 1880s, Edina formed the western part of Richfield Township, an
unincorporated rural community situated well outside the corporate limits of
Minneapolis. The pre-suburban. landscape was characterized by its dispersed
settlement pattern and agriculturally based economy. Except for -a few rural hamlets
centered on mills and country post offices, nearly all of the land- -was in farms (and had
been since the area had been first settled in the 1850s), although a substantial portion
of the farmland was covered by timber or wetlands and was therefore not well suited for
the cultivation of crops such as wheat and corn. The first significant agglomerations of
nonfarm settlement occurred during the late 1880s in connection with the founding of
West Minneapolis (modern -day Hopkins) and St. Louis Park. With the introduction of
street railway service between downtown Minneapolis and Lake Minnetonka, the first
proto- suburban neighborhoods in what is now the City of Edina were established by
savvy real estate developers who platted residential subdivisions that catered to
working -class and middle- income commuters. The influx of.. suburbanites was the chief
stimulus behind the incorporation of Edina Village on December 12, 1888.2
Individuals and corporations began to gobble up tracts of farmland in Edina in the
1880s, creating little pockets of urbanity amidst the farm fields. Late =19th century
subdivisions included Mendelssohn (recorded March 23, 1883), Emma Abbott Park
(May 7, 1883), Waveland Park (November 14, 1885), Harriet Park (December 13,
1887), West Minneapolis Heights (May 11, 1888), and Craik's First Addition (August 11,
1891). While these early subdivisions excited the hopes of real estate speculators, most
of the platted lots remained unbuilt until the early 1900s, when the rapid expansion of
the Twin City Rapid Transit streetcar system triggered the first significant influx of
suburban settlers. Morn ingside, platted June 21, 1905, was the= prototypical streetcar
suburb; the community developed so rapidly that in 1920 its residents felt compelled to
secede from the village of Edina and incorporate their own independent municipality.3
A watershed event in Edina's suburban history occurred in 1922 when
Minneapolis developer S. S. Thorpe (1864- 1936), president of Thorpe Bros. Realty,
approached the village with his plan-for a 500 -acre subdivision to be called the Country
2The first platted residential subdivision in what is now the city of Edina was Mendelssohn was laid out in
1883 adjacent to the industrial village of West Minneapolis (modern Hopkins).
3The Village of Morningside was annexed to Edina in 1966. By an act of the state legislature, Edina and
all of Minnesota's other incorporated villages became statutory cities on January 1, 1974.
2
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Club District, on land bordering Minnehaha Creek that comprised portions of the Brown
and Baird family farms. Thorpe's -con cept for the development was distinguished by the
extent to which it emphasized planning and imposed private controls on land use
(through restrictive covenants) to create an enclave of middleclass homes. that was
completely set apart from its surroundings. The development was also somewhat
unique because Thorpe financed the infrastructure improvements and exercised
personal control over the architecture of the individual houses. House building .in the
district was slow at first, but the pace of development quickened during the mid- 1920s;
the neighborhood. was not built out until the early 1940s. The success of Thorpe's
.Country Club project attracted other developers to Edina interested in marketing to
upper middleclass home buyers. By the late 1930s, Edina was one of the fastest -
growing suburban communities in the Twin Cities and had established its identity as an
upper - middleclass bedroom community. The urbanized area remained quite small,
however, and most of the land inside the corporate . limits was in dairy and truck farms
until after World War 11.4
THE ROLE OF TRANSPORTATION IN SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT
The evolution of the transportation system historically has been closely tied to
suburban development, influencing both the patterns of physical development and the
demographic characteristics of suburban communities. After raw land and markets for
new homes, the most pressing need of suburban developers has been access to
transportation facilities. Like other inner -ring suburbs of Minneapolis and Saint Paul,
Edina developed along historic and modern transportation routes. The earliest
agglomerations of nonfarm settlement were located near the railroad and trolley lines
(Fig. 1). As soon as the automobile became popular as personal transportation,
virtually all of Edina was accessible, though suburban development tended to be
concentrated along arterial roads and highways. Automobiles allowed suburban
residents to live farther from their places of work. At the same time, they helped change
the pattern language of suburban development by expanding the amount of space
devoted to streets, alleys, driveways, parking lots, and garages. Increased automobile
use led to demands for better roads; indeed, one of the most important effects of the
coming of the automobile was the renaissance of road and bridge construction that
began in the 1920s and culminated in the postwar period.
4According to the federal census, the population of Edina increased 71.2% between 1920 and 1930,
86.6% between 1930 and 1940. The 1940 census of housing enumerated a total of 1921 dwellings within
the modern corporate limits of Edina (the villages of Edina and Morningside combined).
7
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
VILLAGE OF . EDINA
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Figure 1. Northern Edina in 1913. Note the street railway lines and early residential
subdivisions. From Westby's Atlas of Hennepin County (Minneapolis, 1913)
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Both the federal and state government became involved in highway development during
the late 1800s and by 1900 most policy makers recognized the desirability of a national
system of hard - surface roadways. The state of Minnesota began making small
contributions for the improvement of town and county roads after the State Highway
Commission was created in 1905 (renamed the Department of Highways in 1917, it was
reorganized in its modern form in 1925). A new era began with passage of the Federal
Road Act of 1916, which established a federal -state cost sharing program to finance
highway construction. In 1921 the Minnesota legislature accepted the provisions of the
act; a year earlier, voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing a state
highway system of trunk highways and county roads, with millions of dollars
appropriated to improve and keep them in repair. Additional federal legislation was
enacted in 1921 to require federal approval for highway projects and earmarking
millions for state and county roads. Locally, the first stretches of concrete highway were
laid in the mid -1920s and by the late 1930s Edina residents had come to rely on a
number of paved motorways, including trunk highways and county roads that led to
Minneapolis and to neighboring suburban communities. The naming, numbering, and
marking of highways became standardized in the late 1920s and early 1930s; the
modern system of traffic signs and signals evolved at the same time. Local interests
spearheaded the construction of State Highway 100, conceived in the late 1920s as part
of the Twin Cities "belt -line" and built between 1934 and 1942 as a Works Projects
Administration (WPA) project. Outside of the Country Club District, however, most of the
streets in Edina remained unpaved until the 1940s. In the area of mass transit,
streetcar service continued to be important during World War II, but ridership declined
rapidly after 1945 and the TCRT Como - Harriet line was dismantled in 1954.
After the end of the war, the pent -up demand for automobiles helped usher in the
suburban boom. Automobile production in the United States jumped from a mere
70,000 in 1945 to 2.1 million in 1946 and 3.5 million in 1947. Highway travel reached its
postwar peak in 1946 and increased an average of six percent per year for the next
three decades. Highways in the Twin Cities area were poorly equipped to handle the
postwar traffic load. Little had been done since 1942 to increase the capacity of the
existing highways and a great deal of roadway and bridge maintenance had been
deferred. Local traffic in Edina and the other growing suburban communities quickly
overwhelmed the two -lane highways and single -lane county roads —local officials and
civic groups complained that inadequate highways constituted the greatest drawback to
suburban growth. Transportation projects in the immediate postwar era focused on
dealing with the problems resulting from massive suburban growth, rising levels of
congestion and increasing delays, and a regional highway system that lacked the
capacity to accommodate increased growth in automobile transportation.
M
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Once again, the federal government took the lead. The Federal -Aid Highway Act
of 1944 was enacted as part of the transition to a postwar economy. Planners
anticipated a surge in car ownership and traffic and the act significantly increased
funding for federal, state, and county highway construction. The act also recognized the
growing complexity of the highway program by reclassifying the federal aid highway
system and readjusting the formulae for federal -state financial participation. The
Federal -Aid Highway Act of 1956 launched the National System of Interstate and
Defense Highways (renamed the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and
Defense Highways in 1991), the largest public works program yet undertaken.SOne of
the segments of the 37,700 -mile Interstate system was Highway 494, which was built
across the southern metropolitan area between 1959 and 1966, triggering another
surge in local development activity.6 The 1950s and 1960s also saw the widening of
Highway 100 and construction of a new expressway along the route of Hennepin
County Road 62 (nicknamed the "Crosstown" and since 1988 designated State Highway
62), both multi -lane, high -speed motorways designed to carry large volumes of
commuter traffic.'
The postwar transportation system that has evolved in Edina since the 1930s is
predicated on the use of automobiles for the vast majority of personal travel needs.
Alternatives to automobile travel, such as streetcars and inter -city bus routes, declined
in importance during the second half of the 20th century. At the same time, local school
districts expanded- their school bus programs. Commuting patterns did not change
significantly between the 1930s and the 1960s, when most residents with jobs left Edina
to go to work, driving alone in their personal automobiles. Average travel times within
the Twin Cities metro area actually increased after completion of the interstate system.
The transportation system that has evolved since the 1920s is based upon a hierarchy
of thoroughfares planned and built by the state and local governments, sometimes with
financial assistance from the federal government. The main components of the system
are the principal arterial thoroughfares; consisting of the interstate freeway, state trunk
highways, and county..roads which connected Edina to other, parts of. the Twin Cities
area; the 'collector streets that .link Edina neighborhoods with each .other and major
business concentrations; and the local streets that connect blocks and land parcels
within neighborhoods (Fig. 2). City street infrastructure development, as distinguished
from state and county highway planning and construction, has historically been most
5Th Interstate system.was authorized in 1944, but funding for construction was delayed 12 years; the
system was 98% completed by 1973.
6State Highway 5 was one of Minnesota's original "constitutional routes" established in 1920, though it
was not assigned route number 5 until 1934. Construction began on the Edina segment of the Interstate
494 loop in 1959; the original construction was completed in 1963. -
'In 1960, the Minnesota Department of Highways identified the junction of Highway 100 and Excelsior
Boulevard as the busiest at -grade intersection in the state.
10
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic context Study
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Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
concerned with local streets. There was scant interest in bicycling or passenger rail
before the 1990s.8
THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT
Morningside and the other early 20th century streetcar suburbs were laid out
according to simple, rudimentary plans that required local government approval at the
time platting; once the plat was recorded, the village exercised little control. over the
actual physical development, with the inevitable result that each subdivision developed
independently and investment in critical infrastructure:, tended to be made in piecemeal
fashion. A few of the early developers employed modern land use. planning methods
when they designed their subdivisions and used restrictive covenants to privately
enforce a form of land use control. Indeed, the private sector paved the way for making
zoning a legitimate government activity.
Although there had been growing interest in municipal planning since the
Progressive Era, zoning did not emerge as the preeminent tool in local government
control of land use until the late 1920s.9 A 1926 Supreme Court decision opened the
door to municipal land use control by upholding the constitutionality of municipal zoning
in the landmark case of Euclid, Ohio v. Amber Realty. In Edina, increasing attention
was p aid -to planning and zoning after 1924, when the Minneapolis developer Sam
Thorpe laid` out his,Country Club subdivision, the first significant, unified development in
Edina to =be planned and built under single ownership and control. When the village
created its own zoning program in 1930, it adopted a form of the Country Club District
land use controls, which became the template for new residential. development in all
parts of the village.10 The primary objective of the zoning ordinance was to protect low -
density, single - family neighborhoods from encroachment by commercial and:, industrial
development; but it also placed severe restrictions on the amount of land available for
intensive commercial development as well as higher, density residential development
(i:e.,. apartment buildings). The separation of land:,uses became total in the mid -1950s
when Edina residents voted to set aside a large tract of undeveloped .land to be
'According to the Edina public,works department, the city currently maintains 230 miles of-streets and
roads, 25 miles of sidewalks, and 8 miles of walking paths.
New York City passed. the first municipal zoning ordinance in the United States in 1916 and within five
years over seventy other cities (including Minneapolis) adopted similar zoning codes. The Department of
Commerce's Advisory Committee on City Planning and Zoning issued A Zoning Primer in 1922 and A
Standard State Zoning Enabling Act in 1924; in 1.928 it published A Standard City Planning Enabling Act,
which formed the basis for the Zoning Enabling Act passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 1929..
"A. planning commission was established on. May 14,.1929; the first village. ordinance was adapted from
the U.S, Department of Commerce model ordinance. Municipal zoning was not fully implemented until
1931. The village relied on outside consultants until 1957, when -it hired its first full -time planner.
12
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
developed exclusively for commercial purposes in an effort to expand the village tax
base without interfering with the interests of the home builders.
By the late 1930s suburban development was, to a considerable extent, a public
enterprise guided by government regulations and partially subsidized with taxpayer
money. While the nation was in the depths of the Great Depression, Congress passed
the Emergency Relief and Construction Act of 1932, creating the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation (RFC), which for the first time made the federal government an
active partner in housing development. The RFC made loans to private corporations
providing housing for low- income families. Also in 1932, the Federal Home Loan Bank
Board was established to make advances on the security of home mortgages and
establish a Home Loan Bank System. These early New Deal initiatives did little to
assist individual home buyers, however, because they did not fundamentally alter the
home financing system, which was still characterized by short-term credit and high
interest rates."
Everything changed when the New Dealers pushed the National Housing Act of
1934 through Congress. The act was primarily a tool to stimulate the economy and
relieve high unemployment in the building industries by releasing private credit in the
hands of banks and lending institutions for new home construction and renovation of
existing buildings. The centerpiece of the act was creation of the Federal Housing
Administration (FHA), which was given responsibility for implementing a national
program of mortgage insurance. By having the United States Treasury assume the risk
of insuring private mortgages, the act made possible the amortization of long -term,
fixed -rate, low- interest loans with regular monthly payments that steadily reduced the
mortgage debt. In 1938, Congress went a step further and authorized the FHA to
create a national mortgage association, the Federal National Mortgage Association
(Fannie Mae), to provide a secondary market where government- insured home
mortgages could be sold to investors, which made more money available for home
loans. As World War II was winding down, Congress authorized the Veterans
Administration (VA) to create its own home loan program under the Serviceman's
"Before 1935, most single - family homes would have been financed with two mortgages: a bank, building -
and -loan association, or other lender would advance approximately 60% of the cost of the property on the
security of a "first" mortgage, with the builder or some other individual putting up the remainder in the form
of a "second" or "junior" mortgage. Both the first and second mortgages would be for short periods
(typically 3 -5 years) and neither required the homeowner to do more than make interest payments and
taxes until the mortgages became due, at which time most borrowers, if they could not pay off the
principal owed, would have been compelled to extend the original mortgages or refinance. Analysis of
home financing trends published in the early 1930s found that nine of ten new homes were subject to
second mortgages, one of the major causes of widespread home foreclosure and forfeiture during the
Great Depression.
13
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Readjustment Act of 1944 (more commonly known as the GI Bill). 12 The VA mortgage
program was created to assist eligible veterans in readjusting to civilian life by becoming
homeowners. Similar to FHA loans, the VA mortgages were insured by the federal
government and amortized so that they could be paid off gradually. The program gave
a further boost to home purchases by allowing veterans to buy a home with no down
payment. Such mortgages were particularly advantageous for the young families of
returning servicemen —loan payments were typically less than rental rates for equivalent
housing units. Subsequent federal housing acts liberalized mortgage terms for home
buyers. Although neither program actually built homes or loaned money, FHA and .VA
home loans had a tremendous impact on housing development by generating a vast
increase in the number of qualified new home buyers.
Local government was transformed by the federal government's expanding role
in housing and economic development. From the outset, the FHA and other- agencies
pushed cities to adopt a program of urban planning that drew upon the principles
developed since the Progressive Era to guide the. development of safe, healthful,
attractive,. and affordable residential neighborhoods. The FHA's Land Planning Division
issued its first design manual for residential development in 1940 and worked
unceasingly to force local officials and planning professionals to adopt its land use
philosophies, which were clearly biased toward suburban communities dominated by
single - family detached and owner - occupied homes. To assist local governments with
planning for new residential subdivisions, the FHA recommended standardized design
practices that were expected to become a template used by developers and planning
commissions. One of the landscape legacies of the FHA planning program was the
abandonment of the rectilinear gridiron plat in favor of subdivisions with curvilinear
streets. The disappearance of the front porch can also be attributed to FHA regulations.
The land use planning principles recommended by the FHA set the standards for
subdivision design adopted by the Edina planning commission, which by the mid -1950s
seems to have absorbed all of the design practices promulgated by the FHA and its
industry partners. 13
12Veterans benefits in the form of home loans were subsequently granted to those who served during the
Korean conflict, the. Cold War, and the Vietnam war.
"In addition to the FHA program guidelines, Edina officials (including a full -time director of planning, a
position that has been filled since 1957) relied upon the Community Builder's Handbook published by the
Urban Land Institute, the first edition of which appeared in 1947; the Handbook was aimed at primarily at
developers, but promoted coordination with local planning agencies and was a respected reference work
for municipal officials. Reviewing the minutes of planning commission for 1944 -1955, it is clear that city
planning decisions were also informed by the Home Builders' Manual for Land Development, published in
seven editions between 1950 and 1990 by the National Association of Home Builders, the industry's
primary trade organization.
14
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WORLD WAR II
The Great Depression and World War II stand out as pivotal events in American
and World history. They also mark an important watershed in Edina's suburban
heritage. The decade of the 1920s, which many believed had opened a new and never -
ending era of economic growth and prosperity, closed in the most complete economic
collapse in American history. The stock market crash of October 29, 1929 started an
economic decline which continued with little interruption until 1933. Sixteen years after
Black Tuesday, the postwar economic revival ushered in a spectacular new wave of
prosperity which some historians have termed, "The Suburban Era."
When asked in 1932 whether they had ever been anything like the Great
Depression, the economist John Maynard Keynes replied, "Yes, it was called the Dark
Ages, and it lasted four hundred years." In 1930s America, the hard times lasted a
decade, the longest, deepest depression in the history of the United States.
Unemployment rose over 600% between 1929 and 1933: by 1933, more than 13 million
people had been thrown out of work. Even after the economy began to improve in
1934, a great many Americans were still having trouble making a living: as late as 1940,
over 7.5 million people (roughly 14% of the labor force) were still unemployed or
underemployed. No segment of the economy felt the depression more than housing.
Nationally, new building construction slumped rapidly in 1930 and the near collapse of
the banking system in 1931 -32 accentuated the crisis. Development was severely
retarded in the villages of Edina and Morningside, where by 1932 housing starts had
fallen to a tiny fraction of what they had been during the 1920s building boom. Real
estate values plummeted while bankruptcy rates and home foreclosures increased
dramatically. New Deal efforts toward recovery included massive federal and state
government subsidies for the home building industry, which renewed developer interest
in new home construction. Reflecting the gradual upward swing in the national
business cycle, several new residential subdivisions were platted in Edina during the
late 1930s. Some of the better - planned and managed subdivision projects actually
flourished and there was a slow but steady increase in new home building until 1942.14
Although World War II began in Europe in 1939 and the United States began to
rearm in earnest in 1940, America remained isolationist and neutral until after the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The war had far - reaching
effects on the nation's economy and culture. Locally, most of the young men (and quite
a few women) joined the various military services, and many of those who stayed home
went to work in war - related industries. War production brought back prosperity (the
14 New home construction slumped during the deep recession of May, 1937 to June, 1938, but made a
strong recovery in 1939 -41.
15
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
gross national product grew from $91 billion in 1939 to $166 billion in 1945) and the
distribution of wealth actually shifted away from the upper classes in favor of those with
lower incomes — average household income more than doubled during the war years,
although rationing and price controls restrained consumer spending to a great extent .15
Wartime employment gave many women their first taste of economic independence.
Despite the demands of family and work, hundreds of local women chose to support the
war effort by volunteering their time and energy in programs organized under the
auspices of the Office of Civilian Defense, the Red Cross, and other service
organizations.
Although the war failed to radically affect the standard of living, an acute housing
shortage developed during the war years. Residential construction was dormant from
1942 until late 1944, and only a handful of new homes were built.in 1945. As veterans
returned home, marriage and birth rates skyrocketed and there was widespread
demand for consumer products, including housing. The unprecedented economic
expansion and rapid population growth, combined with the shortage of housing, meant
that there were very few homes for sale or rent —in 1945, the federal government
estimated there were 3.6 million families in search of adequate housing. The housing
shortage forced many families to move in with friends or relatives while they waited for
their version of the "American Dream" to materialize. 16
It was not a case of local developers and builders not seeing the problem
coming. Throughout the war years, the home construction industry had lobbied
government officials for programs to address the looming housing shortage. In the Twin
Cities area, newspaper and magazine articles. with plans for veterans housing began to
appear as early as 1943, and by late 1944 Edina builders were advertising lots in-
already platted subdivisions, offering 25 -year FHA- insured home loans at 4.5% interest.
Large -scale development of new subdivisions was delayed, however, until 1946 -1947
due to materials shortages and a. brief postwar economic recession. From this point
forward, Edina experienced a surge_ in population growth that quickly transformed the
semi =rural village into a bustling, rapidly, expanding 'suburban community: Fueled by
returning servicemen and the exodus of middleclass city dwellers from the core cities,
the postwar suburban boom caused a desperate housing shortage that`led to a tidal
wave of new subdivision platting and home building. The .population ,of Edina and
"Commodity rationing _ commenced early in 1942 and in May the Office of Price Administration froze
prices for most everyday goods; mandatory rationing of selected consumer goods remained in effect until
the fall of 1945. The War Production Board, established in January, 1942, ordered the halt of all private,
non = essential building construction on April 9, 1942; it regulated the production and sale of building
construction material until the agency was abolished in November, 1945.
