About
1922, Minnesota Streetcar Museum |
2014, CPED Staff |
Address: 2418 Washington Avenue North
Neighborhood: Hawthorne
Construction Date: 1914
Contractor: Day Labor
Architect: Walter J. Smith
Architectural Style: Vernacular Industrial with Neoclassical influences
Historic Use: Electric streetcar office and maintenance facility
Current Use: Multi-tenant, wholesale, warehouse, fabrication
Date of Local Designation: June 2015
Date of National Designation: N/A
Area of Significance: Streetcar related development, significant groups (TCRT)
Period of Significance: 1914-1953
Historic Profile: The Twin City Rapid Transit Company’s (TCRT) last carhouse, North Side Station, opened in 1914. It features a two-story wing that fronts on Washington Avenue North. The first floor provided separate offices for the foreman and clerk, locker rooms for the trainmen, as well as a storage room and paint shop. The second floor appears to have functioned as a “men’s club” of sorts; the facility provided a pool room, reading room, and sleeping rooms for use by employees. Behind this two-story portion of the building was the one-story carhouse used for maintenance of the streetcars. In 1953-1954 an addition to the North Side Station was built that fully converted the facility to a bus garage after years of mixed bus and streetcar use. The addition is considered a non-contributing resource. It was subsequently sold in 1970 and again in 1984. At present it is privately owned and the building owner leases space to several small businesses. The TCRT made privately owned, public transit profitable for nearly a century – an achievement of great significance in light of the fact that most all American public transit is now publicly owned and operates with government tax revenue.
*The entire exterior of the 1914 building, to include those portions partially enveloped by the 1953-1954 addition's walls, are protected as a contributing resource. No other interior areas are protected by the designation.*
Photo Credits:
Photographer unknown, 1922. Minnesota Streetcar Museum
2014, CPED staff
Works Cited:
“Designation Study: North Side Station” (2015)
Updated: June 2015