St. Anthony Falls Historic District


The following are all the contributing resources to the Saint Anthony Falls Historic District in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, thus these properties are on the NRHP. The "period of significance" of the District was 1858–1941. The district's archaeological record is considered to be one of the most-endangered historic sites in Minnesota.

The Historic District

The City Beautiful idea of progress was to replace old buildings with grander new buildings. The Gateway clearance in downtown Minneapolis tore down the now revered Metropolitan Building in 1961. That raised thoughts of historic preservation.
By then on the west bank most of the flour mills had been torn down, with gravel storage on many of the sites. Waterpower use ended 1960. A few mills operated into the 1960s, with the end of milling, at the Washburn A mill about 1965. In 1969 four of the former flour mills remained standing. For all the historic buildings, use became abandonment, warehousing, light industry, or in one case animal rendering. Second St. had railroad tracks.
On the east bank the mighty Pillsbury A mill ended waterpower use 1955, had limited specialty flour milling after 1975, and ended milling in 2003. Three of the four Main Street historic buildings went from commercial to industrial to empty or storage.
The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 promoted historic preservation and created the National Register of Historic Places. Minneapolis created the St. Anthony Falls Historic District, and it was added to the NRHP in 1971. The original filing included 21 existing structures. Minneapolis had decided the riverfront and its history was an amenity that could attract people.
In 1980, the Minneapolis Park Board proposed extending the West River Parkway from Plymouth Ave. through the mill district. That triggered a section 106 review. The review found numerous archaeological remains in the mill area, particularly under gravel piles on the river side of the power canal. Remains were also found between the falls and Plymouth Ave.
A great deal of public money has been spent in the Historic District, both on public entities, like the Mill City Museum and Mill Ruins Park, but also on private redevelopment of historic structures.
A lot was learned about the Historic District, and the NRHP nomination was amended in 1991 with much more narrative on the significance plus over four times the entities. A lot of the additions were the archeological remains and the individual houses on Nicollet Island.
Note that from the falls downstream the river flows substantially to the south east. In this article "south" will mean downstream and "east" is toward the east bank.

Extant

St. Anthony Falls Waterpower Area

Use of waterpower at the falls goes back to an 1821 sawmill and an 1823 grist mill, both built by Ft. Snelling. As soon as the area was opened up to white settlement. the land was claimed to get the waterpower rights. The falls was a major saw mill center, then from 1880 to 1930 had the largest flour production in the US. In 1881 the third central station hydroelectric plant in the US was built. Two major hydroelectric plants were built with a third plant just downstream. One of these plants is still operating. Other industries have also been powered by the falls. Minneapolis developed around these industries. A major part of the District is the remains of these industries.

Nicollet Island Residential Area

The upstream end of Nicollet Island had historic houses of varying architectural styles, and developed as a predominantly middle and working class neighborhood. Plans for redeveloping Nicollet Island were to demolish the houses for a park. The Minneapolis Housing and Redevelopment agency started buying properties in 1968. Residents wanted the houses to remain. In an epic struggle the residents won in 1983.
  • Adams-Barquist House, 177 Nicollet St.
  • Andrew and Ole Loberg House, 171 E. Island Ave.
  • Andrew and Ole Loberg House, 175 E. Island Ave.
  • Backe-Barquist House, 91 Nicollet St.
  • Baker-Leber House, 95 W. Island Ave.
  • Barquist-Holmberg House, 167-169 Nicollet St.
  • Brookins, George, W., House, 163 Nicollet St.
  • Griswold, Franklin G., House, 15-17 Maple Pl.
  • Griswold, Franklin, G., House, 107-109 W. Island Ave.
  • Grove St. Flats, 2-16 Grove St.
  • house, 27 Maple Pl.
  • house, 18-20 Maple Pl.
  • John Mayell House, 93 Nicollet St.
  • Meader-Farnham House, 103-105 W. Island Ave.
  • Murphy, Edward, House, 167-169 E. Island Ave.
  • O'Brien-Meyer House, 185-186 E. Island Ave.
  • Pease, R.M.S, House, 101 W. Island Ave.
  • Pye, James, House, 163 E. Island Ave.
  • William D. Burnett Tenement, 111-113 W. Island Ave.
  • Woodward Flat Duplex, 183-184 E. Island Ave.
  • Woodward Flat Fourplex, 187-190 E. Island Ave.

Extant - Other

Razed (but with archeological remains)

Associated with the West Bank Power Canal

The falls was the leading US flour milling center from 1880 to 1930. In the following decline many of the west bank mills were demolished in the 1930s. Into the 1960s most of the rest of the west bank mills were demolished or abandoned. Mills were demolished to the ground surface, leaving foundations, drop shafts, tailraces, headraces and sometimes turbines intact. Abandonment of the riverfront meant those remains were not destroyed by new development. Many of these sites are part of the Mill Ruins Park.

Razed - Other

  • Bridge No. L-9331, across Tenth Ave S, farthest east of 2nd St S.
  • Bridge No. L-9332, across Tenth Ave S, further east of 2nd St S.
  • Bridge No. L-9333, across Tenth Ave S, immediately east of 2nd St S.
  • Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha RR Roundhouse, 6th Ave N & W River Parkway
  • Eastman tunnel
  • Gateway Residential Area, along West River Parkway between Hennepin Ave and 3rd Ave S.
  • Hennepin Avenue Bridge Archaeological Site
  • Pacific Sawmill, W of West River Parkway between 1st and 2nd Ave. N.
  • Phoenix Flour Mill/Pillsbury Rye Mill, 101-103 Third Ave SE
  • Pillsbury "A" Steam Power Plant, Hennepin Island, E of access road extension of 3rd Ave SE
  • Second East Side Platform Sawmills, East river channel between foot of Second Ave. SE and foot of Third Ave.
  • West Side Power Plant, 3rd Ave. N and West River Road

Other historic properties

These historic properties are, or were, in what is now the St. Anthony Falls Historic District but are not contributing resources to the District.


[Historic American Buildings Survey] and [Historic American Engineering Record]

Pillsbury A Mill Complex (now part of the A-Mill Artist Lofts)

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identifies buildings in the complex - use TIFF version

Pillsbury A Mill Complex (other)

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Washburn-Crosby A Mill Complex (now part of the Mill City Museum)

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identifies buildings in the complex - use TIFF version
Includes a brief history of New Process and roller mills at Washburn-Crosby, plus addition of auxiliary steam and then electric power at Washburn-Crosby and other mills.
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Washburn-Crosby A Mill Complex (other)

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Washburn-Crosby A Mill Complex (after the 1991 fire)

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