16 The phrase "American Dream" was coined by historian James Truslow Adams in his book, Epic of
America (Boston, 1932), p. 410.
kV
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Morningside, which stood at 5,855 in 1940, climbed to 9,744 by the time of the 1950
census; Edina alone experienced a growth rate of over M% during the decade of the
1950s. Along with hundreds of new residential subdivisions, the great migration to the
suburbs brought new highways, shopping centers, schools, and office complexes
radically altered Edina's landscape.
17
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
CHAPTER III
POSTWAR RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS
The historic context overview presented below is a sub - context of the general
city -wide study unit, The Suburban Landscape. It is intended to be used to develop
goals and priorities for neighborhood -scale surveys and thematic studies. For
preservation planning purposes, a postwar, neighborhood is defined as a community
within the city limits where the built environment is dominated by buildings constructed
after World War II. The historic context is characterized by the following .general themes:
the establishment .and physical development of residential districts, the imprint of land
use planning on the design of subdivisions, the application of industrial principles to
home building, and the history of. efforts to create the ideal suburban community in
Edina.
HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT
Edina is a city of neighborhoods and has been since the 19th century. The
original neighborhoods were open- country rural settlements dominated by family farms,
where mills, churches, and post offices became the focal points for community identity.
Over time, some of the agglomerations of non -farm settlement came to function as
unincorporated rural hamlets. In contrast, suburban neighborhoods evolved out of the
subdivisions laid out by real estate developers, a distinctively urban land use pattern
that was superimposed on the rural landscape. The fixed boundaries of the platted
areas being largely invisible, the - subdivisions eventually coalesced into larger
neighborhoods which commonly adopted the name of the oldest or largest platted
section. A combination' of forces, social as well as economic, contributed to the rapid
suburbanization of Edina during the postwar period. New home building had effectively
ended. in April, .1942, when the Office of War Production banned all nonessential
construction and there were no new housing starts in Edina or Morningside until .1944.
Despite the pent -up demand for housing, the diversion of labor and materials to.the war
effort delayed the start of the postwar housing boom in the Twin Cities area until 1947,
by which time the economy as a whole had largely completed the transition from war to
peace. The number of building permit applications processed by the villages of,
Morningside and Edina steadily multiplied once -the economy hit its stride in the 1950x.
The number of new housing starts soared and the population of the village increased
from 9,744 in 1950, to 44,031 by 1970. By the mid- 1970s, Edina considered itself to be a
fully developed community. 17
1 Hina's postwar development boom was not uninterrupted, of course; there were actually several
irregularly spaced housing booms,. separated by slumps corresponding to the recessions of 1945, 1949,
1953, 1.957 -58, 1960 -61, 1969 -70, and 1973 -75.
18
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Postwar neighborhood development in Edina was spurred by the availability of
large amounts of raw land suitable for most kinds of residential and commercial
construction. To meet the demand for new single - family housing, developers acquired
large tracts of farmland which they platted into densely compacted subdivisions. The
late 1940s . saw a flurry of subdivision platting, mostly in the area. north of 54th Street
between France Avenue and Highway 100, within and adjacent to the existing suburban
neighborhoods of Morningside, Country Club, and South Harriet Park. Developers
fanned out across the city during the 1950s and '60s, with new subdivisions spreading
to the southern and western city limits; except for a few hundred acres of prime land in
West Edina, the neighborhood built -out was complete by the mid- 1970s. More than one
hundred residential subdivisions large and small were platted and developed between
1945 and 1975.
Until the 1920s, most residential subdivisions in Edina were relatively small and
suburban neighborhoods like Morningside tended to grow incrementally as adjoining
parcels of land were platted and built out. Most of the developers during the prewar
period operated on a modest scale and the homes within a given subdivision were built
by different independent Contra. c7tors (and sometimes by the owners themselves). The
first. large-scale subdivision was, the Country CIub:District of 550 lots platted by Thorpe
Bros. in 1924. Country Club was designed as a single neighborhood with a master plan
of ..development that included private: zoning controls (through restrictive. covenants) and
developer- financed utilities. Inspired in part by the success of Thorpe's Country Club
project, during the late 1930s several developers tried their hand of platting small
"estate" -type subdivisions aimed at the upper-middle' class housing market. Developers
like Merrill Hutchinson (Rolling Green and Hilldale, platted in 1936 and 1939,
respectively) and J. Frank Ecklund (White Oaks; 1936) were primarily dealers in land
rather than home; builders and competed in the market through the kinds of site
amenities they offered, such as spa_ cious lots, paved streets, sidewalks, trees, and
natural areas.
In contrast,. the postwar era was dominated by the so- called "community builders"
(i.e., corporate developers) who took advantage of government incentives to develop
large residential neighborhoods that were rapidly filled with mass - produced housing.18
Community builders were distinguished from traditional subdividers by their corporate
structure, which combined land acquisition, engineering and architectural services; .site
improvements, house construction and merchandising in the same firm; and by their
18 The Community Builders Council, founded. in 1942 under the aegis of the Urban Land. Institute, began to
codify the planning and design principles for large residential developments in the Community Builders
Handbook, first edition of which appeared in 1947.
19
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
adoption of industrialized home building techniques. Taking advantage of readily
available financing, streamlined methods of construction, and an unprecedented
demand for housing, these corporate developers laid out their subdivisions according to
FHA principles and were strong advocates of zoning regulation. These large -scale
developers viewed their business as selling neighborhoods, not land or houses.
Mid -20th century suburban subdivisions were planned communities and the first
urban planners were the subdividers themselves. All of Edina's postwar neighborhoods
bear the unmistakable imprint of a centuries -old American tradition of real estate
development to the extent that each subdivision was laid out by individuals or
corporations whose principal aim was profit: the fundamental design objective was to
maximize the amount of developable land. Until the 1930s, there were relatively few
legal constraints on private land development in Edina, no land use zoning, and almost
no public control over home building beyond some rudimentary sanitary and fire codes.
Nevertheless, the platting of subdivisions generally conformed to existing laws and
traditional practices. Land use zoning and building codes, which emerged in the 1920s
and were institutionalized in both Edina and Morningside in the 1930s, imposed
increasing restraints on developers. Much of the basic municipal planning framework
was shaped by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which established technical
standards and procedures that required developers to have detailed plans for their
subdivisions.
Before any development activity could occur, each new subdivision had to be
platted according to state and local laws then in effect. The first step in the platting
process involved the preparation of a written depiction of the lots, blocks, and reserves
created by the subdivision, accompanied by a plat of survey that showed the location
and boundaries of the individual parcels of land to be subdivided into lots, with streets
and easements drawn to scale. The subdivision plats were then submitted to village for
approval. Lot size varied between subdivisions, but the average residential lot covered
approximately one -fourth to one -third of an acre and had a street frontage of 50 feet,
except in the "estate" type subdivisions, where the building lots were bigger.
Subdivisions were given names to help market the development at the time the plat was
recorded. Postwar subdivisions generally had relatively modest, simple names which
sought to evoke a sense of exclusivity, sometimes reflecting some measure of historical
or physiographical context to the actual site. As Edina grew, the names of the larger
subdivisions and neighborhoods merged (Fig. 3).
The orthogonal plat, with its mechanically repeated geometric grid of rectangular
blocks, straight -line streets, and right -angle intersections, was the traditional
methodology for platting land for both residential and commercial development.
20
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
N
e Edina Neighborhoods W`8
oDW
Cwid Appm ed: Aprk W, 2013
Figure 3.Edina neighborhoods. City of Edina, 2013.
21
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Historically, the gridiron plat itself was a microcosm of the government land
survey that subdivided the public domain into perfectly square townships and sections.
Because the gridiron layout ignored topography, obliterated the semi -rural setting, and
left very little land for open space beyond the narrow boulevard strips within the street
rights of way, suburban developers turned to curvilinear streets, which reduced
development costs and were also better adapted to subdivisions with variegated
topography. First used in the Country Club District in the 1920s, the curvilinear
residential street pattern dominated in postwar residential subdivisions. Subdivision
regulations provided a hierarchical system of residential and collector streets that
emphasized separation between residential and commercial areas.
By the 1930s, the design of suburban subdivisions was largely in the hands of
professionals. Both Edina and Morningside employed village engineers in the 1920s
and the positions.were never left unfilled. While private developers employed their own
consulting engineers and land surveyors to make the plats of survey and create
whatever plans were necessary for various kinds of improvements, the village engineers
were responsible for setting the grades of streets, drawing up plans and specifications
for public utilities, and safeguarding the public health and safety. Site grading and
excavation work was carried out by private contractors under the direction of the_ village
engineer, who controlled and managed all work done within the public right of way
(streets, storm water drains, sanitary sewer, water, gas service, streetlights).
Morningside and Edina required building permits before any construction could
commence; the villages also adopted building codes and employed inspectors to ensure
that residential sewer and water connections were up to code.
Frank Lloyd Wright observed, "It is in the nature of the automobile that the city
spreads out thus and ,far away. "19 The first motorways between Minneapolis and Edina
followed the routes of 19th century roadways. During the streetcar era, France and
Vernon Avenues (both.. of which were originally laid out as wagon roads) became the
dominant north - south thoroughfares and the early suburban subdivisions established
the initial gridding ofilocal collector streets. The first modern expressway, State Highway
100, was. constructed through Edina in 1934 -41 as . part of a Twin Cities "belt -line"
highway.20 The Interstate 494 loop, built in 1959 - 1966, completed the system of arterial
routes designed _for mass commuting. In order to accommodate the massive influx of
people and their. cars, Edina home builders paid'- special attention to transportation
infrastructure. Municipal subdivision regulations required the plats of survey to locate all
public thoroughfares as well as lot lines; developers were also required to obtain village
19iAmerica Tomorrow," American Architect 141 (1950):145.
20 The segment of Highway.100 between old Trunk Highway 5 (now Interstate 494) and old U.S. Route 52 in
Robbinsdale was officially designated the "Lilac Way" and included extensive roadside landscaping (_mostly in St.
Louis Park).
22
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
approval for the naming of streets and the numbering of houses according to
standardized plans. Because older connecting streets often had to be reconstructed or
realigned to accommodate increased traffic, developers were forced to design their
subdivision projects in concert with state and local government transportation planners.
Within the subdivisions themselves, driveways and garages took up a great deal of
land, requiring developers to enlarge the size of their building lots or eliminate other
uses of residential yards (such as sidewalks and alleys).
Cars conquered suburbia and the extinction of Twin City streetcar system in the
early 1950s made automobile ownership a prerequisite for living the good. life in Edina.
Most postwar housing was equipped with some kind of shelter for storage of the family
automobile. Domesticated during the early 20th century, by the 1940s the garage had
evolved from a utilitarian shed for the family car into an essential, highly specialized
structure designed to architecturally compliment the owner's dwelling place. As built,
many of the houses constructed in Edina between 1935 and 1975 probably had
detached garages, usually set behind the house. These were typically wood -frame
structures built on concrete slabs, with small windows (to provide day - lighting) and
service doors (for pedestrian access and egress); the siding material sometimes,
though not always matched the cladding of the house. The most important design
characteristic was the door through which the car entered the garage .21 At least half the
houses built during this period were originally constructed with attached garages, design
trend that was first popularized by suburban home builders in the 1920s. The
prevalence of attached garages produced a major shift in the pattern of neighborhood
streetscapes; as residents increasingly came and went from their houses by car, the
interior door from the garage often became the most -used entrance, which in turn
affected use patterns in other parts of the house. Garages were originally designed to
shelter one car, but two -stall garages began to make their appearance in the 1950s and
were a standard feature on most new homes built after 1960. Steadily rising household
incomes, fueled in part by the increase in two- earner households, created an explosion
in car ownership and by the late -1960s the two -car garage was no longer an ideal but a
necessity for most Edina home owners. Today, the one -car garage is nearly extinct in
Edina; it is not uncommon to see a Cape Cod or Ranch style dwelling with its original
single -stall attached garage converted to living space and a newer attached two -car
garage built on the back side of the property.
"The folding overhead garage door with a steel track, invented in 1921, was more or less standard
equipment by midcentury; fiberglass, steel, and composites eventually replaced wood in the 1970s.
Electric garage door openers were available as early as the 1930s.
23
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Cultural geographer J. B. Jackson called the front yard "a national institution —
essential to every. home, like a Bible somewhere in the house. ,22 Every single - family
dwelling built in Edina since 1935 has had a front yard. After streets and_ houses, the
front yards dominate the environment of every mid -20th century residential
neighborhood. In the older subdivisions with narrower lots, front yards tended to be
small and functioned primarily as a buffer between the private realm of the house and
the public realm of the street. In the lower density, economically upscale subdivisions,
the more open plan of development and comparatively large building lots made the front
lawn a highly .visible and potent status symbol. During the initial phase of suburban
development, it was common practice for home owners to enclose their front yards with
fences —the image of the small suburban cottage surrounded by a white picket fence
epitomized the "dream house " imagined by most mid -20th century Americans —but
government regulations and changing architectural tastes compelled postwar home
builders in Edina to leave their front yards unfenced so as not to disturb the uniformity of
the neighborhood streetscape.
Backyard patios, lawns, barbeques, and children's play apparatus were cognate
with postwar suburban development and as such reflect a uniquely American, 20th
century mindset.23 Most Edina subdivisions were laid out with fairly expansive backyard
areas that provided space for outbuildings and accessory structures, as well as room for
the homeowners to indulge themselves in traditional suburban leisure activities such as
family play and gardening. Back and side yards usually started out as unfenced open
spaces but most owners eventually enclosed them with chain -link or wooden "privacy"
fences, either as a symbol of owner independence, or as defense against trespassers
and prying neighbors. The shift in focus in American popular culture from the front of the
house to the back can be traced to the bungalow era (circa 1900 -1925) and by the
1940s middle -class tastes in home design were running toward an. emphasis on
comfort, privacy, and personal recreation space. Architecturally, this trend manifested
itself in modern homes with informal floor plans, larger living rooms, basement "rumpus
rooms," and the virtual elimination of front porches. Borrowing the name from the paved
interior courtyards found in traditional Mediterranean villas, suburban home designers
applied the term patio to any paved area adjoining .a house. Most often placed in the
back, patios were the mid -20th century suburbanite's substitute for the traditional. front
porch. Secluded from the street (and from neighboring properties), patios were outfitted
2z "Ghosts at the Door," in Changing Rural Landscapes, ed. Ervin H. Zube and Margaret J. Zube (Amherst,
MA, 1977), 41.
23 Patios and patio furniture, backyard barbeques, swing sets and Jungle gyms all entered mainstream
suburban culture: previous to 1930 but did not become essential home fixtures until after 1950. Kettle
grills, picnic tables with attached benches, portable ice chests, and metal lawn chairs were patented and
on the market by the early 1950s.
24
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
with specialized furniture and other accouterments appropriate for lounging, casual
dining, and informal entertaining.
Postwar subdivisions have become synonymous with "sprawl" because of their
wasteful land use practices. One early critic summarized the inherent economic
inefficiencies of low- density suburban development:
When the new developments are scattered at random in the outlying areas, the
costs of providing services becomes excruciating. There is not only the cost of
running sewer and water main and storm drains out .to Happy Acres but much
more road, per family served, has to be. paved and maintained ... Sprawl also
means low value utility operation for the amount of installation involved.24
Edina's postwar neighborhoods could certainly be characterized generally as
Sprawling on the basis of their dominant land use patterns, which reflect all of the
common denominators. of urban sprawl: uniform low. density development, spatially
segregated land uses, poor street accessibility, transportation dominance by private
automobiles, and the lack of a downtown or other significant central district. However,
it cannot be said that Edina neighborhoods were developed without careful planning
and there was relatively little in the way of :leapfrog development or commercial strip
development. Perhaps a more- objective assessment would be that suburban
development patterns in Edina were no better or worse than in other inner -ring Twin
Cities suburbs in terms of everyday quality of life consequences. Indeed, some
community leaders have argued that Edina -style sprawl is a desirable form of suburban
development.
No one can argue that postwar development patterns did not have a negative
impact on natural ecosystems. Conventional land development in the postwar period
typically entailed a great deal of land clearing excavation, grading, and filling that
destroyed or at least severely damaged local ecosystems. Edina. includes extensive
areas of gently rolling land as well as some rough, hilly land where developers simply
bulldozed the swells, swales, ravines,-and wetland basins to make room for building lots
and streets. Serious soil erosion and 'surface water pollution problems developed,
countless micro- relief features were obliterated, and very little in the way of natural
vegetation survived. However, many kinds of birds and small mammals found the
suburban environment very much to their liking.. Edina's Whitetail deer population, for
example, though nearly extinct by the 1930s, achieved a remark_ able increase since the
1950s.
14William Whyte, The Exploding Metropolis (Garden City, NY, 1958),122. Whyte, a well -known urbanist,
is credited with popularizing the term "urban sprawl," which was the title of his article that appeared in the
December, 1959 issue of Fortune magazine.
25
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
ASSOCIATED PROPERTY TYPES
Postwar residential and commercial development occurred throughout all parts of
the city. The only extensive concentrations of high- density suburban housing which
pre -date the Second World, War are in the oldest sections of West Minneapolis Heights,
Morningside, South Harriet Park, and Country Club neighborhoods. Except for the
Country Club District (90 % built -out by the late 1930s), there was an abundance of
vacant, buildable lots available in the pre -war subdivisions when the wartime ban .on
new home construction was lifted in 1944.
The period of significance for this historic context is circa 1935 to 1975. Strictly
speaking, the postwar era began on the day of Japan's surrender, September 2, 1945,
but a good case can be made that several of the most important broad patterns of
postwar suburban development were already well underway in Edina. during the late
1930s. Edina experienced a dramatic surge in suburban development after the war and
the building boom spanned three decades. The conversion of vacant land to urban
development slowed after 1970, although opportunities existed for platting small
subdivisions in the western part of the city into the early 1990s. In 1975 the Metropolitan
Council adopted a Metropolitan Development Framework Guide that identified Edina as
a "fully developed" community.
Several generic property types link the themes discussed in the historic context
statement with actual heritage preservation resources on the ground. For preservation
planning purposes, suburban neighborhoods are ordinarily treated as potential historic
districts, i.e. groups of buildings and related landscape features that comprise a specific
environment with an identity of time and place. These districts may represent entire
platted subdivisions or portions thereof. It is unlikely that the boundaries of heritage
landmark districts will be coextensive with the boundaries of neighborhoods.
Edina's postwar neighborhoods are comprised :primarily of houses, functionally
related accessory. buildings such as garages, and domestic landscape features. The city
has a surprisingly diverse mix of neighborhoods that developed since the late
19thcentury, but the suburban landscape is dominated by residential subdivisions that
were platted and built -- out after circa 1935. The primary historic character . defining
elements of these neighborhoods include: detached single- family houses representing
common midcentury modern architectural styles and house types; the. physical layout of
the subdivisions, including the rhythm of house spacing and setbacks, lot size, street
pattern, roadway width; the relationship of garages and driveways to dwellings;
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
residential landscaping; and adherence to standardized subdivision design and home
building practices.
The basic organizational unit of the suburban neighborhood is the subdivision
(Fig. 4). Each subdivision represents a powerful spatial protocol based on a highly
standardized planning template. Most of the city's postwar neighborhoods have no
natural boundaries: highways and `major collector streets provide the only well- defined
edges. Land, use is highly segregated and residential neighborhoods contain only
dwellings, except for a diffused scatter of schools and churches. The layout of most
subdivisions is generally unchanged since they were originally platted and built out.
Zoning regulations appear to have been effective, since in most of the older
neighborhoods there are relatively few non - conforming properties. A typical mid -20th
century residential neighborhood is -fairly densely built up and well served by public
utilities. streets, which connect the private with the public domain and also link the
different parts of the city, play an 'important role in molding the historic character of
neighborhoods and comprise more than one -fourth of the land area within a typical
residential subdivision. Street patterns are conventional: simple rectangular grids in the
older neighborhoods, curvilinear,loops and cul -de -sacs in the subdivisions that were laid
out during: the 1950s and i 1960s (Fig. 5). Local streets play an important role in
determining the form of residential neighborhoods. (and the community as a whole) and
their cultural landscape characteristics (width, geometry, surfacing materials,
destinations) reflect well documented national and regional trends in land use planning,
landscape architecture, :transportation technology, and civil engineering. Although most
postwar neighborhoods are not particularly well ' connected with the rest of the city,
Edina residents have ready access to arterial streets that allow moderate driving time to
any point within the greater Minneapolis area as well as the trunk and interstate
highway systems. The lack of connectivity encourages the use of cars over other travel
modes, even for relatively short trips. Traffic congestion has vexed city officials since
the 1940s. 25
Most of the city's postwar neighborhoods have been built -out for decades and
the amount of .vacant land remaining is very small. Historic fabric consists primarily of
the houses, which constitute the essential character- defining feature of each
neighborhood: The housing stock is dominated by detached, one- and two -story,
detached. single- family dwellings that sit on narrow, rectangular lots. Almost without
exception,, every house has a garage, either attached or detached. In the older tract
house subdivisions, the houses were built side by side in neat rows with more or less
ZsThere is little or no empirical evidence to suggest that street patterns have measurable effects on the
sociability of a neighborhood, although there are demonstrable "quality of life" .impacts from increased
traffic congestion.
