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CPED presents Minneapolis African American Historic and Cultural Context Study; no action required
Summary
CPED presented a 223-page context study and a 25-site architectural survey focusing on African American heritage in Minneapolis; staff outlined community engagement, funding and next steps, including three planned National Register nominations.
City planning staff presented the Minneapolis African American Historic and Cultural Context Study to the Heritage Preservation Commission on Aug. 12; the presentation was informational and no commission action was required.
Erin Kaye, senior city planner in CPED's Historic Preservation subsection, said the two-year project used an inclusive community approach and was funded in part by a $67,500 grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (Legacy Grant Program) with a $5,250 cash match from CPED. "This second phase was funded by a $67,500 grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund," Kaye said, summarizing the funding sources for the study.
CPED contracted the 106 Group to prepare the study and invited an African American Heritage Work Group to help shape research priorities. The study covers seven themes spanning arrival, residential life, religion and houses of worship, employment and professional growth, community organizations, recreation and education, and arts, music and culture, as well as segregation, discrimination and civil rights. The attachments provided to commissioners include the full context study and an architectural-history survey of 25 sites.
Kaye said 17 of the surveyed sites are extant and recommended as potentially eligible for local landmark designation and/or National Register listing; eight sites were no longer standing or sufficiently altered to be considered not eligible. Staff emphasized they will not pursue formal landmark designation for sites without owner support, and that the study is intended as a resource for community groups, property owners and preservation partners.
As a next step, CPED said it will prepare a multiple property documentation form (MPDF) and pursue three National Register nominations: the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Building, the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center and the Harry Davis Senior House, pending owner permissions and federal review. Staff said short plain-language summaries of each theme will be posted and used in outreach, and that the project team will present findings at statewide conferences.
Commissioners praised the collaborative approach, readability of the study and staff's community engagement work. The commission was not asked to formally vote; staff recorded the presentation as received and filed for public record.
