Overview

Prominent architect Harry Wild Jones designed the Jones House as his private home. Known as Elmwood, he designed the house in a French Norman style to look like a castle. 

• Location: 5101 Nicollet Avenue South 
• Neighborhood: Tangletown

Historic photo (1976)

Current photo (2006)

Architecture

• Architectural Style: French Norman; Shingle Style
• Architect: Harry Wild Jones

Use

• Historic use: Residential
• Current use: Residential

Construction

• Construction date: 1887
• Contractor: Unknown

Significance

• Area(s) of significance: Architecture; Significant Individual
• Period of significance: 1887-1935
• Date of local designation: 1986
• Date of National Register designation: 1976
• Designation: Exterior

Historic profile

Prominent architect Harry Wild Jones designed the Jones House as his private home. Known as Elmwood, he designed the house in a French Norman style to look like a castle.  

Elmwood was built in 1887. It has a symmetrical façade and two large round corner towers. Scalloped shingles cover the walls. It is two stories tall with a finished attic and walk-out basement, creating four floors of usable space. The house had a wrap-around porch on the northwest corner decorated with columns and spindlework. A metal awning was installed over the second-story entry. Stucco was added to the basement walls. Other than these changes, the house is largely unchanged from its original layout and materials. 

Jones moved to Minneapolis in 1883. He first designed local residential and commercial buildings. By the 1900s, he designed churches all over the world, including China, India, and Burma. He was skilled in many different architectural styles. Many of his local designs are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Two examples in Minneapolis include the Scottish Rite Temple and Lakewood Cemetery Memorial Chapel. 

Jones also had an active civic life. He taught architecture classes at the University of Minnesota. He was president of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, director of the State Art Society, and a member of the Minneapolis Board of Parks. 

Photo credit

• 1976 photo: Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society 
• 2006 photo: Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development

Work cited

Marjorie A. Lund and Charles W. Nelson, "National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form: Harry W. Jones House (“Elmwood”)," April 1976