West 15th Street Rowhouses

You can read about the history and designation of the West 15th Street Rowhouses historic landmark.

 

Sepia image of rowhouses from the street taken in 1974.


1974

Color photo from 2006 looking at red brick rowhouses from the street.


2006

Address: 115-29 West 15th Street

Neighborhood: 

Construction Date: 

Contractor: Unknown

Architect: 

Architectural Style: 

Historic Use: 

Current Use: Residential – Multiple Dwellings

Date of Local Designation: 1985

Date of National Register Designation: N/A

Area(s) of Significance: Architecture, Community Planning

Period of Significance: 1800-1899, 1900-

Historic Profile: The eight-unit rowhouse, built in 1886, was designed by locally prominent architect Adam Lansing Dorr. Intended to house upper-class residents, the rowhouse was the first of its type constructed south of Loring Park. In the last quarter of the 19th century, the area surrounding the park was an elite neighborhood consisting primarily of single-family residences. The rowhouse was the anchor to what subsequently evolved in the 20th century -- an area heavily concentrated with multiple-family units. The subdivision, and eventual removal, of most single-family homes and the construction of apartment buildings resulted in the alteration of the area’s original low-density fabric. The rowhouse stands remarkably intact even through the decades of change. The original owners of the West Fifteenth Street Rowhouse were C.C. Jones and C. Elwood Brown. Both men were active in real estate ventures and were familiar with the work of local architect Adam Lansing Dorr. Dorr’s Romanesque Revival design for the rowhouse was both attractive and functional. Using a simple rectangular plan, Dorr created an aesthetic front façade by using a variety of fenestration and sash elements and in combing various materials to form a textured surface.

Photo Credits:

1974, courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

2006, Minneapolis CPED

Works Cited:

"Local Heritage Preservation Designation Study," January 1982.

Updated: February 2007

Contact us

Community Planning & Economic Development

Historic Preservation

Phone

612-673-3000

Address

Public Service Center
505 Fourth Ave. S., Room 320
Minneapolis, MN 55415