The Sheltering Arms House Rehab is Complete

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

There are photos of the interior at the end of this post, for those of you who may want to skip my ramblings and get to the best part.

The Sheltering Arms House, at 2648 Emerson Ave N, had a pre-open house on Saturday.  For those looking to read up on the recent history of this house, most of that was covered first on Johnny Northside, and later on this blog - each hyperlink will take you to that blog's "Sheltering Arms" search results.

In short, however, the home was built in 1891 as an orphanage for the Sheltering Arms Orphanage.  It is believed to be the first or among the first orphanages away from the main campus on the Mississippi riverfront.  The orphanage was the precursor to what is now the Sheltering Arms Foundation.

It's worth repeating that the Sheltering Arms was run by a group of twenty-five Episcopalian nuns, dedicated to serving needy children "without regard to race, color, or creed."  A women-run organization with that mission in eighteen ninety-one is a part of this city's history that most definitely needed to be preserved.

In a smaller sense, this house had its own place in north Minneapolis history as well.  That's because...

Surface Parking Denied, MPS to Bring Appeal to Full Council

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, image is a screen grab from video of Zoning & Planning.

On Tuesday, December 4, the Zoning and Planning Committee denied the Minneapolis Public Schools ongoing request to pave over yet more land along West Broadway.  CM Goodman led the charge, asking why land was taken off the tax rolls and yet the Public School system was still asking for more.  She was later corrected about her understanding of how that acquisition happened, as the MPS had ownership of the parcels in question for some time.

Which brings me to a side point.  The back half of the existing parking lot had some absolutely gorgeous houses on them.  I remember gazing wistfully upon those homes, knowing they would be demolished, and wishing there was an alternative.  Little did I know that an alternative to demolition did in fact exist.  MPS could have put in half a block of parking behind their building, half a block on the site proposed now, and left between five and ten historic structures standing.  (And, I might add, still on the tax rolls)

I'm not the only one who didn't have the whole story.  For instance, the MPS representatives didn't even know...

New Windows at Friedman's Shoes!

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo from the West Broadway Coalition Facebook page.

In my opinion, too much has been made about the windows and facade at Friedman's shoes.  The owners run a good store and give plenty back to the community.  That was enough for me to become a customer, and one purchase was all it took to earn my loyalty.  For others, that wasn't enough, but now even they have no excuse.

That's because over the next week, Friedman's will replace all of their old glass with the windows you see here.  The sign will also be refurbished - but no worries!  The iconic Friedman's signage will stay; that's an institution in and of itself.  The doorway will also be redone to include historic photos of the store throughout the decades.  The redesign is being done by Hawthorne's leading resident architect Alissa Luepke Pier, and another Hawthorne business, Mitchell Construction, is handling the installation work.

It's the best of all possible outcomes.  Everybody wins and the work to refurbish is kept local.  So what are you waiting for?  Get yourself some shoes already.

Dream Homes Remade!

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman

I've been pretty hard on the Dream Homes on this blog and elsewhere, going so far as to say I wouldn't mind one bit if they were torn down all at once.  That being said, demolition of existing housing stock is quite wasteful from an environmental standard.  (If any readers know of studies like this that have been done since the housing bust led to an increase in demolitions, I'd be happy to see those.)  So if we can find a way to transform some of these houses into positive contributions to our neighborhood - and without demolishing them - then I'm all for it.

That's where Alissa Luepke Pier, an (award-winning!) architect who lives in Hawthorne comes into play.  She called me up and said she's been working with Urban Homeworks on some redesigns of Dream Homes and other Koenig vinyl boxes.  The house shown above is at 2515 Irving Ave N, and other homes will hopefully be similarly redone.  Note the porch that extends across the front, and the detailing of the windows and the woodwork, as well as the bump out given to the bay window.  There's not much to be done for the side windows, and the house won't appeal to everyone, but what house does?

I was also shown redrawn floor plans, and space has been made for laundry, tools, and other home maintenance items.  Property owners of these places won't be dependent on a property manager to be able to come along and mow the lawn or do other basic upkeep.

On top of wanting to avoid waste as much as possible, I'm also a big fan of transformative symbols.  And how great would it be if we transformed these homes into recognizable signs of progress?  I'd love to bring people into NoMi, point to houses that look like this, and be able to say, "This house was built by one of the worst predatory investors our neighborhood has seen, but look at it now!"  Urban Homeworks and Alissa Luepke Pier accomplished something I didn't think was possible; they've got me excited about Dream Homes.