HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPB-May-8-Tours
City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424
Contact: David Katz, Communications Intern
Phone 952-833-9522 • Fax 952-826-0389 • www.EdinaMN.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Celebrate National Preservation Month by Touring
Edina’s Own Historic Sites
Edina, Minn., March 29, 2012 - Join volunteer docents from the Edina Historical Society and Edina
Heritage Preservation Board on Tuesday, May 8, for a 40-minute guided tour of two of the community’s most
valued historic treasures: the Minnehaha Grange Hall at Frank Tupa Park, 4918 Eden Ave., and St. Stephen’s
Episcopal Church, 4439 W. 50th St.
Tours will begin concurrently at both locations at 5 p.m. and 6:15 p.m, with a 35-minute break for transit.
Parking for the Grange Hall is available across the street at City Hall, and parking for St. Stephen’s Church can
be found at either Utley Park or Wooddale Park. Alternatively, provided the weather is nice, most will find
the short distance an easy walk in under 35 minutes.
Summer weather isn’t the only reason for holding this open house on May 8, though. May is also National
Preservation Month.
“As part of the our National Preservation Month commemoration, the Historical Society and Heritage
Preservation Board have hosted this joint open house since 2003,” said Joyce Repya, Associate Planner and
staff liaison to the Heritage Preservation Board. “The tours are especially well suited to the 2012 theme,
‘Discovering America’s Hidden Gems.’”
The featured buildings are indeed gems. St. Stephen’s dates to 1939 and was the 2011 recipient of the
Heritage Preservation Board’s annual Heritage Award. Chuck Liddy, an architect with Miller-Dunwiddie
Architecture, will be on hand to talk about the several additions made to the church over the years.
Grange Hall, built in 1879 on the plot where St. Stephen’s now stands, filled many important functions in
Edina’s early days, including serving as the first village hall. The City moved it to its current location in 1970. In
addition to the scheduled tours, the Cahill School, located next door to the Grange Hall, will be open to
visitors 5 to 7 p.m.
Tours will fill on a first come, first served basis. No advance reservations will be taken.
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