More Plaques Added To Historic North Loop Buildings
We just added three more history plaques to North Loop buildings, marking where 1) horse-drawn buggies used to be assembled, 2) windmills, carriages and wagons were distributed to westward settlers and 3) a world famous architect created a Gothic Revival exterior for a storage facility.
The building at 411 North Washington (where OrangeTheory, AxeBridge Winery, Broadhead and Edina Realty are now), was built in 1913 as a Studebaker buggy assembly plant.
Across the street, 404 North Washington (now Security Lofts), was a bustling farm implement warehouse for Dean & Company, built in 1902.
And at the corner of 1st and 1st (now Aria), the same architect who designed the Minnesota State Capitol building and the U.S. Supreme Court building, Cass Gilbert, created the Gothic Revival brick facade in 1904 that combined several produce warehouses into one. The building eventually became a storage facility.
This makes 17 history plaques in the neighborhood so far (see map below), with more to come before the end of the year, hopefully. Remember to scan the QR codes on the plaques for much more information.
And we have several pages of neighborhood history in our Historic North Loop section.
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer
