Overview

The Ladd House was home to Henry Ladd, a local real estate expert, in Loring Park. Prominent architect Harry Wild Jones designed it in the Richardson Romanesque style.  

• Location: 131 Oak Grove Street 
• Neighborhood: Loring Park

Historic photo (1977)

Architecture

• Architectural Style: Richardsonian Romanesque
• Architect: Harry Wild Jones

Use

• Historic use: Residential
• Current use: Residential

Construction

• Construction date: 1889
• Contractor: W.D. Lewis 

Significance

• Area(s) of significance: Significant Individual; Architecture; Master Architect; Neighborhood Identity
• Period of significance: 1889-1904
• Date of local designation: 2011
• Date of National Register designation: N/A
• Designation: Exterior and interior

Historic profile

The Ladd House was home to Henry Ladd, a local real estate expert, in Loring Park. Prominent architect Harry Wild Jones designed it in the Richardson Romanesque style. 

The Minneapolis Park Board purchased land in 1883 for its first park: Central (now Loring) Park. Wealthy families moved in around the new park to build homes on the open land. Henry Ladd did the same. He used strategic development trends to market property. For instance, he advertised proximity to rail lines and bodies of water. 

Harry Wild Jones designed the home in 1888-1889. The Richardsonian Romanesque style was a popular upper-class style home at the time. It provided contemporary castles with the comforts of modern technology. The exterior walls of the Ladd House are rough cuts of Kasota limestone. There is a rounded tower on the northeast corner of the home rising up from the wraparound porch. The roof structure is complex and creates an asymmetrical façade.  

Ladd lived here until he passed away in 1904.  Its function has changed over time from a single-family home to various types of care centers. Several interior and exterior alterations have been made as a result. Room partitioning, air conditioning, and a fire escape are the most notable changes. 

Photo credit

1977 photo: Kate Johnson, Courtesy of Hennepin County Library  

Work cited

“Designation Study: Henry E. Ladd House,” 2011