To learn more about its past, the city of Minneapolis is undergoing something called an historic survey to assess properties, themes, and development patterns.
The survey will shed light on properties that may have some historic significance, explains Brian Schaffer, who works for the city's preservation and design office.
A property may be significant for its connection to one or more of eight contexts, including everything from commerce to residential development.
City officials are relying in part on anecdotes from the public through a series of community meetings this month that focus on certain areas of Camden, Northeast, University, Central, Near North, and Southwest Minneapolis. There's also an
online survey.
The survey builds on earlier work that began in the 1970s, when the city first tallied its historic properties. At the same time, a local heritage preservation commission formed. "It led to a lot of the historic designations we have now," including historic landmarks and districts, he says.
In the 1990s, the city circled back to its historic survey work. It was then that it decided to embark on a more thorough survey, he explains.
The city started the re-survey process in 2001. In a way, the process has retraced the city's development, as city officials have shifted their focus from the central core, gradually moving out from there.
In comparison with the city's earliest historic survey, "We know a lot more about historic properties," he says, adding, "The field of preservation has changed too."
Today, the survey more broadly includes historic landscapes and cultural
and ethnic group resources, according to a prepared statement.
Depending on what they find, some potentially historic properties might need further research or analysis. This is a "first-blush review," he says.
The results will help the city make informed decisions about the significance and protection of historic resources and develop goals and strategies for preservation and more generally, neighborhood planning, a prepared statement reads.
"It'll help us learn more about the oral history and social history that may not be well documented," Schaffer says. "It helps us focus our research."
Source: Brian Schaffer, Minneapolis preservation and design official
Writer: Anna Pratt