2615 Park Avenue South Apartments, Minneapolis, Minnesota
From Placeography
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2615 Park Avenue Apartments | |
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Address: | 2615 Park Avenue S |
Neighborhood/s: | Philips West, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
City/locality- State/province | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
County- State/province: | Hennepin County, Minnesota |
State/province: | Minnesota |
Country: | United States |
Year built: | 1930 |
Primary Style: | Colonial Revival |
Historic Function: | Apartments/condominiums |
Current Function: | Apartments/condominiums |
Architect or source of design: | Martin Lindquist |
Builder: | Anderson-Nelson Company |
Material of Exterior Wall Covering: | Brick |
First Owner: | Twin City Building and Investment Company |
(44.955255° N, 93.265124° WLatitude: 44°57′18.918″N
Longitude: 93°15′54.446″W)
Contents |
History
Construction
Carl Anton Anderson and Gustav Nelson were the builders of 2615 Park Avenue. In 1900, the two men emigrated from Sweden, where they had lived on neighboring farms. They originally settled in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and worked in the construction business, but after several years relocated to Minneapolis, where they established the Anderson-Nelson Construction Company. Anderson-Nelson mainly built apartments, including three apartment buildings at Park Avenue and 28th Street. In 1929, they began construction on the building at 2615 Park Avenue. The architect was Martin Lindquist, a Minneapolis native who had studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University and in addition to working as an architect, operated a flower shop. When the apartments opened in 1930 as a residential hotel, the building contained six floors with 120 units ranging from one bedroom to five bedrooms. To soundproof the building, the cavities between floors were filled with sand. The exterior of the building was designed in the Colonial revival style while the inside was furnished in the modern art-deco style. Set back from Park Avenue, the building featured a semi-circular driveway and expansive lawn. Large double entry doors opened into a lobby furnished with hand carved mahogany panels. The lobby has been well preserved and maintains the original paneling, woodcarvings, crown moldings, and light fixtures.
Residents
Businesses
In 1930, there was a restaurant, grocery store, and beauty parlor located at the 2615 apartments. John Hruza operated the grocery store in 1937 while his wife Mary ran the restaurant called the Tea Room. Mary also made baked goods, which were sold in the grocery store. In 1948, Loretta Wright bought the Tea Room and renamed it Loretta’s Tea Room. She developed many of the restraunt’s recipes herself and worked in the Tea Room into her seventies until she sold it in 1975. Loretta was born in South Dakota, where she managed a boarding house, and moved to Minneapolis in 1941. She was a member of the Business and Professional Woman’s Club and president of the Pilot Club of Minneapolis. The restaurant, which continued to be called Loretta’s Tea Room, closed in 1998. The grocery store was in operation under various owners until 1970 and a travel agency now occupies its former spot; the beauty parlor remains in operation.
Cooperative
Memories and stories
Photo Gallery
Related Links
[1]Website and history book