Contribute Today to Survey of Historic Resources in Kenny, Armatage and Windom

When Minneapolis conducted a historical assessment in the 1970s, the search mostly focused on historic houses. For the last ten years, the city has been going through the neighborhoods, documenting everything from neighborhood themes to areas important to different ethnicities.

Now, Minneapolis is asking your historical insight about three Southwest Minneapolis neighborhoods: Kenny, Armatage and Windom.

The Central Core Historic Resources Survey, as it's called, is being orchestrated by Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development, along with consultation from Mead and Hunt Inc. It's set to be completed in 2011.

Minneapolis was first surveyed for historic resources in the 1970s, when the city’s Heritage Preservation Commission was formed. Many of today’s designated landmarks and historic districts came from that survey.

Minneapolis city planner Brian Schaffer said the current survey is different than the survey conducted in the 1970s because attitudes about what is historical have changed. “It used to be just about architecture,” he said. Now, the city takes into account historic landscapes, cultural and ethnic group resources and other historic resources.

For the past ten years, Minneapolis has conducted a re-survey of the entire city, working with the Minnesota Historical Society and the National Park Service.
The purpose of the Historic Resources Survey is to identify properties eligible for designation and recommend properties for further study, according to Schaffer. The survey is also a planning tool to make informed decisions about the significance and protection of historic resources. Schaffer said community outreach was an important part of the process. A goal is to “raise the bar” of the neighborhoods’ knowledge of architectural history so that neighbors understand the importance of preservation. 

The survey does not mean properties are protected by preservation regulations, Schaffer said, though there may be increased scrutiny of demolition permits.  
Unfortunately, only two community members attended Wednesdays meeting at Kenny Recreation Center, along with three CPED staff members and one Patch reporter.  

Resident Mark Noble, who said he had been talking to neighbors at Kenny and Armatage about the survey, was surprised there weren’t more people that came to give their input. 

Gleni  Sprague, who has lived in the neighborhood for 36 years with her husband, was able to provide some insight to the survey. Sprague said that historically there has been a strong car culture in the area, particularly with Lyndale Avenue providing a main entryway for people coming into the city. She also said that Kenny neighborhood was one of the first to have windy streets, before it became popular in the suburbs, as well as attached garages. 

Sprague said that one of Minneapolis’ first city protests occurred in Kenny following World War II, when there was a push to put more housing in the area, but the people from the neighborhood wanted the land for the park and Kenny School to be preserved. 

Kenny School, Sprague said, became a major social center. On Friday nights, there were basketball games and people would go “and have a great time.” Horseshoe tournaments were also very popular. This was still happening when Sprague and her husband moved into the neighborhood 36 year ago. 

Schaffer said that the Survey was still in the information gathering stage, and that he hoped to get more data both from the work that the planners and architects working on the project were finding through their research and through more public input. If you would like to add your input into the survey, you can email Brian Schaffer at brian.schaffer@ci.minneapolis.mn.us or call 612-673-2526. You can also fill out an online survey by March 3, 2011.