27
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
��uthdal�
Figure 4. Example of Edina subdivision plat. Southdale First Addition, platted by
Thorpe Bros. in 1953. From a sales brochure in the possession of Bob Moore.
28
r
Fj
100 PLANNING FoR RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS
014GUM 12. TH98111GIEW""10-UM I1! f116 06UM010M PArTmn
Figure 6 Standard suburban street patterns.
From the 1932 report of the Committee on
Subdivision Layout of the President's
Conference on Home Building and Home
Ownership.
A
29
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
46 PLANNING FOR XF--MENTLAL DISTRICTS
Mal
N.
W
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mc:?
Figure 6 Standard suburban street patterns.
From the 1932 report of the Committee on
Subdivision Layout of the President's
Conference on Home Building and Home
Ownership.
A
29
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
46 PLANNING FOR XF--MENTLAL DISTRICTS
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
uniform setbacks and the visual impression is of a linear agglomeration of small houses
jammed shoulder to shoulder. While examples of nearly all of the mainstream
architectural styles are found in Edina, postwar domestic architecture is dominated by
modern vernacular forms. Architectural historians have delineated several generic
classifications for contractor -built house forms built between the 1930s and the 1970s,
of which the Minimal Traditional, Cape Cod, Ranch, and Split -Level predominate in
Edina.26 Minimal Traditional houses first appeared in Edina during the late 1930s as
infill construction in Country Club and Morningside neighborhoods, and this type of
house remained popular with local builders well into the 1950s.A few architect- designed
Cape Cod style residences were built in Edina in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In the
hands of local contractors, the Cape Cod house form quickly became the mainstay of
early postwar tract house developers, whose marketing usually emphasized its
"charming" and "cozy" qualities. The Ranch house form (also popularly known as the
"rambler" or "rancher ") dominated postwar suburban housing nationwide, making up
nearly two- thirds of all new single- family dwellings built between 1945 and 1970.27 Not
surprisingly, it was the "dream house" of choice in Edina, where it. sheltered every class
of suburbanite. Starting in the late 1960s, local builders began to fill out their
subdivisions with their versions of Split -Level and Neo- Colonial homes. All of Edina's
postwar residential neighborhoods have experienced gentrification and the teardown
trend has accelerated city -wide since the late 1990s. Most of the pre -1975 housing
stock appears to be structurally sound and well maintained. However, a relatively small
proportion of the houses constructed between 1935 and 1.975 are in deteriorated
condition (chiefly due to deferred maintenance).
Within a given postwar neighborhood, groups of buildings and their associated
landscape elements may sometimes comprise a specific historic environment that
conveys a sense of time and place. In cultural resource management, these
assemblages of heritage resources are referred to as streetscapes. In most of Edina's
mid -20th century residential neighborhoods the street pattern itself is of historical interest
to the extent that it is. an artifact of the original subdivision plat and establishes the basic
framework for neighborhood development. Residential streets tend to- be narrow,
straight or curvilinear, and tree - lined, and their alignment, width, grade, and surface
materials define the viewshed along blocks of houses. As such, the streets exert a great
influence over the three - dimensional pattern of space. The oldest subdivisions were
laid out with a square or oblong grid of straight streets (a geometric pattern inherently
inefficient for traffic. flow). In contrast, most postwar developments were platted with
26 The design characteristics of the common Edina postwar house types are addressed as part of the
Midcentury Modern architecture in Chapter IV.
27 United States Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1996 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1997), 714.
30
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
curvilinear street patterns, consisting of long blocks with loops and cul -de -sacs (better
adapted to the automobile).28 Other elements of the neighborhood circulation system,
particularly front walkways and driveways, also contribute to historic character and
possess important historical associations in their own right. Residential streets and
driveways are today paved with bituminous asphalt or concrete and only the older
neighborhoods are served with alleys. Typically, postwar developers did not provide
public sidewalks within the boulevards along residential streets. The only street
furniture consists of regularly- spaced streetlights, street signs, traffic signs, and fire
hydrants —very little of this infrastructure appears to be over fifty years old, however.
Landscaping on residential lots also reflects historical and cultural influences.
Indeed, the history of the lawn and other aspects of suburban vernacular landscape
architecture are intertwined with suburban material culture. For example, the traditional
means of expanding the living area of a postwar suburban home was to build an
outdoor patio adjacent to one of the exterior walls. Most patios were poured concrete
slabs until the 1970s, when concrete and brick pavers became popular. The first decks
made of treated lumber may have been constructed as early as the 1960s and
thousands of homes were eventually retrofitted with raised, open -air structures in a
variety of configurations. Like patios, decks were often built by do- it- yourselfers.
Homeowners were also their own landscape gardeners, planting flower beds,
shrubbery, and shade trees entirely at their personal discretion. Ornamental plantings in
yards are typical of suburban -home ground planting styles that evolved during the
second half of the 20th century. Nearly every subdivision home probably had planting
beds around the foundation walls filled with flowers and shrubs. A good deal of this
outdoor art was not informed by any particular school of landscape architecture; the
choice and arrangement of the various plants was entirely a matter of personal taste
and fashions changed. Judging from aerial photographs flown during the 1940s and
1950s, home vegetable gardens were also a feature of many postwar homes — perhaps
a legacy of the World War II "victory garden" movement, but more likely another
middleclass manifestation of the good life in suburbia. Developers were not initially
required to provide street trees in their subdivisions and tree planting was the
responsibility of property owners or homeowner associations. Throughout the city,
boulevard plantings consisting of deciduous trees represent an essential structural
component of historic streetscapes.
A massive amount of urban infrastructure, some of it quite old, lies embedded
within Edna's postwar neighborhoods in the form of a tangled web of pipes, mains,
lines, conduits, standpipes, catch basins, and maintenance covers. While Edina's
28The convention gridiron plat consumed as much as 35% of a subdivision's area for streets, while a
curvilinear pattern typically left around 75% of buildable area.
31
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
earliest suburban residents obtained their water from private wells, by 1940 most of the
developed part of the village was connected to the Minneapolis municipal water system.
Postwar subdivisions were supplied from the deep wells and reservoirs built as part of
the municipal waterworks system established in 1936. On -site wastewater disposal was
the norm outside of Country Club (which had its own sanitary sewer system) until 1939,
when suburban neighborhoods in Edina and Morningside were connected to the
metropolitan sewer system. Subdivisions platted after 1940 were required to provide
sanitary sewer connections to all of the homes built. It would be reasonable to expect to
encounter original sections of underground water mains and sewer pipes when
excavating for new utilities. Because much of Edina was developed for agriculture
before the mid -20th century, it is likely that the remains of 19th and early 20th century
farmsteads also lie buried underneath modern -day neighborhoods where they may
uncovered during new building construction.
The Edina Heritage Landmark program (like the National Register of Historic
Places) is based on the concepts of historic significance, historic context, and historic
integrity that are used to determine whether or not a heritage resource is. eligible for
designation. Historic significance refers to the importance of a heritage resource in
terms of its historical, architectural, archaeological, or cultural values. Significance may
be achieved by association with events that have made a significant contribution to the
broad patterns of state, local, or national history (Criterion A); by association with the
lives of persons significant in our past (Criterion B); by embodying the distinctive
characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or by representing the work
of a master, or possessing high artistic values, or representing a significant and
distinguishable entity whose components lack individual. distinction (Criteria C); or by
yielding, or having the potential to yield, important historical, architectural, or
archaeological data.
;Postwar residential and commercial neighborhoods represent an important
aspect of, Edina's heritage as a first -ring suburb; therefore, the significance of a given
neighborhood will .most often need to be evaluated under Criteria A and C. However,
just as not everything that is old is worth' preserving, every postwar residential
neighborhood in Edina is not going to be considered historically significant simply on the
basis. of its association with the broad pattern of 20t, h century suburban development.
To qualify for Edina Heritage Landmark designation, the association itself must be
important and such an evaluation .must be based on, the information assembled by a
survey that documents the direct connections between a neighborhood and a specific
historical event, theme, or property type.
32
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Mid -20th century residential neighborhoods contain diverse assemblages of
houses, some of which may be individually significant as exemplars of a design, period,
or method of construction that reflects the physical development of a particular
neighborhood. Until relatively recently, the common forms of postwar domestic
architecture were largely ignored by preservationists. "They're ugly and plain and they
represent the beginnings of sprawl, the sworn enemy of historic preservation ... cookie -
cutter architecture, devoid of individuality or design, and they were spewed out by the
thousands !,'29 Notwithstanding this deeply held bias, the 1950s ramblers and 1960s
split -level houses are gaining respect as cultural resources worthy of study and
preservation. The overwhelming majority of these buildings were not designed by
professional architects or master builders. However, the best preserved but otherwise
architecturally undistinguished houses may warrant consideration for landmark
designation as examples of important vernacular building types.
Like many other 20th century resources, the heritage values of public works
infrastructure has often been overlooked, if not dismissed outright, when the
preservation of historic neighborhoods has been considered. Mainstream
preservationists generally have found little historical value in underground utilities or
residential streets. Underground infrastructure represents a potential landscape
archaeology resource whenever undisturbed utility structures are preserved in situ and
their examination leads to important information that would otherwise be unobtainable.
In order to .qualify for designation as an Edina Heritage Landmark District, a
postwar neighborhood must meet one of the heritage landmark eligibility criteria and
retain historic integrity of those physical attributes necessary to convey its significance.
Heritage resource surveys are an important planning tool because they provide the
basis for evaluating historic integrity. As part of its comprehensive plan, the City of
Edina expects to complete surveys of the entire city by the year 2030. This process will
include developing neighborhood -level historic context statements against which
individual buildings and groups of historically related buildings can be evaluated. To
assemble an inventory of postwar neighborhoods worthy of consideration in the
planning process, the survey will need to be conducted in two phases: a
reconnaissance to characterize an area's heritage resources in general, followed by
intensive survey to document all of the historic properties within the boundaries of a
given neighborhood. The Heritage Preservation Board will need to prioritize the
neighborhoods to be surveyed based on several factors, including the age of the
community, the association with significant themes in Edina history, and the availability
2'George Kramer, "Listening to Lily: Why We Should Preserve the Recent Past," The Alliance Review
[newsletter of the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions] (January- February, 2004):4. The "Lily"
in the title refers to comedian Lily Tomlin, who once quipped that, "maybe if people started to listen,
history would stop repeating itself."
33
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
of resources needed to conduct the surveys. The survey results should be incorporated
into the city's heritage resource management system to ensure that planners and policy
makers have access to the information. The benchmark for the comprehensive survey
of postwar residential neighborhoods should be a 100% reconnaissance -level
investigation of all subdivisions platted and built out prior to ca. 1975. Intensive surveys
should be carried out in neighborhoods where over 50% of the buildings date from the
period of historical significance (circa 1945 to 1975)— intensive surveys will.. not be
required in neighborhoods where less than 50% of the standing structures date from the
period of.significance.
Evaluating historic integrity in postwar neighborhoods will be .a challenging task.
The vast size of the .postwar housing stock makes 'intensive survey a 1 `,daunting
prospect — individual neighborhoods may contain thousands of homes ...built from a
relatively small design palette. All of Edina's neighborhoods have changed, over time
and very few were architecturally homogeneous when they were initially developed.
Changes in physical characteristics do not necessarily mean that a neighborhood is not
worthy of preservation as a landmark district; however, if a neighborhood or streetscape
no longer retains enough historic fabric to convey its association with historic events, it
is not eligible for heritage landmark designation. Properties that are integral parts of a
potential neighborhood historic district do not need to be individually eligible for
designation; however, it is important to recognize that a majority of the properties within
a proposed district must retain the authenticity of physical characteristics which illustrate
the historical and architectural significance of the neighborhood.
In addition to historic resources, a postwar suburban neighborhood eligible for
Heritage Landmark designation will comprise buildings, structures, sites, or areas that
do not contribute to the significance of the district. The number of noncontributing.
properties a district can contain yet still convey its sense of time and place depends on
how these properties affect the district's integrity. For example, some neighborhoods
contain properties built after 1975 which reflect the same historical and architectural
themes as traditional postwar housing and represent a continuation of the same pattern.
of development. In cases where these later houses make up only a small part of the
district, and reflect the postwar neighborhood historic context, they should be
considered contributing heritage resources.
Although there are many well maintained and respectfully preserved suburban
homes in Edina's postwar neighborhoods, a high proportion of the city's postwar
housing stock has been altered from its original appearance. Indeed, many of the
homes built between 1935 and 1975 have been "re- muddled" almost beyond
recognition. Most of the smaller houses, for example, have been enlarged with
34
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
additions, and much of this new construction is not compatible with the architectural
character of the original buildings. Literally thousands of vintage houses have been
covered over in whole or in part with simulated stone, brick veneer, stucco, aluminum or
vinyl siding. Some of the materials used in postwar buildings also present special
challenges for preservation. Many of the common products used in building
construction have proved to be hazardous (e.g., asbestos) or unstable (e.g., some kinds
of fiberglass). In many cases, it is neither appropriate nor technically feasible for
property owners to replace them in -kind. In such a context, a contiguous grouping of
well - preserved Cape Cod or Ranch style homes with their original exterior siding intact
may possess exceptional significance because they represent such a scarce resource.
Representative neighborhood streetscapes comprising one or more blocks of
houses may qualify as significant cultural landscapes under Criteria A and C when they
comprise an intact, functionally and historically related whole. Streetscapes must
represent a significant and distinguishable entity, though the components need not
possess individual distinction for the multi - property assemblage to qualify for landmark
status as a district or site. With respect to postwar neighborhood landscape features
such as street patterns, sidewalks, and open space areas, an important factor to be
considered when evaluating historic integrity is the effect of recent infrastructure
improvements on the built environment of the neighborhood as a whole.
35
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
CHAPTER IV
MIDCENTURY MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPES
The historic context Midcentury Modern Architecture and Landscapes is a sub-
unit of the city -wide first -tier study unit, The Suburban Landscape. The focus is on
specific property types. It is intended to be used to guide future reconnaissance and
intensive level surveys and will inform heritage preservation resource evaluations
involving individual buildings and landscape features. The study unit will undoubtedly
need to be refined, modified, and updated as more midcentury modern heritage
resources are identified and recorded.
HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT
The term "midcentury modern" has been used to describe various 201h century
architectural movements that combine functionalism with an aesthetic ideology that
rejects historical precepts. Architectural historians and preservationists generally agree
that the midcentury modern "period" began in the early 1920s and ended in the late
1960s. Locally, modern architecture was predominant in both domestic'and commercial
building from the 1930s through the 1970s, and many buildings characteristic of the
midcentury modern styles continued to be constructed in Edina into the 21St century.3o
Designers and builders working in the Twin Cities region began to experiment
with Modern architecture shortly after the turn of the 20th century, but the idiom was not
widely popular in the suburbs until after World War II. The first Modern house style
adopted by local builders was a hybrid of early 20th century eclecticism that architectural
historians have named the Minimal Traditional (Fig. 6). Widely built in suburban
subdivisions throughout the country, it was derived from the Period Revival and
Bungalow. movements, but lacked the decorative detailing found on Craftsman,
Colonial, and Tudor styled homes. The basic design concept (which owed a debt to the
federal government's expanded role in the design of houses) emphasized simplicity,
function, and affordability, and the use of modern materials and construction
techniques. A small house built to FHA standards, the Minimal Traditional house was
typically one or one - and -a -half stories and gable- roofed, with an open floor plan. Wall
cladding was usually wood lap siding, sometimes with brick veneer trim; until it was
30The architectural classifications used herein have been adapted from the following standard reference
works: Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York, 1984); and Carole
Rifkind, A Field Guide to American Architecture (New York, 1980). The term style is used here to
describe a definite type of architecture that can be distinguished from others by its morphological
characteristics, i.e., form, massing, structure, and ornamental details; it encompasses both academic
periods and vernacular building forms.
36
c7Ae C(dale •
('4% RE t'.% 1JED To %tIEN R00US
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mij--11 fwltil%. dw JULUrr ►N-wld flour roopie anti added
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Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
4 4 44
, .
N
()[(I( INAL IMME
Y
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tea �IICV'b I'Lk-A PLAN pse cu. fl-.
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Ja'I FLINO ft 4% of add—, '64-0— Gonters'al to 20d Floor ......
IKV B'd Rooms. B..0tat .......
28 r.
Figure 6. Minimal Traditional style house. From a catalog of house plans published by
the National Plan Service, 1956.
37
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
banned in 1973, asbestos cement siding was also common .31 The earliest examples in
Edina appear to have been built in the late 1930s as infill construction in the Country
Club District and other older subdivisions, but the style was a favorite of postwar
developers and a significant number were built in newly platted subdivisions until the
mid- 1950s. Some of these houses may have been architect - designed. Designers
affiliated with the Architects' Small House Service Bureau, a consortium of architects
and engineers founded in Minneapolis after World War I, were responsible for several
custom -built homes built in Edina for middleclass clients in the 1930s. Because Minimal
Traditional style houses are often misidentified as examples of the Ranch or Cape Cod
styles, some architectural historians prefer to classify them as unstyled.
Next in chronological order is the Cape Cod (Fig. 7), a distinctly American house
type that traced its conceptual roots to the colonial New England folk house building
tradition. In its 20th century suburban context, however, the Cape Cod reflected the
industrialization of home building and the modern vernacular aesthetic. The contractor -
built house was the mainstay of suburban developers nation -wide between circa 1935
and 1955; Edina home builders turned them out by the hundreds and marketed them as
starter homes for young families and returning servicemen. Real estate advertising
invariably emphasized the Cape Cod's "charming" and "cozy" qualities. The typical
Cape Cod in Edina is a compact, one -story house with a steeply pitched gable roof, a
small projecting entry porch or vestibule, and dormers. As built, most offered two or
three bedrooms and less than 800 square feet of living space. Judging from old
photographs, the typical Edina Cape Cod started out nearly devoid of exterior
ornamentation, although some local builders embellished their houses With picturesque
wood shake siding, divided light "colonial" windows, brick chimneys, and decorative
shutters. In the hands of architects such as Royal Barry Wills, the colonial era prototype
also provided the conceptual basis for several high - style, custom -built homes built in
Edina during the 1930s and 1940s.
Postwar suburban residential development in all parts of the United States was
dominated by the Ranch, also popularly known as the Rambler (Fig. 8). It was the style
of choice among Edina home builders from the 1950s through the 1970s.32 The design
concept for the "rambling" one -story house evolved out of the Craftsman bungalow
movement in southern California during the 1920s. Some of the pre -war specimens
show the influence of the Spanish Colonial Revival and Frank Lloyd Wright's "Usonian"
31Asbestos siding (made of asbestos fibers mixed with Portland cement) was first introduced in the 1920s
and widely promoted by the insurance industry and the FHA for its fire protection qualities. During World
War II, the government exempted asbestos shingles and siding from wartime limits on building materials
to encourage home repairs.
32 The U.S. Bureau of the Census estimates that two - thirds of all the new single - family houses built
between 1945 and 1970 were ranch style houses.
im
K'-626 I CAPE COD EXTERIOR
SIX ROOM PLAN
if
Jr 11P
I'L
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Featuring in exterior of Calve Cod lines, here is a home that is well suilrd
to flip larger family. Tim, first floor plan includes a large living rtxjni
that runs full (It-pill of the house. dining room, kitt-h•n and lavatory.
There is plenty of closet I;pa(r t1irouglintit and one of t1jr, t1irm
bedroijins un the second floor will accommodate twin b(,d-.
A large porch completes (li• plan.
DATA
Li,;rrq A,00, Balls Floor, — 1,468 1q. It.
IV 0'
'F
e.
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HALL
. kL.--
VMS, FL0011 ►AN
bl',p,inl plain — —ijehl. for .11 h.— d1.,i-1,d i�
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Page 26
I Tz-
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SECOND fLOOR PLAN
Figure 7. Cape Cod style house. From a catalog of house plans Published by the
National Plan Service, 1948.
39
6
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AI.
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Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
m-3551
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Figure 8. Ranch style house. From a catalog of house plans published by the National
Plan Service, 1955.
w
f'D
LIVING RCOM
;--5:- 4u,,-356c!;7
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
m-3551
RUM
I w
lip
• Inige 17
Figure 8. Ranch style house. From a catalog of house plans published by the National
Plan Service, 1955.
w
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
house. The first Ranch style houses built in Edina probably date from around 1940 and
it took several years for the West Coast import to catch on with local developers.33 The
vast majority of the ranch houses in Edina were built from standardized plans, which
made it ideal for tract house subdivisions wherein developers strove to keep costs low
by offering a narrow range of housing styles. Some of the early tract house versions
were quite small and lacked attics or basements. Developers compensated for the
compact interiors by providing relatively large areas for outdoor living, typically in the
form of patios (replacing the traditional porch) attached to the back of the house for
privacy. The property type is characterized by its asymmetrical massing, single -story
elevation, low pitch hip or gable roof, and informal floor plan that separated the
bedrooms from the multi - purpose living areas. The simple configuration of the rooms
was intended to create a feeling of spaciousness and comfort throughout the house.
