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Placeography is a wiki where you can share the history of and stories about a house, building, farmstead, public land, neighborhood or any place to which you have a personal connection. If you don't have a place to contribute, please enjoy learning about others.

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The Anson S. Brooks Mansion is a highly unusual—and unusually striking—piece of architecture in the Twin Cities. Constructed almost entirely of limestone, the imposing structure boasts accents of sandstone quoins, window casings, and other details, including elaborate interlaced arched gothic parapets and large rows of lancet windows along the west, north, and south stretches of the 3rd floor. Its architectural style is Venetian Gothic. The architects were Long & Long and construction began in 1907. The interior is a showplace for a lumber baron with an 18’ x 43’ barrel-vaulted foyer trimmed in solid mahogany. The first-floor library is finished entirely in Circassian walnut with a massive fireplace and gothic-inspired bookshelves. The dining room and grand stairway are finished in mahogany—each panel carefully selected for its uniform grain. And the stairway features an impressive two-story Art Nouveau-style stained glass window at the landing. Even the ceiling in the porte cochere connecting the mansion to the carriage house features an impressive coffered ceiling. Aside from being exceedingly elegant, the Brooks Mansion was also state-of-the-art when built. Among other features, the 15,000+ square foot mansion boasted 5 bathrooms on just the 2nd floor alone (which explains the then princely sum of $12,000+ for utilities). The second floor also contains an impressive billiard room trimmed in white oak and complete with beamed ceiling and then newly fashionable Arts & Crafts-style fireplace. The mansion even boasted a dark room on the third floor, adjacent to the grand ballroom, which was incorporated in the design to satisfy the Brooks family’s passion for photography.

The Minnesota Historical Society's 1968 Exhibit explores a pivotal year in history, covering everything from the volatile Vietnam War to the music, movies, fashion and more that defined a generation. While the exhibit takes a look at the year 1968 on a national level, we decided to hunt down what places in the Twin Cities were important, influential and just plain interesting to our state in 1968. Minneapolis's West Bank neighborhood was considered the Haight-Ashbury of the Twin Cities, and this tour begins in the West Bank, the focal point of Minnesota's counterculture movement, due partially to the proximity of the students at the nearby University of Minnesota. Two of the most powerful forces in the 1960s were activism and pop culture, and Minnesota was no exception. This tour examines many locations of local anti-war and civil rights demonstrations as well as centers of music, theater and more that helped make 1968 a pivotal year locally as well as nationally. All of these 1968 sites listed in this tour have spaces available to add memories or stories, so please feel free to add your own reflections.

ARCH 5670 Class Project
See what the students in Arthur Chen's ARCH 5670 class at the University of Minnesota have done!