34th and the Parkway Then and Now
I took this picture with my feet firmly planted in the Keewaydin Neighborhood side of 34th Avenue South. It looks like the original photo was taken from the Minnehaha side of the street, but I try and stay out of that neighborhood. Keewaydin is located on the south side of the city, from Minnehaha Parkway [...]
How to Pronounce Hiawatha
Craigie House Cambridge November 12, 1897 Messers Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Dear Sirs, The pronounciation used by my father was “He-awa-tha” the accent on the first syllable being slighter than on the “wa.” The “a” soundd like “a” in “mar”, not “war”, as sometimes used. I should be glad to have this impressed on the [...]
The Missing Island
Here’s a map of planned park improvements around Lake Nokomis including boat landing, bathing beach, bathhouse, and paths. When the land was purchased in 1907, the lake had an average depth of 5 feet. Much of it was actually marshland and drainage area for the neighborhood. Theodore Wirth’s 1910 improvement plan of Lake Nokomis [...]
The Nokomis Knoll Historic District
The Nokomis Knoll Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 and features a number of homes built in popular revival architecture styles. The district runs from Bloomington Avenue, East 52nd Street, West Lake Nokomis Parkway, and East 54th Street. There are 92 homes in all. Built between 1922 and [...]
Lake Nokomis Bath House Then and Now
After the dredging of Lake Nokomis was completed, the park board proceeded with plans to build a new bath house at the main beach. Construction of the bath house was begun in 1919 and finished in 1920. From the time it was built, Lake Nokomis surpassed Lake Calhoun as the most popular swimming beach [...]