The different ranch house models were highly standardized but nevertheless offered
variations in orientation, siding, and roof shape. Picture windows were nearly
ubiquitous. Garages were originally built as detached or attached structures — typically
single -stall as built and later enlarged to hold two or more cars. Exterior wall cladding
was usually wood, brick veneer, or a mix of materials. Aluminum siding, invented in the
late 1930s, became standard in new house construction by the 1960s.34 Exterior
ornamentation was usually muted, but the Ranch house lent itself to myriad facade
improvisations (new siding, window treatments). One of the most potent symbols of the
American Dream, Ranch style houses sheltered every class of Edina resident, from the
families of blue - collar factory workers to the managerial elite.
In order to expand the amount of living space but still keep residential lots small,
developers adopted the Split -Level style (some builders referred to it as a "split- ranch"
or "raised ranch ") in the 1960s (Fig. 9). Some architectural historians see the origins of
the Split -Level in the early -20th century houses designed by Wright and other Prairie
School practitioners. The split -level house form is basically a two- or three -level building
with the main floor levels oriented adjacent to each other and lower level constructed
partially below grade. The half -story difference in elevation gives the house its
distinctive asymmetrical, split -entry profile. The placement of rooms with different
functions on different levels (living room and kitchen on the main floor, bedrooms on the
upper level, with family room and extra bedrooms in the basement) provided for spatial
33Cliff May (1909- 1989), a self- taught architect and developer, is credited with inventing the California
Ranch style house circa 1932; he claimed to have designed over 18,000 "rambling" suburban houses that
were built in the suburbs of Los Angeles and San Diego between the 1930s and 1960s.
34 The modern version of baked enamel coated aluminum siding was invented by Frank Hoss for use in
Chicago subdivisions before the start of World War II. Retail sales in the Twin Cities area appear to have
begun circa 1947. Sears, Roebuck had offered an embossed steel siding product as early as the late
1920s.
41
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
separation between public and private areas. Kitchens actually shrank in size, despite
being
k 60^
r
1'nl � 4
AN EASY 111VTNC'
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u11110l.•tri d..ig11 in.Aulr. a Y. n.h. alfil••.•ul l., IL•• 461111tH an•t1 caul n p1 "%
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1116.•1 ..anf.Kt f.whifs ..t Il+i, 1 -111t• an• 111w d.ti %11N11 tvin >.•nr a, a
Illll /l 6-drl %VII. 11 nlvitid. mull 4116 and -1 K"If ilHitnkd let 11r.•
uple•r level. Gaaler. (nnrulry 11nd 1;tur_tKe nt'rws un• 11aAAA 191
Ila' 1mver 11'114
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t)AEA
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-r
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►IPn1 PI! avPP9l1C IYllne P. 4hnwn M IA !P+"M Pv.:110 n,
Figure 9. Split -level style house. From a catalog of house plans published by the
National Plan Service, 1955.
42
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
crammed with appliances; and the basement recreation room (a 1960s innovation made
possible by the Split -Level house form) became the new family gathering place. The
typical Edina split -level has a low pitch gable roof with wide eaves and the same wall
cladding and fenestration seen in ranch style houses. Because split - levels were
marketed to more upscale buyers, however, there is usually more decorative detailing,
usually derived from the Colonial or Tudor modes. Wall cladding was wood, brick
veneer, steel or aluminum siding, occasionally stucco. An attached garage is often
found in the lower level., facing the street. The style was particularly well adapted to
sites with sloping topography. One of the most popular types of contractor -built housing
associated with postwar suburban development, the Split -Level entered pop culture
iconography as the "Brady Bunch" house.35
Edina's suburban landscape is dotted with an assortment of two -story houses
commonly identified as "Colonial," "Tudor" or "Mediterranean" homes, most of which are
sited on half -acre or larger lots in platted subdivisions. Very few of these houses can be
regarded as authentic specimens of any particular Period Revival style (Colonial
Revival, Tudor, etc.); most are modernistic houses embellished with nostalgic features
borrowed from earlier times. Although the Period Revival movement faded in popularity
after the Great Depression, the architectural heritage of Anglo- American, English, and
French design traditions continued to influence suburban home building in the decades
following World War II. Prospective Edina homeowners interested in traditionally styled
houses took their inspiration from the plans published in popular magazines and
architectural pattern books. There was no shortage, apparently, of local architects and
contractors willing to take on these kinds of custom -build projects. The result was a set
of vernacular houses that are probably best categorized as examples of the Contractor
Modern vernacular design tradition, sometimes referred to in the literature as "Neo -
Eclectic" architecture. The Neo- Colonial house form loosely based on the Garrison
House prototype seems to have enjoyed the greatest popularity among Edina builders.
Developers became increasingly aware of the marketability of Neo - Colonial, Neo -
French Provincial, and Neo -Tudor houses during the late 1960s and 1970s.
A small number of modernistic Art Moderne influenced houses appear to have
been built in Edina during the 1920s and 1930s. They are distinguished by their
asymmetrical facades, smooth wall surfaces, curved corners, and flat roofs. Postwar
houses in the International style are quite rare —Le Corbusier's notion of the house as a
"machine for living" apparently never gained much traction with Edina home builders.
Functionalist contemporary designs derived from the so- called American International
style became somewhat more popular for architect - designed homes during the 1960s
35 The North Hollywood house in the San Fernando Valley where the exteriors were shot for the ABC
television series (1969 -74) was built in 1959; see the article about the house (which is recognized as a
local heritage landmark) in the Los Angeles Times, September 26, 1994.
43
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
and 1970s. These boldly shaped, geometrical houses typically exhibit large expanses
of glass and have open floor plans. They generally eschew traditional domestic
architecture forms and detailing (some lack exterior ornamentation altogether), although
some examples show the influence of the Prairie School and other eclectic styles. An
unknown number of Edina's Contemporary styled houses were designed by trained
architects and some show the influence of Richard Neutra, Robert Venturi, and other
prominent modern ist.designers.
With respect to commercial architecture, the Modern era manifested itself in the
International style that was introduced into the United States during the 1930s.36
Although a handful of streamlined Art Moderne and Art Deco styled commercial
buildings were erected in Edina and Morningside during the 1930s, postwar commercial
architecture was dominated by vernacular forms, some of which showed the influence
of the International style, a functionalist aesthetic that sometimes goes under the name
Corporate International or Corporate Modernism. Most of the office buildings and stores
built between the 1940s and 1960s appear to have been based on standardized
designs and featured large expanses of masonry, flat roofs, and minimal exterior
ornamentation. The defining characteristics of the Corporate International style include
simple geometric forms (often rectilinear), reinforced concrete and steel construction,
smooth unadorned wall surfaces (typically glass or stucco), glass curtain walls, the
absence of exterior ornamentation and decoration, cantilevered upper levels, and metal
window frames (often in horizontal bands) set flush with'the exterior walls.
The primary materials used in the construction of mid -20th century buildings were
wood and masonry. Most houses (as well as many commercial buildings) were wood
framed with sawn dimension lumber and boards. Interiors were trimmed with a variety of
milled and preformed wood products. Softwood lumber was the primary raw material for
general purpose construction, including framing, siding, and flooring. Historically, two
types of light -frame construction were most widely used in suburban home building:
balloon (which was used almost exclusively until the 1940s) and platform framing. The
principal use of hardwood lumber was for flooring and millwork in the "public" spaces
within houses. Buildings constructed after 1935 also contain.a variety of manufactured
wood products such as plywood, waferboard, particleboard, hardboard, and fiberboard.
Drywall (also known as sheetrock, gypboard, and plasterboard) began to replace lath
and plaster for walls and ceilings.. in the 1920s and the cement versions of gypsum
drywall were widely used by postwar home builders for bathrooms. Wall paneling
consisting of sheets of hardboard, particleboard, or plywood covered with a thin layer of
36The stylistic. classification "International" was supposedly coined by Philip Johnson and Henry - Russell
Hitchcock for their International Exhibition of Modern Architecture, held at the Museum of Modern Art in
New York City in 1932.
44
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
decorative paper became popular after 1945; plastic laminate wall paneling eventually
replaced' manufactured wood paneling in the 1950s.3'
Suburban housing construction was a major user of concrete, like wood an
ancient building material that was cheap 'and flexible. Most houses were built with
basement walls made of hollow concrete block, which had been available since the
early 1900s in a wide variety of shapes and finishes. By the 1930s, however, rock -face
or rusticated concrete block had fallen out of favor and replaced by plain, smooth -faced
block: manufactured in standard sizes. Although every house was built upon concrete
footings, relatively few Edina houses were constructed with cast -in -place concrete walls,
though exposed concrete was sometimes used as a design element in some high -style
modernistic homes. Artificial stone that imitated natural stone masonry played a role in
the changing aesthetics of suburban housing beginning in the 1930s, but Perma- Stone,
Rostone, and other simulated stone products were apparently not widely used in Edina.
Houses with load- bearing sidewalls made of solid brick are rare, but brick veneer was
Widely used for wall cladding after 1935. Postwar builders tended to use brick primarily
for decorative trim, fireplace -chimneys,�-and fancy work. Stucco, which became popular
during the early 1900s, was widely used -as wall cladding for houses constructed before
World War II; however, the predominant postwar suburban house forms were Inot:tas
heavily 'dependent'on stucco. It continued to be a very popular choice for modernistic
commercial buildings up to the present day. A. tremendous amount of concrete and
bituminous asphalt. was used to pave residential driveways.
Postwar home builders made widespread use, of many other construction
materials, some traditional and others representing recent technological innovations.
Aluminum production soared during the war and aluminum siding for houses began to
be manufactured on a commercial. scale in the 1950s; it was also widely used for
windows, doors, and trim work. The earliest materials used for attic and wall insulation
were fiberglass; mineral wool, and fiberboard. Cellulose insulation, spray- applied foam,
and .insulated panels began to, be widely used in the 1970s. Ceramic wall and floor tile
was more. common in custom -built homes than in tract houses. The floors in the living
areas of the typical- Ranch: "or Split- Level house were nearly always carpeted. Custom
homes were, more likely to feature hardwood or softwood. Vinyl flooring was not widely
used until the 1970s. Window technology also made important advances after the
1930s. Wooden double -hung sash windows were standard equipment .for suburban
houses until the 1960s, but eventually gave way to casement and sliding windows with
metal frames. Fixed windows, a common suburban house fixture since'the . Victorian
37Plywood, fiberboard, drywall, and laminated paneling are examples of materials that were invented in
the early 1900s but not widely used in home building until after World War II.
45
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
era, did not become the modern -day picture window until the 1940s.38 Thermal pane
` windows were first introduced in 1935 but were not commonly used in all classes of
residential construction until the late 1960s.
The postwar period saw the rapid development of new domestic heating,
ventilating, and air conditioning systems. Edina. housed built after 1935 were generally
heated by hot air, hot water, or steam systems. The older homes would have been
heated with coal, but by the 1930s most of the new houses being built in the Twin Cities
suburbs were equipped with furnaces that burned either gas or fuel oil. The Twin Cities
were connected to the interstate natural gas pipeline system in 1934; however,, it was
not until 1947 that.the Minneapolis Gas Company.(MinneGasCo) switched to natural
gas from coal gas. The modern forced -air furnace that moved warm air into the rooms
of a house through sheet metal ductwork was introduced for residential use in 1935 and
quickly became the dominant home heating system. During the warm weather months,
houses were cooled with electric fans, a home appliance as old as electrification. A
handful of homes in Edina's Country Club District were built with air conditioning in the
late 1920s and 1930s, but the technology was beyond the reach of most middleclass
families until the 1950s, when the first through- window air conditioners became
commercially available. Many postwar vintage homes were eventually retrofitted with
central air conditioning.
An understanding of Edina's mid -20th century is incomplete without an
appreciation of suburban landscapes. Perhaps the most important types of suburban
landscapes are residential subdivisions and home grounds (already discussed in the
previous chapter). Except for some formal gardens, .the art of landscape . architecture
was limited mostly, to _transportation corridors and parks. Highway 100, Interstate
Highway 494, and the Crosstown Freeway (County Road 62) are engineered historic
landscapes that strongly contributed to suburban development. Along with local streets,
the highways dominate the pattern of spatial organization within the city limits. Each
highway corridor forms a cohesive linear built environment that.includes the roadway,
bridges, abutments, retaining walls,. culverts, lighting fixtures, and signs. Local streets
bear the unmistakable imprint of government planning, although there is relatively little
in .the way of roadside landscaping other than street trees, street lights, signs, and fire
hydrants. The entrances to some subdivisions are marked with signs or monuments.
The proliferation of gasoline service stations, motels, stores; and restaurants within
these corridors marked important aspects of the automobile's impact on everyday life.
38Oversized "cottage" or "front" windows became popular in the 1890s but panes larger than 48 inches
square could not be manufactured until the 1930s. The term "picture window" was coined circa 1938.
Architectural innovators working in the International style developed the glass curtain wall for use in
commercial construction around the same time.
46
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
The rising demand for recreational facilities was noted by Edina officials as early
as the 1920s (a village park board was. established in 1930); however, developers were
not required to set aside land for recreational or conservancy purposes until much later.
Interest in developing a system of municipal parks and recreation facilities intensified
after'World War Il and a long -term vision for community parks evolved after 1947. The
park system received its first substantial boost in 1953 when the developers _ of
Southdale shopping .center donated a tract of land at Lake Cornelia for future use as a
park and public swimming pool. The village hired a full -time park and recreation
supervisor in 1955. After voters approved a $700,000 park bond issue in 1957, the
village created several neighborhood parks and built a municipal swimming pool and a
public golf course; by 1965, the village had 22 parks, totaling 425 acres .39 The Braemar
golf course and ice arena, twin centerpieces of the initial park building program, opened
in 1964 and 1965, respectively. Expansion of the park system continued through the
19605 and 1970s, when Edina earned a national reputation for the quality of its
municipal parks and recreation programs. The grounds of public schools were also
designed as community open. space- with various outdoor recreation facilities built and
improved to meet. changing needs. The 1970s saw the beginnings of increased
community interest in parks, open space, natural resource conservation, and trails.'
To summarize, the architectural character of Edina during the mid -20th century
was dominated by detached single - family houses that reflected a relatively narrow
range of Modern., styles. Particularly prevalent were the vernacular house forms
associated with the Minimal Traditional, Cape Code, Ranch, Split- Level, and Contractor
Modern design modes. Most houses'were built to standardized plans and specifications
created explicitly.. for suburban subdivision development. Tract houses were
characterized by their architectural similarity.40 Most custom - built houses were based
on the same common suburban house forms .41 The typical midcentury dwelling was
initially quite modest in size and proportions, but was designed to be enlarged -as
needed. Commercial architecture during this period is primarily vernacular in character,
although some offices and stores show the influence of the International style.
Landscape architecture, and in particular the layout of suburban home grounds and
gardens, was also influenced by the Modern aesthetic.
39The 1957 park plan called for a park or playground within one -half mile of every home.
40The most recent edition of The Real Estate Dictionary defines tract housing as, "A dwelling that has a
similar style and floor plan to those of all other houses in a development."
41The term "custom home" generally refers to a site - specific house that has been built to the specifications
(lot choice, floor plan, materials, colors, fixtures, etc.) of an individual customer. Home buyers
sometimes, though not always participated in the actual design process and a great many "custom- built"
homes were designed and constructed Without,. licensed architects. Custom builders have also
traditionally built houses on "spec" (speculation) without a particular buyer in mind.
47
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
ASSOCIATED PROPERTY TYPES
. Most of the popular domestic architectural forms of mid -20th century America are
found in Edina. Particularly prevalent are the modern vernacular house forms which
reflect the postwar building boom of 1945 -1975. The most important stylistic influences
are those associated with early 20th century eclecticism and the modern movement.
High -style Modern houses designed by professional architects are not particularly
numerous, however. The most common house types (which probably account for more
than three - fourths of the city's housing stock) reflect regional variants of the national
vernacular design movements embodied in. the Minimal Traditional, Ranch, Split= Level,
and Contractor Modern styles. Most of these houses are stylistically conservative and
conventional in their design and materials. The industrialization of the home building
process led to uniformity of the finished product, especially in tract house subdivisions
developed during the 1950s and early 1960s.
Midcentury modern houses should be considered eligible for Edina Heritage
Landmark designation in the area of, architectural history when they represent
distinctive, well preserved examples of a particular property type. To be considered
eligible, a 1950s Ranch style house, for example, would- need to clearly possess the
physical features that define the style. Most postwar modern houses will be singled out
for landmark designation because they embody the distinctive characteristics of a
vernacular, house type, not because_ they 'represent exceptional examples or possess
outstanding aesthetic values. It is most definitely not necessary for a house to
represent the work of a noted architect or builder to, be evaluated as significant.
Architect- designed and high -style specimens of a particular property type may qualify,
solely on the basis of their design and construction values. Houses will also need to be
evaluated for their associative value. For example, the primary significance of a rare,
well preserved specimen of the Contractor Modern house type may be the product of its
association with an important developer or builder; some houses will derive their
landmark eligibility from their association with specific historical events or patterns of
events. Mere association with the broad patterns of ,suburban development will not be
enough, in and of itself, to qualify an otherwise undistinguished property for heritage
landmark eligibility: the property's specific association must be considered significant as
well:
Historic integrity evaluations will be critical in determining the landmark eligibility
of houses. While there are:many well maintained and respectfully renovated, suburban
homes in Edina that date from the mid -20th century, the great majority of homes
constructed between circa 1935 and 1975 are likely to have been altered from their as-
built appearance. Based on recent "windshield" surveys of selected mid -20th century
48
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
neighborhoods in Edina, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of midcentury modern houses
have been "remuddled" beyond recognition. Many of the smaller homes constructed on
50 -foot lots have been enlarged with additions, and an ever - increasing number have
acquired replacement garages and other accessory structures.. According to city
building permit records, decks have sprouted by the thousand since the 1970s. City
wide, older homes have been extensively (and repeatedly) remodeled, including a
substantial proportion of the houses originally clad with wood siding, now encased in
aluminum, embossed steel, vinyl, or other synthetic siding. 42 The erosion of
architectural character - defining features has been widespread, but the loss of historic
fabric appears to have occurred at a markedly slower pace in some neighborhoods
(e.g., West Minneapolis Heights). Certain types of common house alterations do not
ordinarily result in compromised historic integrity: examples include small structural
additions on secondary elevations, new detached garages, in -kind replacement of doors
and windows, and the addition of ramps, decks-, and other features that are easily
removed. In some cases, however, these kinds of minor alterations may have an
adverse cumulative effect that results in a loss of historic integrity.
Mid -20th century commercial architecture is also dominated by vernacular forms,
although a few postwar buildings stand out as notable examples of Modern architecture.
The current inventory of pre -1975 commercial properties worthy of preservation interest
is very- sparse, however: a great deal of survey work remains to be done. It seems
likely that some of Edina's postwar commercial buildings will meet the heritage
landmark eligibility criteria on the basis of their architectural history values— either as
representative examples of a particular building type or style, or as buildings designed
by noted architects or builders. Aside from their design and construction values,
individual commercial buildings may also be historically significant for their association
with important events or patterns of events, e.g., the history and development of
particular businesses. Some complexes of commercial buildings, such as office parks,
may comprise cohesive built environments. Assessing the preservation potential of
commercial districts such as 50th and France will undoubtedly be problematic, if for no
other reason than by the fact that most of these areas have been intensively developed
and redeveloped, resulting in the loss of historic fabric and character.
Designed historic landscapes from this period include transportation structures
(highways, city streets), public school grounds, and municipal parks and playgrounds.
No significant outdoor art objects have yet been recorded by survey. Transportation
corridors need to be treated holistically; the whole (or at least the inter - relationship
42Advertisements for residing existing homes with asbestos, stucco, steel, aluminum, and other low
maintenance materials appear in community newspapers serving the Edina area as early as the late
1940s. Vinyl house siding was first introduced in the 1950s but did not become widely popular until after
the cost of aluminum siding increased during the 1970s.
49
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
between the parts) is probably more important than any individual component. Put
another way, highway corridors are historically significant because of what they
represent, not because of the individual resources. Issues of historic integrity will be
difficult to deal with because all of these public thoroughfares have been in continuous
use for decades and much (if not all) of the original physical fabric has been replaced:
Prior to the mid- 1950s, very few public open space areas existed in Edina
outside of a handful of school .playgrounds. Nevertheless, parts of the city. parks and
recreation system have been in active use for over 50 years. Park landscaping includes
open space, buildings, shelters, paths, athletic fields, play areas, vegetation, scenic
vistas, and natural features. Individually and in aggregate, these facilities possess a
direct link with the history of suburban development. The extent to which they reflect
major trends in park planning and landscape design is not well understood at present.
Integrity of design, materials, and setting will be important considerations and the
effects of alterations to a property should be weighed against its character - defining
features and historic significance.
The great suburban development boom coincided with the Cold War (1947 -1992)
and while Edina did not have any military facilities within its borders, the nuclear age did
have an impact on the built environment in the form of ".fallout shelters" built to protect
civilians from the aftereffects of a nuclear attack. The Soviet Union successfully tested
its first nuclear weapon in 1949 and had developed a hydrogen bomb by 1953. In 1957
the Russians stunned the world by launching Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the earth.
These technical achievements made Americans aware that vast distances no longer
protected them from the Soviet menace, leading to a number of crash programs to close
the "missile gap" and protect the citizenry against nuclear attack. The Federal Civil
Defense Act of 1950 created the federal framework for civil defense, which included a
modest, bomb shelter construction program and an ambitious.. propaganda campaign
that included production of the nine- minute film "Duck and Cover" (first shown publicly in
January, 1952), in which Bert the Turtle advised school children to "drop, cover and hold
on" in the event their communities came under nuclear attack. In the late 1950s the
Eisenhower administration actually scaled .back the civil defense program, but shortly.
after John F. Kennedy attained the presidency he issued an executive order
reorganizing the Office of Civil Defense and implementing a nation -wide fallout shelter
program. By 1963, over 47 million individual shelters had been licensed and marked
with the distinctive "Fallout. Shelter" sign introduced by the Department. of Defense. in
December, 1961. These shelter -in -place facilities consisted ,almost entirely of spaces
set aside in the basements of public buildings, shopping centers, and factories; some
(though not all) were stocked with food, blankets, medical: supplies, and radiation
detection equipment. The 1960s also saw construction of several million private
50
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
shelters, many of which were built in home basements or backyards. It is believed that
most of these do- it- yourself bomb shelters were based on plans provided by the
government, although Popular Mechanics and other popular magazines published .
scores of plans for improvised shelters.43 In Edina, the shelter building program appears
to have been enthusiastically embraced by local officials and the public at large. Fallout
shelters were designated in the basements of stores (including Southdale shopping
center), schools, large office buildings, and the Edina municipal building. The village
issued building permits for family shelters and a specially prepared booklet giving
information on protective measures that could be taken by individuals and families was
mailed to each homeowner with a basement. The mania for bomb shelters cooled
before the decade of the 1960s was over and the federal government's shelter building
program was quietly phased out. (Most of the stockpiled emergency supplies ended up
in landfills.) An unknown number of fallout shelters survive within Edina homes and it is
rumored that some 1960s- vintage, underground shelters have been quietly converted to
backyard wine cellars, play rooms, and garden sheds.aa
41 In 1966, the state of Minnesota conducted a fallout protection survey that identified shelter spaces in
3,389 buildings with a. capacity of over 2.8 million.' The state building code at the time contained a
chapter on fallout shelters.
44See the article by Joe Sullivan, "1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Raised Fears of Nuclear War and Led to
Fallout Shelters.". About Town (Spring, 2010), pp. 6 -11; it describes a self -built basement shelter adapted
from a section of steel:.culvert. Building permits for approximately a half -dozen private fallout shelters in
Edina have been found in the files of the city building inspections department; the records for a good
many more doubtless exist. -
51
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
CHAPTER V
EDINA'S RECENT PAST
The primary purpose of the Recent Past . historic context is to provide a
framework for organizing future heritage, resource surveys and to ensure that
evaluations of heritage landmark eligibility are consistent with the city's comprehensive
plan. Unlike the National Register of Historic Places, the Edina Heritage Landmarks
program does not exclude properties less than 50 years old.
HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT
After 1975, Edina experienced the growth characteristics of an affluent, fully
developed first -ring suburb .45 The final decades of the 20th century saw a.rapid slow-
down in the development of new residential subdivisions; for the next forty years, new
home.: building was dominated by infill construction and teardowns of existing older
homes. Throughout the city, a good deal of functionally and economically obsolescent
building stock was torn down and replaced. Architecturally, more attention was paid to
new commercial centers, office buildings, medical clinics, churches, apartment
buildings, and other facilities needed to serve a mature suburban community. The
design of much of the new construction was not markedly different from the types of
buildings that predominated during the great postwar suburban boom, although popular
trends in the design of single- family housing continued to evolve as architects and
contractors experimented with. new building forms, materials, and construction methods.
Among design professionals in general there seems to-,have been a desire to reflect
new social values in architectural form. Nevertheless, most new buildings continued to
reflect the values and needs of "Middle America. »as
As the suburban built environment has aged, a number of structural changes
have been afoot during the past half - century. These changes include, but are by no
means limited to, shifts in the patterns of land ownership., land use, development
density, street patterns, sidewalks and street trees, and architecture. Construction and
maintenance of urban infrastructure, including replacement of old streets,. water lines,
sewers, and other systems, has disrupted and altered the city's older residential
4'According to the University of Minnesota's Design Center for the American Urban Landscape, a first -ring
suburb is a post -World War . II community built between 1945 and 1965. Richfield, Hopkins, and
Bloomington are also considered first -ring suburbs of Minneapolis.
46 The colloquialism "Middle America" was coined by sociologist Jonathan Rieder in the late .1960s to
describe a cultural mindset that reflected the values of mainstream (read: "white middle -class suburban ")
Americans. The Middle Americans were selected by Time as the magazine's Man and Woman of the
year for 1969 (Time, January 5, 1970)..
52
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
neighborhoods and the pace of neighborhood infrastructure replacement is expected to
accelerate. Large parts of the city are now slated for redevelopment. In the area of
transportation, city planners have been exploring alternatives to the community's near -
total dependence upon the automobile (note the great investment in the development of
trails and facilities for bicycles since the 1990s). The structure of Edina's population has
also undergone significant change since the 1970s: the number of people has not
changed much, but the age and composition of the city's households has shifted
dramatical ly. 47 All of these changes are producing new types of buildings and
specialized activity areas that lack historical precedents.
New house construction in Edina after circa 1975 continued to be dominated by
detached single - family units, although there was a significant increase in the number of
new apartments, condominiums, and multi - family dwellings. Most of the recent housing
stock consists of contractor -built homes that reflect the Midcentury Modern aesthetic;
Postmodernism architectural styles began to appear as early as the 1960s but the
movement does not appear to have gained much momentum locally until the 1980s.
There has also been a significant increase in the size of new houses built since the late
1980s, a trend which continued into the second decade of the 21St century.
Several modernistic housing styles made their debut in Edina during the 1970s
and 1980s. The New Brutalism informed the design of several upscale residences that
were characterized by the use of heavy, unadorned, artificially roughened forms.
Although some builders preferred poured in place concrete walls, most of the Edina
examples were built of wood. Variations on the New Shingle style espoused by Robert
Venturi and others appeared during the 1970s and the shingle -sided cottage idiom
remained popular after the turn of the century. A few local architects continued working
with the International style. The late -20th century fluorescence of the so- called
International Revival or Cubism style is represented by a relatively small number of
Edina homes that are characterized by their cubic geometry, flat roofs, and unadorned
stucco walls, usually painted stark white —some critics complained they looked more
like machinery than houses. A good many specimens of Postmodern architecture were
also built. These houses tend to imitate historical styles, usually Colonial or
Mediterranean or a mix of various styles and periods, including vernacular building
traditions, and are characterized by their eye- catching details and extravagant facades.
An oversized, turn -of- the - century suburban vernacular form with no clear architectural
47Edina's population grew from 30,481 in 1960 to 44,031 in 1970 (an increase of 44.4 %) and then leveled
off; the federal census enumerated 47,073 inhabitants in 1980 (an increase of only 4.6% from 1970). The
most recent census (2010) put the number of city residents at 47,941.
53
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
style, sometimes derisively referred to as the "McMansion, "48 made its appearance in
the late 1990s as infill construction in established Edina neighborhoods.
The Middle Eastern oil embargo of 1973 -74 played a role in shifting the design of
houses and commercial buildings toward increased energy efficiency. A revolution in
Iran triggered another energy crisis in 1979. Both events spurred architectural interest in
energy conservation and solar power and in 1978 the federal government established
its first energy performance standards. Thanks largely to the 30% income tax credit for
investment in solar and other energy conservation measures instituted in 1978, by the
late 1970s. many of the new.houses being constructed in Edina incorporated passive
solar energy as a secondary heating source (although only a handful of new homes
were designed with active solar systems as their prime heating source). An unknown
number of single - family homes were retrofitted with solar collectors, passive solar
energy systems, and photoelectric energy systems .49 Most of the popular interest in
energy conservation focused on preventing energy loss through insulation and other
traditional conservation measures. Taking advantage of federal and state tax credits,
several commercial buildings also installed glass - plated solar panels and other energy -
absorbing systems. Some earth sheltered houses were also built, although this usually
took the form of berming rather than building underground.
An emerging phenomenon in Edina has been the teardown trend, sometimes
referred to as "suburban gentrification," which may foreshadow important changes in the
composition of the city's older housing stock. There have always been teardowns in
Edina, mostly involving older houses that were demolished and replaced with larger
single- family homes. However, this kind of private residential redevelopment has
become more widespread in recent years (although it occurs more often in some
neighborhoods than' in others) and there is growing concern over the potential adverse
effects on. historic neighborhoods. Opponents of the teardown trend often focus on the
visual effects�of the replacement houses, which are usually much bigger, and more
architecturally flamboyant than the typical midcentury modern styled houses they
replace. Because most of the platted residential lots in the city are quite small by
contemporary standards, developers have also sought to acquire and remove two or
more adjacent homes in order to create a new, larger lot. The greatest influences on
teardowns are economic - homeowners with higher - incomes are attracted to Edina,
48McMansions are typically custom - built, two story dwellings with between 3,000 and 5,000 square feet of
living space and garage stalls for at least three cars. Although the origins of the neologism are a subject
of ongoing debate, the term "McMansion" was probably coined by Sam Hall Kaplan in :an article that
appeared in the Los Angeles Times on July 17, 1990.
49The first plans for "solar houses" appeared in print immediately after World War II and the photovoltaic
cell was invented by Bell Labs in 1954, but by the end of the 1970s only about one hundred solar panels
had been manufactured in the United States.
54
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
where they tend to seek larger and newer houses that reflect the current standards and
tastes of the upper - middleclass. Because Edina has been fully developed for many
years, the number of large, high -end homes available to new home buyers is limited.50
ASSOCIATED PROPERTY TYPES
Unlike the National Register of Historic Places, the Edina Heritage Landmarks
program does not restrict consideration of properties that were constructed during the
last 50 years. In other words, there.are no "criteria considerations" for local designation.
In compliance with the city's comprehensive plan, the evaluation process for properties
less than 50 years old involves the same criteria used to assess the preservation values
of properties over 50 years old —there is no sliding scale for historical significance
based on age.
The applicability of existing historic contexts to heritage resources from the
`recent past may be somewhat limited; however. The study unit in Midcentury Modern
Architecture and Landscapes, for example, will need to be more fully developed to
;address the identification and evaluation of postmodern property types, particularly
commercial buildings. Published histories of Edina are understandably lacking in the
scope: and depth of their treatment of recent history. The general theme of late -20th
century Twin Cities area architectural history also cries out for some kind of overview.
Nevertheless, background. knowledge of Edina's recent history suggests that
significant properties less than 50 yearsold may be present. These resources are likely
to include notable examples of Modern and. Postmodern architectural styles, buildings
designed by notable late -20th century architects or builders, and groups of.buildings and
structures that comprise cohesive landscape assemblages. Some of these resources
may be quite fragile. It is anticipated that surveys of postwar Commercial areas will
encounter a substantial number of buildings which date from the 1970s and 1980s.
Important residential properties from the same period are also expected to be present in
some of the older subdivisions. Heritage resources with pre -circa 1970 construction
dates may be documented and determined to have attained historical significance on
the basis of their association with events that have occurred since the late 1960s.
50From a community development perspective, there are some positive aspects of teardowns, such as
property value appreciation, increased property tax revenues, and revitalization of the physical character
of older.neighborhoods— teardowns occur because Edina is blessed with great neighborhoods. The most
significant adverse impact of the teardown trend (after the loss of historic properties and the character of
legacy neighborhoods) is the displacement of residents of modest means, especially long -term residents.
Teardowns have been especially controversial in Edina's older (pre -World War II era) neighborhoods,
such as Morningside and Country Club, and preservationists have expressed concerns regarding the
increasing pace of gentrification in postwar neighborhoods.
55
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Edina Heritage Preservation Board (HPB) produced Suburban Development
in Edina Since 1935: A Historic Context Study to help establish a framework for making
consistent, informed decisions about the preservation, protection, and use of the city's
modern architecture and landscapes. The study developed background data on historic
settlement, land use, and economic development patterns.. Four new context -based
heritage resource planning units were identified: Postwar Residential Neighborhoods,
Midcentury Modern Architecture and Landscapes, and Edina's Recent Past. These
study units serve as a backdrop for understanding important broad patterns in Edina
history. Each unit links specific property types to significant events and trends in local,
regional, or national history. Historic significance, integrity, and landmark designation
requirements are also discussed.
The study was guided by the recent National Register Bulletin and the nation-
wide historic context, "The Suburbanization of Metropolitan Areas of the United States,
1830 to 1960," developed by the National Park Service. Several historic context studies
dealing with midcentury modern resources in other cities were also consulted.
The study was essentially an exercise in historical research —no systematic field
survey was conducted. Research utilized a wide range of printed and unpublished
source materials that were accessed through multiple repositories. Primary sources of
archival data included maps, plats, aerial photographs, and census reports. Secondary
sources included published local histories, newspaper articles, scholarly publications,
and previous studies of 20th century heritage preservation resources in Edina. These
documentary materials were made available at the Edina City Hall, the Edina Historical
Society, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus libraries, and the Minnesota
Historical Society. A number of Internet sources were also consulted.
PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
6 The historic contexts presented in this report provide a framework for consistent,
informed decisions about the preservation, protection, and use of heritage
resources from the mid -20th century and recent periods.
The study units Postwar Suburban Neighborhoods, Midcentury Modern
Architecture and Landscapes, and Edina's Recent Past will be useful in planning
future reconnaissance and, intensive surveys. However, the historic context
56
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic, Context Study
statements are meant to serve as a general introduction only more intensive
archival research and field survey is required to "flesh out" the study units.
® Archival data relating to suburban development in Edina after 1935 is fairly
abundant and readily accessible in public depositories. The most valuable data
sets are: village and city council minutes, planning and zoning commission
minutes, subdivision plats, building permits, property tax assessment records
(including field record cards, with photographs, for all properties compiled 1950s-
1990s), aerial photographs, city directories, and records of municipal public
works construction (streets, roads, bridges, sewer, water, buildings, parks).
C Property types associated with suburban development are predominantly
detached, single - family dwellings built in postwar residential subdivisions. A
significant proportion of the existing housing stock was constructed between
circa 1935 and 1975. (See Fig. 10) According to the most recent census data,
8% of the housing in Edina was built before 1940; 64% of the existing homes
date from 1950 -1979; in 2010, the _median age of all Edina houses was 43.7
..years old.
o Background research suggests the vast majority of Midcentury Modern buildings
represent only a few common suburban house forms: Minimal Traditional, Cape
Cod, Ranch, .and Split `Level. Collectively, they are a potent symbol of suburban
culture; for °a number of reasons, -however, the individual houses are usually not
regarded as historically or architecturally significant.
Midcentury. Modern and Recenf buildings are underrepresented in existing
heritage preservation resource, inventories and none have yet been individually
designated as Edina Heritage Resources.
Midcentury Modern properties are a vital legacy of Edir4s suburban heritage.
While some of these properties are unique and irreplaceable, the vast majority of
mid -20t" . century buildings and,, landscapes represent only a few common,
suburban building forms. The same is true of properties dating from the last 40-
50 years.
57
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Age of Buildings w S E
Figure 10. Age of Edina housing. Data from the city assessor, with neighborhood
boundaries. City of Edina, 2013.
M
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
0 Since the 1970s, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of mid -20th century buildings
and landscapes have been destroyed or substantially altered by public
construction projects and private development, resulting in the loss of
irreplaceable information about Edina history. Although the scale of the
destruction of cultural heritage may be increasing (the result of redevelopment
and gentrification), plenty of significant properties doubtless remain and it is
unlikely that Edina will lose more than a faction of its midcentury modern
resource base in the next 10 -20 years. Public interest in the preservation of
midcentury modern heritage resources is expected to grow and the city
preservation program is well positioned to encourage and facilitate citizen
participation in the movement to save the suburban '50s and '60s.
INFORMATION GAPS
0 A potential wealth of information about Edina developers, builders,
neighborhoods, local real estate market conditions, and individual properties lies
(largely untapped) in community newspapers such as the Country Club Crier
(1932 -42), the Edina- Morningside Courier (1951 -68), and the Edina Sun (1968-
73); and in the major metropolitan dailies.
No systematic, comprehensive surveys have been carried out in any of Edina's
mid -20th century neighborhoods, and only a small number of individual
midcentury modern buildings have been identified and evaluated.
0 There is significant disagreement among historians, architects, architectural
historians, and preservationists regarding the classification of Modern and
Postmodern building styles.
The way local builders and developers designed, constructed, and marketed
postwar housing is not well documented.
0 There is a critical need for thematic studies of midcentury modern commercial
architecture, churches, and parks.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1) The Edina HPB should adopt, modify, or disapprove the historic context study; if
adopted, the new historic context study units should be integrated with the
historic context statements outlined in the city's comprehensive plan.
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
2) Develop an initial list of 20 to 50 Midcentury Modern buildings and landscapes
that the HPB considers historically important and worthy of further research.
3) Continue the neighborhood survey according to the priorities set out in the 2008
comprehensive plan; review and adjust survey strategies for the upcoming plan
revision (scheduled for 2015 -16) to reflect the findings of the present historic
context study. .
4) The redundancy of the most common Midcentury Modern property types calls out
for a modification of heritage resource identification and evaluation methods—
research designs for future surveys should emphasize neighborhood- specific
historic context research, windshield reconnaissance of selected subdivisions (or
selected blocks within subdivisions), and intensive survey of properties believed
to be well preserved, representative examples of important resource types. In
light of the large number of residential subdivisions platted between 1935 and
1975, it may be more cost - effective to conduct neighborhood -level surveys in the
,areas with the oldest housing stock first.
5) More emphasis on cultural landscapes is needed. Because they are often fragile,
it is important to identify and record historic gardens and other mid -20th century
landscapes, including examples of vernacular forms. In addition. to identifying
properties potentially eligible for heritage landmark designation, such a project
would. also be an important educational tool and an opportunity to promote
awareness of Edina's cultural landscapes. The HPB should consider undertaking
a suburban landscape survey in collaboration with neighborhood groups, garden
clubs, or the Edina Historical Society.
6) Research should be carried out to identify
landscape architects, engineers, developers,
worked in Edina between circa 1935 and 1975.
.M
important .architects,.._ designers,
builders, and contractors who
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
APPENDIX A
MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
The following bibliography lists all of the works (published and unpublished) that
were consulted during the archival research for the historic context study.
LOCAL HISTORY (EDINA AND TWIN CITIES REGION)
Atlas of the Village of Edina. Edina: privately printed, 1945.
Borchert, John R. "The Twin Cities Urbanized Area: Past, Present, Future."
Geographical Review, Vol..51, No. 1 (January, 1951), pp. 45 -70.
David Gebhard, and Judith A. Martin. Legacy of.Minneapolis: Preservation and Change.
Minneapolis: Voyageur Press, 1984.
The Crier. Edina Country: Club community newspaper, 1930- 1942.Edina Historical
Society.
Domian, O. E. and Roy C. Prentiss School Survey of the Edina - Morningside School
District. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, College of Education Bureau of Field
Studies.and Surveys, 1965.
Edina Grows: 1955 -1965. Edina: Village of Edina, 1965. [Pamphlet]
Edina History Bibliography. Unpublished typescript, 1971.Edina Historical Society
microfilm.
Edina - Momingside Courier. Newspaper, 1951 -1966. Minnesota Historical Society
microfilm.
Edina 1967 Know Your Town. Edina League of Women Voters, 1967. [Booklet]
Edina Village Council. -Minute Books, 1.888 -1974. City Clerk's office, Edina.
Gebhard, David and Tom Martinson. A Guide. to the Architecture of Minnesota.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977. [Edina, pp. 120 -122]`
Hartshorne, Richard. "The Twin City District: A Unique Form of Urban Landscape."
Geographical Review, Vol. 22 (1932)1 pp. 431 -442.
61
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Hennepin County Assessor. Half- section mosaics of aerial photographs of Edina flown
in 1951 and 1956. Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota.
Hennepin County Recorder. Plats. Hennepin County Government Center, Minneapolis.
Hennepin County Surveyor. Half- section mosaics of aerial photographs of Edina flown
in 1952, 1956, 1960, 1965, and 1967. Borchert Map Library, University of
Minnesota.
Hesterman, Paul D. From Settlement to Suburb: The History of Edina, Minnesota.
Edina: Burgess Publishing for the Edina Historical Society, 1988..
History of Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis, including the Explorers and
Pioneers of Minnesota, by Rev. Edward D. Neill, and Outlines of the History of
Minnesota, by J. Fletcher Williams. Compiled by George E. Warner and Charles M.
Foote. Minneapolis: North Star Pub. Co., 1882.
Map and Business Directory, Edina, Richfield, Minneapolis South of Lake Street,
Morningside, Hopkins, St. Louis Park. St. Louis Park: Rogers, 1939.
Map of the Village of Edina, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Edina: Village of Edina,
1960.
Moore, Ben B. "Edina's Zoning Ordinance." Minnesota Municipalities, Vol. 16 (August,
1931), pp. 319 -320.
Morningside Village Council. Minute Books, 1920 -1960. City Clerk's office, Edina.
Morse -Kahn, Deborah. Edina: Chapters in the City History. Edina: City of Edina, 1998.
1939 Directory of Metropolitan Edina. Hopkins: The Country Club Crier, 1939
Plank, Lisa, and Thomas Saylor. "Constructing Suburbia: Richfield in the Postwar .Era"
Minnesota History, Vol. 61, No. 2 .(Summer, 2008), pp. 48 -61.
Schmid, Calvin F. Social Saga of Two Cities: An Ecological and Statistical Study of
Social Trends in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Report prepared for the Bureau of Social
Research, Minneapolis Council of Social Agencies, 1937.
Scott, William W., and Jeffrey A. Hess., History and Architecture of Edina, Minnesota.
Minneapolis: Setter, Leach & Lindstrom, Inc., for the City of Edina, 1981.
Shay, John W. Plat.of Edina, Minnesota. Minneapolis: privately printed, 1940. [Map]
62.
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Sullivan, Joe: "White Oaks —One of Edina's Best Kept Secrets —Once Known as
'Baird's Pasture." About Town (Spring, 2001), pp. 6 -11.
Swanson, Vern (as told to Tom Clark). From the Barber's Chair- 50th and. France, 1936 -
1988.Minneapolis: Nordin Press, 1988.
Thomas, Norman F. "St. Louis Park: 85 Years of Growth and Progress." Hennepin
County History, Vol. 31 (Fall - Winter, 1971), pp. 4 -10.
Tuttle, Thomas U., and. Frederick L Johnson. Suburban Dawn The Emergence of
Richfield, Edina and Bloomington. Richfield: Richfield Historical Society, 2009.
Vogel, Robert C. Edina Historic Contexts. Edina:. Heritage Preservation Board, City of
Edina, 1999.
Phase 1 Historical and Architectural Survey of the Interlachen Boulevard
Recreational Trail from Vernon Avenue to the Southwest LRT Trail in the Cities of
Edina and Hopkins, Minnesota. Report prepared for the City of Edina and the
Minnesota Department of Transportation. Spring Grove: Pathfinder CRM, 2005.
Yancey, C. B. Atlas of the Village of Edina. Edina: privately printed, 1940.
SUBURBAN HISTORY (GENERAL SURVEYS)
Ames, David L., and Linda Flint McClelland. Historic Residential Suburbs: Guidelines for
Evaluation and Documentation for the National Register of Historic Places. National
Register Bulletin. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park
Service, 2002.
Baxandall, Rosalyn and Elizabeth Ewen. Picture Windows: How the Suburbs
Happened. New York: Basic Books, 2000.
Borchert, James. "Residential City Suburbs: The Emergence of a New Suburban Type,
1880- 1950." Journal of Urban History, Vol. 22, No. 3 (March, 1996), pp. 283 -307.
Beauregard, Robert A. When America Became. Suburban. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 2006.
Donaldson, Scott. The Suburban Myth. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969.
Duany, Andres, Elizabeth Plater - Zyberk, and Jeff Speck. Suburban Nation. New York:
North Point Press, 2000.
Fishman, Robert. Bourgeois Utopias: The Rise and Fall of Suburbia. New York: Basic
Books, 1987.
63
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Garreau, Joel. Edge City. Life on the New Frontier. New York: Doubleday Anchor,
1991.
Hanlon, Bernadette. Once the . American Dream: Inner -Ring. Suburbs of the
Metropolitan United States. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2010.
Hayden, Dolores. Building Suburbia: Green Fields and Urban Growth, 1820 -2000.
New York: Vintage Books, 2003.
Jackson, Kenneth T. Crabgrass Frontier. The Suburbanization of the United States.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.
Kunstler, James H. The Geography of Nowhere: The. Rise . and Decline of America's
Man -made Landscape. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
Lewis, Paul G. Shaping Suburbia: How Political Institutions Organize. Urban
Development. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996.
Longstreth, Richard. "The Extraordinary Post -War Suburb." Forum Journal, Vol. 15,
no. 1 (Fall, 2000), pp. 26 -35.
Rome, Adam. The Bulldozer and the Countryside: Suburban Sprawl and the Rise of
American Environmentalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Stilgoe, John R. Borderland Origins of the American Suburb, 1820 -1939. New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1988.
Warner, Sam Bass, Jr. Streetcar Suburb: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-
. 1900. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1962.
Wood, Robert C. Suburbia: Its People and Their Politics, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.,
.1958.
PLANNING AND LAND DEVELOPMENT
Adams, Thomas. The Design of Residential Areas. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1934.
Black, Russell V. N. Planning and the Planning Profession:. The Past Fifty Years, 1917-
1967. Washington: American Institute of Planners, 1967.
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64
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
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Clark,` Charles D. "Federal Housing Administration Standards for Land Subdivision."
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Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
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Nicolls, J. C. Real Estate Subdivisions: The Best Manner of Handling Them.
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Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Gutfreund, Owen D. 20th Century Sprawl: Highways and the Reshaping of the
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Albrecht, Donald, ed. World War 11 and the American Dream: How Wartime Building
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Allen, Barbara L. "The Ranch -Style House in America: A Cultural and Environmental
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67
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
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Archer, John. Architecture . and Suburbia: From the English Villa to the. American
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Ben - Joseph, . Eran. Rethinking a Lot: The Design and Culture of Parking. Cambridge:
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Spacemaker Press, 1999.
"Reclaiming a Lost Legacy: The Challenge of Preserving the Postwar Era's
Invisible Gardens." Common Ground, Vol. 9 (Summer, 2004), pp. 10 -15.
with Jane Brown Gillette and Nancy Slade. Preserving Modem Landscape
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Jacobus, John. Twentieth - Century Architecture: The Middle Years, 1940 -65. New
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Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Jansen, J. E. "The History of Ventilation and Temperature Control. ASHRAE Journal,
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Jenkins, Virginia Scott. The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession. Washington:
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Architecture." The Alliance Review (January/February, 2004), pp. 17 -23.
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Conservation. Washington: Archetype Press, 1995.
Lang, Robert E. and Karen A. Danielson. "Monster Homes." Planning, Vol. 5 (2002), pp.
2 -7.
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Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.
Martin, Frank Edgerton. "Before New Urbanism: Postwar Subdivisions Offer Surprising
Lessons." Landscape Architecture, Vol. 91, no. 12 (December, 2001), pp. 48 -51.
Mason, Joseph B. History of Housing in the United States, 1930 -1980. Houston: Gulf
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Monteyne, David.. Fallout Shelter. Designing for Civil Defense in the Cold War.
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Relph, Edward. The Modern Urban Landscape. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1987.
70
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Rifkind, Carole. A Field Guide to Contemporary American Architecture. New York:
Penguin Books, 1998.
Robbins, Paul. Lawn People: How Grasses, Weeds and Chemicals Made Us Who We
Are. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2007.
Schroeder, Fred E. H. Front Yard America: The Evolution and Meanings of a
Vernacular Domestic Landscape. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State
University Popular Press, 1993.
Scully, Vincent. American Architecture and Urbanism. New York: Henry Holt & Co.,
1969.
Southworth, Michael and Eran Ben - Joseph. Streets and the Shaping of Towns and
Cities. New York: McGraw -Hill, 1997.
Sternberg, Ernest. "A Case of Iconographic Competition: The Building Industry and the
Postmodern Landscape." Journal of Urban Design, Vol. 1, No. 2 (1996), pp. 145-
163.
Torbert, Donald R. "The Advent of Modern Architecture in Minnesota." Journal of the
Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 13 (1954), pp. 18 -23.
Tucker, Lisa Marie. "The Small House Problem in the United States, 1918 -1945: The
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Van Balgooy, Mary A. "Designer of the Dream: Cliff May and the California Ranch
House." Southern California Quarterly, Vol.86, No. 2 (Summer, 2004), pp. 127 -144.
Von Eckart, Wolf, ed. Mid - Century Architecture in America. Washington: American
Institute of Architects, 1961.
Webb, Michael. Modernism Reborn: Mid - Century American Houses. New York:
Universe Publishing, 2001.
Wills, Royal Barry. Houses for Homemakers. New York: F. Watts, Inc., 1945.
. Living on the Level: One -Story Houses. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.,
1955.
Wiltse, Jeff. Contested Waters: A Social History of the Swimming Pool in America.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007.
71
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Wright, Gwendolyn. Building the Dream: A Social History of Housing in America. New
York: Pantheon Books, 1981.
THE RECENT PAST
Borasi, Geovanna and MirkoZardin, eds. Sorry, Out of Gas: Architectural Response to
the 1973 Oil Crisis. Montreal: Canadian Centre de Architecture, 2008. [Exhibition
booklet]
Emerson, Jennifer and Martin L. J. Newman. "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:
Preservationists Debate the Recent Past." Forum Journal, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Fall,
2005).
Jencks, Charles. The Language of Post - Modern Architecture. New York: Rizzoli, 1977.
Post- Modernism: The New Classicism in Art and Architecture. New York:
Rizzoli, 1987.
. Late - Modern Architecture and Other Essays. New York: Rizzoli, 1980.
Lambin, Jeanne. Preserving Resources from the Recent Past. Washington: National
Trust for Historic Preservation, 2007.
Longstreth, Richard. "The Significance of the Recent Past." APT Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 2
(1991), pp. 12 -24.
Merrill, Karen R. The Oil Crisis of 1973 -1974: A Brief History with Documents. New
York: Bedford /St. Martin's,, 2007.
Prudon, Theodore H. M. Preservation of Modern Architecture. Hoboken, NJ: John
Wiley & Sons, 2008.
Slayton, Deborah and Rebecca . A. Shiffer, eds. Preserving the Recent Past.
Washington, DC: Historic Preservation Education. Foundation, 1995.
and William G. Foulks, eds. Preserving the Recent Past 2,Washington, DC:
Historic Preservation Education Foundation, 2000.
Striner, Richard. Preservation of the Recent Past. Washington: National Trust for
Historic Preservation, 1993.
72
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
APPENDIX B
LIST OF EDINA PLATTED SUBDIVISIONS, 1935 -1975
The information conveyed in the following list is arranged chronologically, by the
date the plat was recorded. Very small plats, rearrangements of subdivisions, and
auditor's plats have been excluded. Some larger subdivisions incorporate subsequent
additions to the original plat and these additions have also been omitted from the list.
Rolling Green (September 2, 1936)
Country Club District Wooddale Section (November 30, 1936)
White Oaks (May 5, 1937)
Minnehaha Woods (June 2, 1937)
Brucewood (August 22, 1938)
Colonial Grove Addition (October 28, 1938)
South White Oaks Addition (May 25, 1939)
Glenview Addition to Edina (July 8, 1939)
Hilldale (July 19, 1939)
Sunnyslope Section, Country Club District (October 7, 1939)
Winchester Knolls (October 26, 1939)
Prospect Hills (March 29, 1940) -
Cascade Falls (April 11, 1940)
Edina Court (May 10, 1940)
Golf Terrace Heights (April 14, 1941)
Skyline (July 28, 1941)
Southridge (September 16, 1941)
Edenmoor (November 1, 1941)
Colonial Square (June 5, 1946)
Edina Highlands (June 21, 1946)
Little Park (July 26, 1946)
Normandale Terrace (August 1, 1946)
Edina Hills (September 26, 1946)
Edina Terrace (July 27, 1946)
Valley View Heights (September 20, 1946)
Brookline Addition (October 5, 1946)
Countryside (November 20, 1946)
Creston Hills (January 30, 1947)
Edina Park (May 9, 1947)
Mirror Lakes in Edina (October 1, 1947)
Benton Park (July 23, 1948)
Parkwood Knolls (July 26, 1948)
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Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
York Terrace (November 10, 1948)
La Buena Vista (November 12, 1948)
Indian Hills (January 11, 1949)
Richmond Hills (July 9, 1949)
Beverly Hills (July 21, 1949)
Edenbrook (October 5, 1950)
Arden Park (April 27, 1951)
Melody Knolls 1St Addition (July 24, 1951)
Edina Bel -Air 1St Division (October 8, 1951)
Orrin E. Thompson's Edina Addition (November 23, 1951)
York Hills (February 2, 1952)
Valley View Terrace (March 20, 1952)
Roy H. Peterson's 1 st Addition (November 12, 1952)
Clover Lane Addition (November 13, 1952)
Brookview Heights 1St Addition (December 22, 1952)
Halifax Avenue Addition (February 18, 1953)
Walnut Ridge (September 14, 1953)
South Concord Addition (October 19,.1953)
Idylwood Addition (October 29, 1953)
Southdale 1St Addition (November 27, 1953)
Moccasin Valley (December 18, 1953)
Valley View Ridge (February 4, 1954)
Lake Pamela (June 2, 1954)
Holt's Addition to Edina (August 13, 1954)
McCauley Heights First Addition (August 18, 1954)
Oak View Addition in Edina (August 24, 1954)
Donatelle's Terrace (August 26, 1954)
Elmwood Terrace (August 31, 1954)
Highwood Addition to Edina Highlands (September 8, 1954)
El Ranch Addition (September 24, 1954)
Birchcrest- (4anuary,28, 1955)
Broadmore Addition (March 3,.1955)
Harold Woods (March 31, 1955):
Mendelssohn Heights (June 22, 1955)
Terry Knolls (July 1, 1955)
Town Realty's Edina Terrace (July 30, 1955)
Gilwood Addition (August 15, 1955)
Broad Oaks (August 19, 1955)
Miller's Addition (August 25, 1955)
Woodhill Edina (September 7, 1955)
74.
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Wyman's Southview Addition (September 7, 1955)
Pioneer Oaks (September 16, 1955)
Lake Edina Addition (December 19, 1955)
Wal -Don Builders 1St Addition (May 18, 1956)
Heath Glen (August 6, 1956)
Mallard Manor (August 14, 1956)
Edwards Addition (August 22, 1956)
Birch Lane (September 7, 1956)
South Garden Estates (September 11, 1956)
Walling's Addition (June 4, 1957)
Overholt Hills James Addition (October 18, 1957)
Mirror Lake View (October 23, 1957)
Chapel Hill (July 3, 1958)
Farmers 1 st Addition (September. 2, 1958)
The Heights (September 19, 1958)
Edina Countryside (October 13, 1958)
Clifton Terrace (November 1, 1958).
Nelson & Woodhull's 1St Addition (March 2, 1959)
Interlachen View (May,24, 1959)
Delaney's Addition (June 15, 1959)
Cherokee Hills (September 9, 1959)
Donna Dell's Addition (November 3, 1959)
Hyland Acres (May 12, 1960),
Schneider's Addition (June 13, 1960)
Lake Cornelia Park Addition (August 30, 1960)
Southdale Acres (June 5, 1961)
Creek Valley Addition (June 30, 1961) .
Gleason 1st Addition (August 31, 1961)
Fellman's Addition (December 19, 1961)
Edina Parklands (December 19, 1961)
Schey's Park View (January 11, 1962)
Valley Vista (December 6, 1962)
Hondo Addition (January 4, 1963)
Sioux Trail. Addition (August. 9, 1963)
Dublin Hill (October 14, 1963)
Meadowbrook Oaks (April 8, 1964)
Edina Valley Estates (January 27, 1964)
Edina Ridge (June 24, 1964)
Evanswood (October 5, 1964)
Dalquist Addition (October 9, 1964)
75.
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Edina Grove (November 19, 1964)
Interlachen ,Hills (May 21, 1965)
Valley Estates (June 3, 1965)
Iroquois Hills (November 3, 1965)
Cooper Addition (December.28, 1965)
Braemar Hills (June 8, 1966)
Viking Hills (March 2, 1967)
Scenic View 1 st Addition (August 3, 1967) .
Arrowhead Ridge (November 30, 1967)
Scenic Valley Addition (July 30, 1969)
Hyde Park (August 22, 1969)
Malibu Heights (August 28, 1969)
Braemar Oaks (October 21, 1971)
Griffith Addition (April 14, 1972)
Yorktown (June 8, 1972)
Edina Westland (July 26, 1972)
Green Hills of Edina (November 21, 1973)
Heather Hill (September 12, 1975)
Whiteman Addition (December 8, 1975)
76
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
APPENDIX C
PRELIMINARY INVENTORY OF MIDCENTURY MODERN
AND RECENT HERITAGE RESOURCES
The inventory is organized chronologically by date of construction. The heritage
resource identification data was taken from the SHPO inventory files and architectural
survey field records compiled by the Edina HPB, city staff, and consultants since the
late 1970s. Documentation on individual properties is uneven and only a handful of
buildings have been fully evaluated for their heritage landmark eligibility.
1935 Westgate Theater. 3901 Sunnyside Road. Art Moderne style movie theater
(converted to dry cleaners), designed by Perry E. Crosser in association with
Liebenberg and Kaplan.
1936 Schaefer House. 5117 Schaefer Road. Stone house and guest house on site of
original Schaefer family homestead.
1938 Saint Stephen the Martyr Episcopal Church. 4439 West 50th Street. SHPO
inventory number HE -EDC- 00578. Gothic Revival style stone church designed by
Louis B. Bersback in consultation with Cram and Ferguson, consulting architects;
addition (1966) designed by Oscar T. Lang. HPB determination of heritage
landmark eligibility.
1939 Blackburn, Albert R. 5015 Wooddale Lane. SHPO inventory number HE -EDC-
0579. Colonial Revival /Cape Cod house designed by Royal Barry Wills (1895-
1962); one of four single family homes sponsored by Life magazine in 1938 as
part of its "Houses for Modern Living" promotion.
1940 Carson, Dr. Paul and Mary, House ( "Maryhill "), 6001 Pine Grove Road. SHPO
inventory number HE -EDC -0559. Prairie School style house designed by William
Gray Purcell. Conservation easement held by Minnesota Land Trust.
1941 Convention Grill. 3910 Sunnyside Road. Single -story commercial building with
Art Deco detailing. HPB determination of heritage landmark eligibility.
1946 Savory's Gardens. 5300 Whiting Avenue. Horticultural landscape, display
gardens.
1947 House. 4814 Lakeview Drive. Ranch style stone house.
1948 Stromme, Dr. William, House. 4905 Ridge Road. House designed by McClure
and Kerr.
77
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
1949 Edina High School (Edina Community Center &Normandale Elementary School).
5701 Normandale Road. Lang and Raugland, architects.
1950 Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. 4801 France Avenue South. Modern
styled church. with sculpture by Evelyn Raymond.
1952 Concord Elementary School.5900 Concord Avenue South. Lang and Raugland,
architects.
Liebenberg, Jacob (Jack) J., House. 5112 Ridge Road. Ranch style house
designed by Liebenberg and Kaplan.
1954 Normandale Lutheran Church. 6100 Normandale Road. Designed by Carl
Graffunder.
1956 Southdale Shopping Center. France Avenue and 66th Street South. State
inventory number HE -EDC -0585. Enclosed shopping center.
Moore, Sara, House. 6909 Hillcrest Lane. Ranch style residence designed by
Thorshov and Cerny, architects.
1957 Highlands Elementary School. 5505 Doncaster Way. Lang and Raugland,
. architects.
1958 St. Peter's Lutheran Church. 5421 France Avenue South. SHPO inventory
number HE -EDC 70586. Church designed by Ralph Rapson (1914- 2008),
architect.
Edina Community Lutheran Church. 4113 West 54th Street. Brick A -frame
church designed by Ralph Rapson and Associates.
1959 Abrahamson, Bruce A., House. 7205 Shannon Drive. SHPO inventory number
HE -EDC -0627. Bruce A. Abrahamson, architect.
Sturges House. 6813 Oaklawn Avenue South. SHPO inventory number HE-
EDC -0592. House designed by Arthur Dickey:
Municipal Swimming. Pool.4300 West 66th Street. Shifflet, Backstrom,
Hutchinson and Dickey, architects.
1960 Cornelia Elementary School. 7000 Cornelia Drive. Lang and Raugland,
architects.
Edina - Morningside Junior High School /Normandale Elementary School. 4725
South View Lane. Lang, Raugland and Burnet, architects.
78
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
Edina Country Club.5100 Wooddale Avenue South. Clubhouse. Thorshov and
Cerny, architects.
House. 6809 Oaklawn Avenue South. Large house with fieldstone faced triple
garage, overlooking Lake Cornelia.
1961 Moore House. 6816 Valley View Road. SHPO inventory number HE -EDC -0593.
Calvary Lutheran Church. 6817 Antrim Road. Sovik Mathre and Madson,
architects.
1963 House ( "Horizon House "). 4233 Lynn Avenue. Concrete block and stucco house
designed by Alden, C. Smith.
Interlachen Court. 5320 West 53rd Street/5300 Vernon Avenue. 4 story
apartment building.
1963 Pentagon Park. 4940 Viking Drive. '6 story commercial office building
designed by Gerald. A. Rauenhorst; part of-a 16- building office park developed
1963 -1970.
1964 Braemar Golf Course Clubhouse. Valley View Road off Dewey Hill Road. SHPO
inventory number HE- EDC -0587. Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, architects.
Valley View .Junior High School /Edina West High School/Valley View Middle
School. 6000 Valley View Road. Lang and Rau gland, architects.
Creek Valley Elementary School. 6401 Gleason Road.
1965 Fairview Southdale Hospital. 6401 France Avenue South. 8 story medical office
building designed and built by Ellerbe and Co. and BWBR Architects.
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. 500 Blake Road South. SMSQ
architects.
Braemar Ice Arena. 7501 Ikola Way. Indoor ice skating facility.
Southdale Office Center. 6600 France Avenue South. 6 story commercial office
building.
Manor Apartments. 3450 Heritage Drive. 5 story apartment building
1966- Countryside Elementary School. 5701 Benton Avenue South.
1968 One Corporate Center. 7400 Metro Boulevard. 6 story International style office
building.
79
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
White Oaks Apartments. 3901 -3911 West 49th Street. 4 story apartment
building.
1970 Rembrandt Apartments. 3434 Heritage Drive. 5 story apartment building.
1971 Yorkdale. 6803 =6805 York Avenue South. Shopping center.
Edina Towers. 6400 Barrie Road. 17 story apartment building. Gingold -Pink
Architects.
1972 Edina West High School. 6754 Valley View Road. Armstrong, Schlichting,
Torseth and Skold, architects.
Yorktown Centennial Apartments. 7175 York Avenue South. 12 story apartment
building.
1973 Edina Municipal Liquor Store. 6801 York Avenue South. Designed by Cerny
Associates.
Titus Building. 6550 York Avenue South. 6 story modernist commercial office
building with cantilevered upper floor.
1974 Building. 7300 France Avenue South. 4 story commercial office building.
1975 YMCA Southdale Branch. 7355 York Avenue South. SHPO inventory number
HE -EDC -0591.
1976 Southdale Branch, Hennepin County Library. 7001 -7005 York Avenue South.
SHPO inventory number HE -EDC -0590. 3 story public library designed by
Hodne /Stageberg Partners.
Point of France. 6556 France Avenue South. 14 story apartment building
designed by KKE Architects.
York Plaza. 7230 York Avenue South. 5 story apartment building.
1976 Galleria Shopping Mall. 3510 Galleria Way. Shopping center.
1977 Durham Apartments. 6201 York Avenue South. 13 story apartment. building
, designed by Dubin, Dubin, Black and Moutoussamy.
1979 Edina Office Center. 7700 France Avenue South. 5 story modernistic
commercial office building.
Edina Executive Plaza. 5200 Willson Road. 4 story commercial office building.
80
Suburban Development in Edina Since 1935:
A Historic Context Study
1980 Colonial Church of Edina. 6200 Colonial Way. SHPO inventory number HE-
EDC -0588. Post - Modernist Colonial Revival church designed by Hammel, Green
and Abrahamson.
1981 Regis Q. 7201 Metro Boulevard. 9 story modernistic office building.
Braemar Office Park.7900 West 78th Street. 4 story commercial office building.
Second phase built 1983:
1985 Edina Park. Place-of Edinborough. 3300 Edinborough Way. 18 story. modernistic
building designed by Culpepper, McAuliffe and Meaders, Inc.
1986 House 4729 Annaway, Drive. Modern. house with sculpture garden. Ralph
Rapson, architect.
1987 Edinborough Park, 7700 York Avenue.1 acre indoor park, garden, recreation
facilities.
1989 , Fairview Southdale Physicians Building. 6363 France Avenue South. 5 story
medical office building with glass curtain wall fagade designed by James M.
Cooperman & Associates.
81
iT-i frr, WNW
--------------
A I I III!
4
O"MMI
r- i' '• I.. I _ I � �. � � � ,. T r � I _ � I �' I• �� i �: ` I I '� I I �
Anne E. Grimmer with Jo Ellen Hensley I Liz Petrella I Audrey T. Tepper
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Technical Preservation Services
Washington, D.C.
VZOIN
Contents
iv. Acicnowledgements
v Foreword
vi The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation
Introduction to the Standards
viii Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings
Introduction to the Guidelines
xi Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings
1 Sustainability
2 Planning
3 Maintenance
4 Windows
8 Weatherixation and Insulation
10 Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAQ
and Air Circulation.
14 Solar Technology
16 Wind Power —Wind Turbines and Windmills
18 Roofs — Cool Roofs and Green Roofs
20 Site Features and Water Efficiency
22 Daylighting
Acknowledgements
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation &
Illustrated Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings was
produced by Anne E. Grimmer and Kay D. Weeks, first
published in 1992 and reprinted in 1997. The Illustrated
Guidelines on Sustainabilily for Rehabilitating Historic Build-
ings, which are presented in the same format, replace the
chapter on "Energy Conservation" in the 1992 publication.
They have been developed with the guidance and support
of numerous public agencies, professional organizations
and individuals.
All photographs and drawings included here not individually credited have
been selected from National Park Service files.
L
Foreword
The Illustrated Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings
replaces the chapter on "Energy Conservation" in the Illustrated Guidelines for
Rehabilitating Historic Buildings published in 1992. (This same guidance is presented
in the chapter entitled "Energy Retrofitting" in the unillustrated Guidelines
for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings.) The illustrated version of the Guidelines
for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings was designed to further enhance overall
understanding and interpretation of basic preservation principles. The Illustrated
Guidelines on Sustainability begin with an overview focusing on the fact that historic
buildings are themselves often inherently sustainable and that this should be used to
advantage in any proposal to upgrade them. These guidelines offer specific guidance
on hour to make historic buildings more sustainable in a maiuzer that will preserve
their historic character and that will meet The Secretary of the Interior's Standards
for Rehabilitation. The written guidance is illustrated with examples of appropriate
or "recommended" treatments and some that are "not recommended" or could
negatively impact the building's historic character. The National Park Service Branch
of Technical Preservation Services has developed these illustrated guidelines in
accordance with its directive to provide information concerning professional methods
and techniques to ensure the preservation and rehabilitation of the historic properties
that are an important part of the nation's heritage.
THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR'S
STANDARDS FOR REHABILITATION
Introduction to the Standards
The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for establishing
standards for all programs under Departmental authority and
for advising federal agencies on the preservation of historic
properties listed in or eligible for listing in the National Regis-
ter of Historic Places. In partial fulfillment of this responsibil-
ity The Secretary of the I17te1'i07'S Standm•ds for the Treatment
of Historic Properties have been developed to guide work
undertaken on historic properties; there are separate standards
for preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and reconstruc-
tion. The Standards for Rehabilitation (codified in 3 6 CFR 67)
comprise that section of the overall treatment standards and
address the most prevalent treatment. "Rehabilitation" is de-
fined as the act or process of making possible a compatible use
fora property through repair, alterations, and additions while
preserving those portions or features which convey its histori-
cal, cultural, or architectural values."
Initially developed by the Secretary of the Interior to deter-
mine the appropriateness of proposed project work on regis-
tered properties supported by the Historic Preservation Fund
grant -in -aid program, the Standards have been widely used
VI
[1] Stained glass skylight provides
natural light in a historic train station.
over the years — particularly to determine if a rehabilitation
project qualifies as a Certified Rehabilitation for Federal His-
toric Preservation Tax Incentives. In addition, the Standards
have guided federal agencies in carrying out their responsibili-
ties for properties in federal ownership or control; and state
and local officials in reviewing both federal and non - federal
rehabilitation proposals. They have also been adopted by his-
toric district and planning commissions across the country.
The intent of the Standards is to assist in the long -term
preservation of historic materials and features. The Standards
pertain to historic buildings of all materials, construction
types, sizes and occupancy and include the exterior and the
interior of the buildings. They also encompass the building's
site and environment, including landscape features, as well as
attached, adjacent or related new construction. To be certified
for federal tax purposes, a rehabilitation project must be de-
termined by the Secretary of the Interior to be consistent with
the historic character of the structure(s) and, where applicable,
the district in which it is located.
[2 -3] -Clerestory windows provide natural light in a historic industrial building: Before and after rehabilitation.
Via:' /�• I'' N�,
,VN
a X,
&" v V
[4] Covered walkways and horizontal sun screens are distinctive
and sustainable features in some mid - century modern office
buildings.
J
As stated in the definition, the treatment "rehabilitation"
assumes that at least some repair or alteration of the historic
building will be needed in order to provide for an efficient
contemporary use; however, these repairs and alterations must
not damage or destroy materials, features or Finishes that are
important in defining the building's historic character. For
example, certain treatments —if improperly applied —may
cause or accelerate physical deterioration of the historic build-
ing. This can include using improper repointing or exterior
masonry cleaning techniques, or introducing insulation that
may damage historic fabric. Any of these treatments will likely
result in a project that does not meet the Standards. Similarly,
exterior additions that duplicate the form, material and detail-
ing of the historic structure to the extent that they compromise
its historic character also will fail to meet the Standards.
►VIII
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation
The Standards (Department of the Interior regulations 36 CPR 67) pertain to all historic properties listed in or
eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
1) A property shall be used for its intended historic purpose 5) Distinctive features, finishes, and construc-
or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to tion techniques or examples of craftsman -
the defining characteristics of the building and its site and ship that characterize a historic property
environment. shall be preserved.
2) The historic character of a property shall be retained and 6) Deteriorated historic features
preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration
of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be
avoided.
3) Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of
its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of
historical development, such as adding conjectural features
or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be
undertaken.
4) Most properties change over time; those changes that have
acquired historic significance in their own right shall be
retained and preserved.
VHF
shall be repaired rather than
replaced. Where the severity
of deterioration requires
replacement of a distinctive
feature, the new feature shall
match the old in design, color,
texture, and other visual
qualities and, where possible,
materials. Replacement of
missing features shall be
substantiated by documentary,
physical, or pictorial evidence.
N 5
[5 -61 Large windows and a roof monitor provide natural
illumination in a historic industrial building.
C7 -93 Porches and canvas awnings provide shade and keep interiors
cool in historic residential and commercial buildings.
9
7
J_
AM
LIP, aA
7) Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting,
that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used.
The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be
undertaken using the gentlest means possible. .
S) Significant archeological resources affected by a project
shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must
be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
4 .
s
9) New additions, ex-tetior alterations, or related new con-
struction shall not destroy historic materials that charac-
terize the property. The new work shall be differentiated
from the old and shall be compatible with the massing,
size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic
integrity of the property and its environment.
10) New additions and adjacent or related new construction
shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in
the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic
property and its environment would be unimpaired.
L;
IX
T I ~
�l
[11] A vestibule helps retain interior conditioned
air in the living space in this historic row house.
X
.K
[10] Wood shutters provide natural light when open and keep
interiors cool when closed in historic residential buildings.
12
[12 -14] Roof monitors provide natural light
in historic industrial buildings
13
IL
GUIDELINES -FOR REHABILITATING HISTORIC BUILDfNGS
Introduction to the Guidelines
The Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings were
initially developed in 1977 to help property owners, develop-
ers and federal managers apply The Secretai y of the Interior's
Standards for Rehabilitation during the project planning stage
by providing general design and technical recommendations.
Unlike the Standards, the Guidelines are not codified as pro-
gram requirements.
The Guidelines are general and intended to provide guidance
to help in interpreting and applying the Standards to all re-
habilitation projects. They are not meant to give case - specific
advice. For instance, they cannot tell owners or developers
which features in a historic building are important in defining
the historic character and must be retained. This case -by -case
determination is best accomplished by seeking assistance from
qualified historic preservation professionals in the very early
stages of project planning.
Like the Standards, the Guidelines pertain to historic build-
ings of all materials, construction types, sizes and occupancy;
and apply to exterior and interior work, as well as new addi-
tions and the building's site and environment. The Guidelines
are presented in a "Recommended" vs. "Not Recommended"
format. Those approaches, treatments and techniques that
are consistent with The Secretaa y of d7e Interior's Standards for
Rehabilitation are listed in the ".Recommended" column on
the left; those approaches, treatments and techniques which
could adversely affect a building's historic character are listed
in the "Not Recommended" column on the right. To provide
clear and consistent guidance for property owners, developers
and federal agency managers, the "Recommended" courses of
action are listed in order of historic preservation concerns so
that a rehabilitation project may be successfully planned and
completed —one that, first, assures the preservation of a build-
ing's important or "character- defining" architectural materials,
features and spaces and, second,,makes possible an efficient
contemporary use. The guidance that follows begins with the
most basic and least invasive approaches that will help the
project achieve.the desired. goal, before considering work that
may involve more change and potentially greater impact on
the historic character of the building.
XI
Sustainability
Before implementing any energy conservation measures to
enhance the sustainability of a historic building, the existing
energy - efficient characteristics of the building should be
assessed. Buildings are more than their individual components.
The design, materials, type of construction, size, shape, site
orientation, surrounding landscape and climate all play a role
in how buildings perform. Historic building construction
methods and materials often maximized natural sources of
heating, lighting and ventilation to respond to local climatic
conditions. The key to a successful rehabilitation project
is to identify and understand any lost original and existing
energy - efficient aspects of the historic building, as well as
to identify and understand its character - defining features to
ensure they are preserved. The most sustainable building
may be one that already exists. Thus, good preservation
practice is often synonymous with sustainability. There are
numerous treatments -- traditional as well as new technological
innovations- -that may be used to upgrade a historic building
to help it operate even more efficiently. Increasingly stricter
energy standards and code requirements may dictate that at
least some of these treatments be implemented as part of a
rehabilitation project of any size or type of building. Whether
a historic building is rehabilitated for a new or a continuing
use, it is important to utilize the building's inherently -
sustainable qualities as they were intended. It is equally
important that they function effectively together with any new
measures undertaken to further improve energy efficiency.
[151 Glass skylight illuminates historic shopping arcade.
15
174
16
_Z7 7 T i
[16 -18] Inherently
_ sustainable features
of historic buildings:
Shutters and a deep
porch keep the interior
cool in a historic house
in a warm climate
(top); a skylight
provides natural light
to the interior of this
mid -20th century
house (center);
"+ partially glazed
partitions and doors
;A allow natural light
into the corridor of a
historic office building
_ (bottom).
0
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Forming an integrated sustainability team
Omitting preservation expertise from a sus -
when working on a large project that
tainability project team.
includes a preservation professional to
ensure that the character and integrity of
the historic building is maintained during
any upgrades.
Analyzing the condition of inherently -sus-
Ignoring inherently - sustainable features of
tainable features of the historic building,
the existing historic building when creating
such as shutters, storm windows, awnings,
energy models and planning upgrades.
porches, vents, roof monitors, skylights,
light wells, transoms and naturally -lit cor-
ridors, and including them in energy audits
and energy modeling, before planning
upgrades.
Identifying ways to reduce energy use,
such as installing fixtures and appliances
that conserve resources, including energy -
efficient lighting or energy- efficient lamps
in existing light fixtures, low -flow plumbing
fixtures, sensors and timers that control
water flow, lighting and temperature,
before undertaking more invasive
treatments that may negatively impact the
historic building.
Prioritizing sustainable improvements,
Beginning work with substantive or irrevers-
beginning with minimally invasive treat-
ible treatments without first considering and
ments that are least likely to damage
implementing less invasive measures.
historic building material.
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Maintaining historic buildings regularly
Delaying maintenance treatments which may
to preserve historic fabric and maximize
result in the loss of historic building fabric
operational efficiency.
or decrease the performance of existing
systems or features.
Retaining and repairing durable historic
Removing durable historic building materials
building materials
and replacing them with materials perceived
as more sustainable; for instance, removing
historic heart pine flooring and replacing it
with new bamboo flooring.
Using environmentally - friendly cleaning
Using cleaning products potentially harmful
products that are compatible with historic
to both historic finishes and the environ-
finishes.
ment.
Using sustainable products and treat-
ments, such as low VOC paints and adhe-
sives and lead -safe paint removal methods,
as much as possible, when rehabilitating a
historic building.
19 '-
ii?
ti
Recommended: [19]
Caulking the gap
between the aluminum
storm window and
wood window frame
helps maximize thermal
efficiency in this historic
residence.
[20] Using sustainable
20 cleaning products
preserves both the
environment and the
historic building.
-1
Not Recommended: [21 -22] The peeling paint on an
exterior window sill and on the interior of a window
indicates that these features have not received regular
maintenance. The broken casement window hardware
also needs to be repaired to make the window operable.
21
22
3
24
21
23 =r-- -
i
Recommended: [23 -25] Historic exterior storm windows have been
well maintained and continue to perform as intended.
Recommended: [26] The new metal interior
storm window was carefully matched to the
exterior window as part of the rehabilitation
of this historic armory building.
RECOMMENDED
NOT RECOMMENDED
Maintaining windows on a regular basis to
Neglecting to maintain historic windows and
ensure that they function properly and are
allowing them to deteriorate beyond repair
completely operable.
with the result that they must be replaced.
Retaining and repairing historic windows
Removing repairable historic windows and
when deteriorated.
replacing them with new windows for per-
ceived improvement in energy performance.
Weather stripping and caulking historic
windows, when appropriate, to make them
weather tight.
Installing interior or exterior storm windows
Replacing repairable historic windows with
or panels that are compatible with existing
new insulated windows.
historic windows.
= � I
26
Not Recommended: [27] A broken sash cord
can be repaired easily and does not justify
replacement of the window.
27
28
i 31
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Installing compatible and energy- efficient
Installing incompatible or inefficient
replacement windows that match the
replacement window units that are
appearance, size, design, proportion and
not durable, recyclable or repairable
profile of the existing historic windows
when existing windows are deteriorated
and that are also durable, repairable and
beyond repair or missing.
recyclable, when existing windows are too
deteriorated to repair.
Replacing missing windows with new, energy -
efficient windows that are appropriate to the
style of historic building and that are also
durable, repairable and recyclable.
Retrofitting historic windows with high -per-
formance glazing or clear film, when pos-
sible, and only if the historic character can
be maintained.
r I
iR
Recommended: [28 -29]
These exterior storm
windows match the
pane configuration of
the historic interior
windows in a residence
and in a multi -story
hotel building.
29
Not Recommended: [31 -32]
III - fitting exterior aluminum
storm windows viewed from
both inside and outside are
clearly not energy efficient.
Not Recommended: [301 Not only have incompatible windows that
do not fit the size and shape of the historic window openings been
installed, but the original openings have also been shortened to
install through- the -wall HVAC units.
30
32
y!
� I •; v
I �
�1 I
_
._ .
5
33
�4
35 -
.f 7
Recommended: [33 -35] Original metal windows
were appropriately repaired as part of the
rehabilitation of this historic industrial building.
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Retrofitting historic steel windows and
curtain -wall systems to improve thermal
performance without compromising their
character.
Installing clear, low- emissivity (low -e) glass or
Retrofitting historically -clear windows with
film without noticeable color in historically-
tinted glass or reflective coatings that will
clear windows to reduce solar heat gain.
negatively impact the historic character of
the building.
Installing film in a slightly lighter shade of
Introducing clear glazing or a significantly
the same color tint when replacing glazing
lighter colored film or tint than the original
panels on historically -dark- tinted windows to
to improve daylighting when replacing
improve daylighting.
historically dark - tinted windows.
rK
U11.
37
TIC
Recommended: [36 -38] Original metal
windows were retained and made operable
during the rehabilitation of this historic mill
complex. Installing patio slider doors as
interior storm windows was a creative and
successful solution to improve the energy
efficiency of the existing windows.
RECOMMENDED
NOT RECOMMENDED
Maintaining existing, reinstalling or install-
Removing historic shutters and awnings or
ing new, historically- appropriate shutters and
installing inappropriate ones.
awnings.
Repairing or reopening historically - operable
Covering or removing existing transoms.
interior transoms, when possible, to improve
air flow and cross ventilation.
39
Recommended: [39-40]
The original windows,
which were deteriorated
beyond repair, featured
a dark tint. They were
replaced with a slightly
lighter- tinted glazing to
improve daylighting in this
mid - century modern office
building.
_07
Recommended: [41] Traditional canvas awnings should be retained
when they exist on historic buildings.
40
,. 42
(� ! Recommended: [43] The wall and door glazing
ensures that the corridor receives natural
daylight and the operable transom helps air to
circulate in this historic office building.
Recommended: [42] Transoms and
screen doors are distinctive and
practical features that provided cross
ventilation in this historic hotel.
41
43
Recommended: [46]
A hand -held infrared
scanner reveals areas
that are not well
insulated and that
allow heat transfer
through the walls of a
building.
44
.wit.___ _.
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Using a variety of analytical tools, such as
- IMai
a comprehensive energy audit, blower door
without first diagnosing the building's per -
Recommended:
formance and energy needs.
[44 -45] A blower
door test is a useful
-_
tool to help identify
1
air infiltration in a
i
historic building
it
before undertaking
weatherization or
I ; ' I
retrofit treatments.
Undertaking treatments that result in loss
Top Photo: Robert J.
I ,
Cagnetta, Heritage
Restoration, hic.
ing wall insulation that requires removing
and weather stripping, before undertaking
plaster, before carrying out simple and less
Recommended: [46]
A hand -held infrared
scanner reveals areas
that are not well
insulated and that
allow heat transfer
through the walls of a
building.
44
.wit.___ _.
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Using a variety of analytical tools, such as
Implementing energy- retrofit measures
a comprehensive energy audit, blower door
without first diagnosing the building's per -
tests, infrared thermography, energy modeling
formance and energy needs.
or daylight modeling, to gain an understand-
ing of the building's performance and poten-
tial before implementing any weatherization
or retrofit treatments.
Developing a weatherization plan based on
the results of the energy analysis of the build-
ing's performance and potential.
Eliminating infiltration first, beginning with
Undertaking treatments that result in loss
the least invasive and most cost - effective
of historic fabric, for example, install -
weatherization measures, such as caulking
ing wall insulation that requires removing
and weather stripping, before undertaking
plaster, before carrying out simple and less
more invasive weatherization measures.
damaging weatherization measures.
Understanding the inherent thermal proper-
ties of the historic building materials and
the actual insulating needs for the specific
climate and building type before adding or
changing insulation.
Insulating unfinished spaces, such as attics,
Insulating a finished space, which requires
basements and crawl spaces, first.
removing historic plaster and trim, before
insulating unfinished spaces.
45
46
Recommended: [47 -48] Insulation should be installed
first in unfinished areas such as attics, crawl spaces
and basements of residential buildings.
47 48
8
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Using the appropriate type of insulation in
Using wet -spray or other spray -in insula-
unfinished spaces and ensuring the space is
tion that is not reversible or may damage
adequately ventilated.
historic materials.
Adding insulation in cavities that are sus-
ceptible to water infiltration.
Ensuring that air infiltration is reduced before
Insulating walls without first reducing air
adding wall insulation.
infiltration.
Installing appropriate wall insulation, only if
Installing wall insulation that is not revers -
necessary, after lower impact treatments have
ible and that may cause damage to historic
been carried out.
building materials.
Installing insulation on the exterior of a
historic building, which results in the loss
of historic materials and may alter the pro-
portion and relationship of the wall to the
historic windows and trim.
Removing interior plaster only in limited
Removing all interior plaster to install ap-
quantities and when absolutely necessary to
propriate insulation.
install appropriate insulation.
Replacing interior plaster— removed to install
Replacing interior plaster — removed to
insulation —with plaster or gypsum board to
install insulation —with gypsum board that
retain the historic character of the interior,
is too thick and that alters the historic pro -
and in a manner that retains the historic
portion and relationship of the wall to the
proportion and relationship of the wall to the
historic windows and trim.
historic windows and trim.
Reinstalling historic trim that was removed to
Replicating trim rather than retaining and
install insulation.
reinstalling historic trim that is repairable.
Not Recommended: [49] The original proportion and
relationship of the wall to the door trim has been all but
lost because the gypsum board installed was too thick.
[50 -51] When wall insulation was installed here the
walls were furred out, which created deep, historically
inappropriate window recesses. The repairable historic
trim was also not reinstalled.
52
0
Recommended: [52 -53]
The original proportion and
relationship of the wall to
the windows and trim,
which is important in defining the
character of these historic interior
spaces, has been retained here.
Recommended: [54] This rigid insulation has been correctly installed
in the wall cavity so that when the gypsum board is hung the original
proportion and relationship of the wall to the trim will be retained.
Photo: Robert J. Cagnetta, Heritage Restoration, Inc.
I
49 so
51
9
55
Recommended: [55 -57]
Replacing existing HVAC systems without
testing their efficiency first.
Wood vents in the gable'f
Replacing HVAC systems prematurely when
ends of a historic house
and a barn and cast -iron
oval vents in a masonry
r
foundation traditionally
—
helped air circulate.
-
"�",�,-
of the building and site when a new HVAC
system may be more appropriate.
system is necessary.
i wiii�
56
10
RECOMMENDED
NOT RECOMMENDED
Retaining and maintaining functional and ef-
ficient HVAC systems.
Replacing existing HVAC systems without
testing their efficiency first.
Upgrading existing HVAC systems to increase
Replacing HVAC systems prematurely when
efficiency and performance within normal
existing systems are operating efficiently.
replacement cycles.
Installing an energy- efficient system that
Installing an inefficient HVAC system or
takes into account whole building perfor-
installing a new system based on pre -ret-
mance and retains the historic character
rofit building performance when a smaller
of the building and site when a new HVAC
system may be more appropriate.
system is necessary.
��
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Supplementing the efficiency of HVAC sys-
tems with less energy- intensive measures,
such as programmable thermostats, attic
and ceiling fans, louvers and vents, where
appropriate.
Retaining or installing high efficiency, duct-
Installing through- the -wall air condition -
less air conditioners when appropriate, which
ers, which damages historic material and
may be a more sensitive approach than
negatively impacts the building's historic
installing a new, ducted, central air - condition-
character.
ing system that may damage historic building
material.
Installing a central HVAC system in a man -
ner that damages historic building material.
58
I
i
S9
VC
-,
Recommended: [60] Original radiators that are still functional
and efficient were retained in the rehabilitation of this historic
house.
Recommended: [58] Ceiling fans
enhance the efficiency of HVAC
systems in historic buildings.
Recommended: [59] Installing a programmable
thermostat can help existing systems to operate
more efficiently.
60
- — 61
ty
Not Recommended: [61] The cuts made in the brick and the decorative stone trim to
install through- the -wall air conditioners have not only destroyed building material,
but have also negatively impacted the character of this historic apartment building.
11
62
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Installing new mechanical ductwork sensi-
Installing new mechanical ductwork that
tively or using a mini -duct system, so that
is visible from the exterior or adversely
ducts are not visible from the exterior and do
impacts the historic character of the inte-
not adversely impact the historic character of
rior space.
the interior space.
F
Leaving interior ductwork exposed where
Leaving interior ductwork exposed in
appropriate, such as in industrial spaces, or
highly - finished spaces where it would
when concealing the ductwork would destroy
negatively impact the historic character of
historic fabric.
the space.
Leaving interior ductwork exposed and paint-
Leaving exposed ductwork unpainted in
ing it, when concealing it would negatively
finished interior spaces, such as those with
impact historic fabric, such as a historic
a pressed metal ceiling.
pressed metal ceiling.
Placing HVAC equipment where it will operate
Placing HVAC equipment in highly - visible
effectively and efficiently and be minimally
locations on the roof or on the site where it
visible and will not negatively impact the
will negatively impact the historic character
historic character of the building or its site.
of the building or its site.
6' i - - -
F
r`
12
64 '
65
66
Recommended: [62 -63] Carefully installed new mechanical ductwork is barely visible in the elaborately
decorated ceiling of this historic theater. Not Recommended: [66] Interior
[64] The ductwork has been left unpainted which is compatible with this historic industrial interior. ductwork has been inappropriately
[65] To avoid damaging the metal ceiling, the ductwork was left exposed and it was painted to minimize its left exposed and unpainted here
impact, thus preserving the historic character of this former bank, in this traditionally- finished school
entrance hall.
RECOMMENDED
(1H k).
NOT RECOMMENDED
Commissioning or examining the performance
Installing a new HVAC system without
of the I-IVAC system and continuing to exam-
commissioning or testing its efficiency after
ine it regularly to ensure that it is operating
installation.
efficiently.
Investigating whether a geothermal heat
Installing a geothermal heat pump without
pump will enhance the heating and cooling
evidence that it will improve the heating
efficiency of the building before installing
and cooling efficiency of the building.
one.
Installing a geothermal system where there
is a significant landscape or where there
are archeological resources that could be
damaged.
67
Recommended:[67] A professional energy iliz UU u . 11 11 '111
auditor analyzes the performance of an existing - _-
furnace to ensure it is operating efficiently,
[68 -69] A geothermal system, evidenced by a
panel in the sidewalk, was installed on the site of
this historic firehouse during rehabilitation. I" - -• - - . __
_ r
r�
MOW
Recommended; [70 -71]
A geothermal system
was installed on the
68 property of this historic
mansion, but only
after an archeological
investigation was
conducted of the
grounds.
69
70
71
13
IL d
72
ID —aft
r
73
`f • Est
Recommended: [72 -73] Solar panels were Recommended: [74] Free - standing solar panels have
installed appropriately on the rear portion of been installed here that are visible but appropriately
the roof on this historic row house that are not located at the rear of the property and compatible with
visible from the primary elevation. the character of this industrial site.
r°I
V
M
I
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Considering on -site, solar technology only
Installing on -site, solar technology without
after implementing all appropriate treatments
first implementing all appropriate treat -
to improve energy efficiency of the building,
ments to the building to improve its energy
which often have greater life -cycle cost ben-
efficiency.
efit than on -site renewable energy.
Analyzing whether solar technology can be
Installing a solar device without first
used successfully and will benefit a historic
analyzing its potential benefit or whether it
building without compromising its character
will negatively impact the character of the
or the character of the site or the surrounding
historic building or site or the surrounding
historic district.
historic district.
Installing a solar device in a compatible loca-
Placing a solar device in a highly - visible
tion on the site or on a non - historic building
location where it will negatively impact the
or addition where it will have minimal impact
historic building and its site.
on the historic building and its site.
Installing a solar device on the historic
Installing a solar device on the historic
building only after other locations have been
building without first considering other
investigated and determined infeasible.
locations.
74
Not Recommended: [75] Solar roof panels have been
installed at the rear, but because the house is situated
on a corner, they are highly visible and negatively
impact the character of the historic property.
75
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Installing a low - profile solar device on the
Installing a solar device in a prominent
historic building so that it is not visible or
location on the building where it will nega-
only minimally visible from the public right of
tively impact its historic character.
way: for example, on a flat roof and set back
to take advantage of a parapet or other roof
feature to screen solar panels from view; or on
a secondary slope of a roof, out of view from
the public right of way.
Installing a solar device on the historic build-
Installing a solar device on the historic
ing in a manner that does not damage historic
building in a manner that damages historic
roofing material or negatively impact the
roofing material or replaces it with an in-
building's historic character and is reversible,
compatible material and is not reversible.
Removing historic roof features to install
solar panels.
Altering a historic, character - defining roof
slope to install solar panels.
Installing solar devices that are not
reversible.
Installing solar roof panels horizontally -- flat
Placing solar roof panels vertically where
or parallel to the roof —to reduce visibility.
they are highly visible and will negatively
impact the historic character of the
building.
- •ra r-
ne r - i- •� - : �c
76
i i'''1m1'
.' �IIG.
77
Not Recommended: [79] Although installing solar panels behind a
rear parking lot might be a suitable location in many cases, here the
panels negatively impact the historic property on which they are
located.
79
Recommended: [76 -77] Solar panels, which also serve as awnings,
were installed in secondary locations on the side and rear of this
historic post office and cannot be seen from the front of the building.
[78] Solar panels placed horizontally on the roof of this historic
building are not visible from below.
78
15
ao
16
=t
Recommended: (801 It is often best to install wind - powered
equipment in off -site, rural locations to avoid negatively
impacting a historic building and its site.
[811 This wind turbine is located in a large parking lot next to
a historic manufacturing complex and it is compatible with
the character of the industrial site.
[821 This 2011 Kansas postage stamp features a traditional
windmill and modern wind turbines to illustrate the
importance of wind power in the growth of the state.
WIND �TURBiNES AN DNiIL
RECOMMENDED
NOT RECOMMENDED
Considering on -site, wind -power technol-
ogy only after implementing all appropriate
treatments to the building to improve energy
efficiency, which often have greater life -cycle
cost benefit than on -site renewable energy.
Installing on -site, wind -power technology,
without first implementing all appropri-
ate treatments to the building to improve
energy efficiency.
Analyzing whether wind -power technology
Installing wind - powered equipment without
can be used successfully and will benefit a
first analyzing its potential benefit or
historic building without compromising its
whether it will negatively impact the char -
character or the character of the site or the
acter of the historic building or the site or
surrounding historic district.
the surrounding historic district.
Installing wind- powered equipment in an
Placing wind - powered equipment on the
appropriate location on the site or on a non-
site where it is highly visible when it is not
historic building or addition where it will not
compatible with the historic character of
negatively impact the historic character of the
the site.
building, the site or the surrounding historic
district.
' l
• 82
usn roA1tY�
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Installing wind - powered equipment on the
Installing wind - powered equipment on the
historic building without damaging the roof
historic building in a manner that dam -
or walls or otherwise negatively impacting the
ages the roof, compromises its structure or
building's historic character.
negatively impacts the building's historic
■ 1� '
character.
l: ■ I� ■
Removing historic roof features to install
,� I
wind - powered equipment, such as wind
' ■
turbines.
1� 1■ FIG
L'
Installing wind - powered equipment on the
historic building that is not reversible.
Installing wind - powered equipment on the
l'.
primary fagade of a historic building or
��■ ■
where it is highly visible.
Investigating off -site, renewable energy
.
options when installing on -site wind -power
III III I
equipment would negatively impact the his-
IU 111 `1� i
toric character of the building or site.
1 1
Not Recommended:
[83 -84] This historic hotel is a prominent
and highly visible local landmark, and
the wind turbines proposed to be added
on the roof would negatively impact its
historic character.
n r NO
84
83
17
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111 UI
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.
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84
83
17
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84
83
17
86
Z
85
Recommended: [85 -86] A cool or green roof is best
installed on a flat roof where it cannot be seen from the
public right of way and will not negatively impact the
character of the historic building.
r� r
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Retaining and repairing durable, character-
Replacing durable, character- defining
defining historic roofing materials in good
historic roofing materials in good condition
condition.
with a roofing material perceived as more
sustainable.
Analyzing whether a cool roof or a green roof
is appropriate for the historic building.
Installing a cool roof or a green roof on a flat-
Installing a cool roof or a green roof without
roofed historic building where it• will not be
considering whether it will be highly vis-
visible from the public right of way and will
ible from the public right of way and will
not negatively impact the building's historic
negatively impact the building's historic
character.
character.
Selecting appropriate roofing materials and
Installing a cool roof that is incompatible in
colors when putting a new cool roof on the
material or color with the historic building.
historic building.
Ensuring that the historic building can
Adding a green roof that would be too
structurally accommodate the added weight
heavy and would damage the historic build -
of a green roof and sensitively improving the
ing or supplementing the structural capac-
structural capacity, if necessary.
ity of the historic building in an insensitive
manner.
Not Recommended: [87] Historic roofing materials
in good condition should be retained rather than
replaced with another material perceived as more
sustainable, such as, in this case, solar roofing
shingles.
88
Not Recommended: [88] This new, cool white
metal roof is not an appropriate material or color
for this historic mid -20th century house.
87
"9
Not Recommended: [87] Historic roofing materials
in good condition should be retained rather than
replaced with another material perceived as more
sustainable, such as, in this case, solar roofing
shingles.
88
Not Recommended: [88] This new, cool white
metal roof is not an appropriate material or color
for this historic mid -20th century house.
89
...Q®,. °nit ROOFS
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Ensuring that the roof is water tight and that
Installing a green roof without ensuring that
roof drains, gutters and downspouts function
the roof covering is watertight and that
properly before installing a green roof.
drainage systems function properly.
Including a moisture - monitoring system when
installing a green roof to protect the historic
building from added moisture and accidental
leakage.
Selecting sustainable native plants that are
drought resistant and will not require exces-
sive watering of a green roof.
Selecting appropriately - scaled vegetation for
Selecting vegetation for a green roof that
a green roof that will not grow so tall that it
will be visible above the roof or parapet.
will be visible and detract from the building's
historic character.
Recommended: [89 -921 Low -scale
and sustainable native plants are
appropriate for these roof gardens
on historic buildings.
90 -91
Not Recommended: [931 The vegetation on these green roofs has
grown too tall and negatively impacts the character of these historic
commercial buildings.
.+ Lr�
Mwsr �K
M- - 92
19
20
94
Yc
Recommended: [94 -95] Permeable pavers were
used at this historic residential property for a
driveway and parking (above) and a hard - packed,
construction aggregate provides environmentally -
friendly paths for visitors at this historic site
(below).
[96] Mature trees and a water feature contribute
to the sustainability of this mid - twentieth century
property.
96
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Respecting an important cultural landscape
Installing new sustainable site features
and significant character - defining site fea-
without considering their potentially nega-
tures when considering adding new sustain-
tive impact on an important cultural land -
able features to the site.
scape and character - defining site features.
Using to advantage existing storm - water -man-
.Ignoring existing features that contribute to
agement features, such as gutters, down-
the sustainability of the historic property.
spouts and cisterns, as well as site topography
and vegetation that contribute to the sustain-
ability of the historic property.
Adding natural, sustainable features to the
Removing existing natural features, such as
site, such as shade trees, if appropriate, to
shade trees, that contribute to the build -
reduce cooling loads for the historic building.
ing's sustainability.
Planting trees where they may grow to
encroach upon or damage the historic
building.
Using permeable paving where appropriate on
a historic building site to manage storm water.
Not Recommended: [97] This tree,
which was planted too close to the
building, has caused the masonry wall
to retain moisture that damaged the
mortar and required that the brick be
repointed in this area.
97
98
99
� I
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Avoiding paving up to the building founda-
Paving up to the building foundation with
tion to reduce heat island effect, building
impermeable materials.
temperature, damage to the foundation and
storm -water runoff.
II it
Landscaping with native plants, if appropri-
Introducing non - native plant species to the
ate, to enhance the sustainability of the
historic site that are not sustainable.
historic site.
concrete paving next to the foundation is
Adding features, such as bioswales, rain gar-
damaging these stones.
dens, rain barrels, large collection tanks and
cisterns, if compatible, to the historic build-
ing site to enhance storm -water management
and on -site water reuse.
Recommended: [98 -100] Rain gardens and rain-
water collection tanks are features that may be
added to a historic property to improve storm -
water management and increase on -site water use.
100 L_:�7.
GC�I
II it
4Z0,'�L`C•i
.�-�_ .�1 (
- .Y=
t17,
r'i nA
concrete paving next to the foundation is
100 L_:�7.
Rol
21
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i!'� � ``.�,+�� �'.f11111T2Tr.
4Z0,'�L`C•i
.�-�_ .�1 (
- .Y=
Not Recommended: [101] Splash back from the impermeable
r'i nA
concrete paving next to the foundation is
r _ eager
damaging these stones.
Rol
21
22
!� 102
w
Recommended: [102 -103]
Small, covered atriums that are
compatible with the character
of these historic warehouses
have been inserted to light the
interior.
103.
1 '
RECOMMENDED
NOT RECOMMENDED
Retaining features that provide natural light
Removing or covering features that provide
to corridors, such as partial glass partitions,
natural light to corridors, such as partial
glazed doors and transoms, commonly found
glass partitions, glazed doors and transoms,
in historic office buildings.
commonly found in historic office build-
ings.
Reopening historic windows that have been
Blocking in historic window openings to
blocked in to add natural light and ventila-
accommodate new building uses.
tion.
Adding skylights or dormers on secondary
Adding skylights or dormers on primary or
roof elevations where they are not visible or
highly - visible roof elevations where they will
are only minimally visible so that they do
negatively impact the building's historic
not negatively impact the building's historic
character.
character.
Adding a small light well or light tubes, where
necessary and appropriate, to allow more
daylight into the historic building.
Inserting a small atrium, only when necessary,
Cutting a very large atrium into the historic
to allow more daylight into the building in a
building that is not compatible with the
manner that is compatible with the historic
building's historic character.
character of the building.
Creating an open, uncovered atrium or
courtyard in the historic building that ap-
pears to be an outdoor space, rather than
an interior space.
Not Recommended: [104 -106]
Skylights added on a primary roof
elevation negatively impact the
character of these historic houses.
104
m
105 106
ion
RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED
Installing light- control devices on the historic
Installing light- control devices that are
building where appropriate to the building
incompatible with the type or style of the
type, such as light shelves in industrial or
historic building.
mid - century modern buildings, awnings on
some commercial and residential buildings
and shutters on residential buildings that had
them historically.
Installing automated daylighting controls on
interior lighting systems that ensure adequate
indoor lighting and allow for energy- saving
use of daylighting.
Adding new window openings on secondary
Adding new window openings on primary
and less visible facades, where appropriate,
elevations that will negatively impact the
to allow more natural light into the historic
character of the historic building.
building.
it
Recommended: [107] Traditional
canopies compatible with the industrial
character of this former factory
building were installed when it was
converted for residential use.
[108 -109] The original, partially - glazed
doors and office partitions, as well as
skylights, that let natural light into the
corridors were retained as part of the
rehabilitation of this early -20th century
building.
P'A
Recommended: [110]
171 A clerestory window
lights the interior
corridor of this historic
mill building.
[111] A limited number
of new window
openings may be added
to non- character-
defining, secondary
facades to allow natural
light into formerly
windowless spaces,
ion,
]r ,�,
Me
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
"•.: Technical Preservation Services