"Victorian vernacular" is a predominant architectural style in the Washington Park neighborhood studied by faculty member Beth Wielde-Heidelberg and her students.
When homeowners in Mankato's Washington Park neighborhood think about making exterior home improvements, they have a new resource to guide them, thanks to a Minnesota State University, Mankato professor and her students.
Not sure whether a house is Victorian vernacular or Italianate, Queen Anne or Tudor, Craftsman or Prairie Style? The Washington Park District Architectural Pattern Book, developed through an unusual partnership between the city of Mankato and the university, has the answers.
"It's designed for both renovation and new construction," said Beth Wielde-Heidelberg, a professor in the university's Urban and Regional Studies Institute who directed the pattern book project. "Anyone planning new construction can use some of the historic ideas. And for owners of older homes who want to restore their home to its historic appearance, it gives them some ideas of what would be authentic."
The pattern book, developed at the city's request, involved considerable legwork for the dozen or so students in Wielde-Heidelberg's advanced planning seminar for graduate students. Under her guidance, students photographed every structure in the 28-square-block district – 445 in all – and recorded the building's features on a coding sheet.
For each house, students noted the architectural style, the height in stories, its "massing" or general configuration, the exterior cladding or siding, the color, the presence of porches or raised entries, and garages and fences visible from the street. The information from the coding sheets was entered into a database that Wielde-Heidelberg used to create the pattern book.
The pattern book, available online, provides a wealth of information about the area's history and settlement as well as the architecture. Settlement had begun by the 1870s and expanded rapidly in the 1880s through the turn of the century.
Houses in the district are not grand mansions. Rather, they are modest, one- to two-and-a-half stories high, reflecting the working-class roots of the people who settled there. German immigrants and their families were among the first to move into the area, but other ethnic groups – Irish, Scandinavian and Lebanese – soon joined them.
"Washington Park's proximity to the commercial, industry and river shipping stops of Front Street made walking to work or their place of business easy for Washington Park residents, even in inclement weather," Wielde-Heidelberg notes in the book.
Some of the early residents may have worked for the railroad switching yard, which today is a tree-shaded park, or for Immanuel Hospital, now used as a senior housing complex. Other employers in the district included linseed oil production mills, breweries, lumber companies, a grain elevator and 11 cigar-makers.
Today, the neighborhood is more than 90 percent residential. The building survey conducted by Weilde-Heidelberg's students found that the most popular architectural style is Victorian (49 percent) but not the elaborate "Painted Ladies" type of Victorians found elsewhere.
The majority of the Washington Park houses are "modest Victorian vernacular" in style. They tend to have less elaborate decorative detail; are smaller, generally one-and-a-half to two stories; and lack the multiple roof lines found in other Victorian styles.
Wielde-Heidelberg notes in the pattern book that many of the district's properties have been modified over the years. The worst offenses: modern vinyl or shingle siding that is not consistent
with the original cladding, enclosed porches, modern windows and doors, and additions that are not compatible with the original style.
The pattern book offers advice for homeowners who want to restore their properties to the historic look: "The best idea, again, is to build off of what the property originally looked like; if a Queen Anne building did not historically have a tower or turret, it is not desirable to add one. … Above all, restoration should be based on fact and evidence, such as photographs, original blueprints or verbal descriptions."
Yet, she says, a surprising number of the houses still retain their integrity. "I sense a lot of pride in the area. Yes, the buildings have been modernized, but that's the natural evolution of the neighborhood. The area is very well-maintained, and it's nice to see that the city cares enough to start doing a program like this."
The pattern book also identifies "preservation role models," houses that have retained their historical authenticity and can be examples for others.
In addition, it shows a number of home makeovers – photos of homes as they exist now and what they could look like if they were remodeled to historic patterns. Each of the makeovers (or "revisionings," as Wielde-Heidelberg refers to them) took 10 to 12 hours to complete via computerized photo retouching technology.
The idea for the pattern book came from Mankato city officials, who were interested in revitalizing the Washington Park neighborhood as part of an overall city planning effort.
"The city of Mankato often uses MSU as a resource for different projects," said Tanya Ange, assistant to the city manager. So when the city wanted to extend its planning and renewal efforts to Washington Park, it was natural to call on the university for help.
"Many communities that have historic preservation districts have pattern books to help guide the rehabilitation of historic structures," Ange said.
"It's a communication tool. If you are thinking of renovating your property, the book will show you: Here's what it looks like now, and here's what it could look like. It answers a homeowner's questions – for example, 'What type of windows should I be looking at?' "
While following the Mankato pattern book is voluntary – homeowners are not bound to it – the city eventually could use it for city-financed projects such as requiring residents applying for restoration rehabilitation loans to agree to adhere to the pattern book's guidelines, Ange said.
Wielde-Heidelberg obtained her master's degree in urban planning and regional studies and completed a predoctoral fellowship in urban studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato. After earning her doctorate from Hamline University, she began teaching at MSU, Mankato in 2006. She also has worked as a historic preservation consultant for a Wisconsin firm and for the
city of Eagan.
"Since I was a kid, I've loved old buildings," she said. "And here I am, living in a 1960s split-level." But she has her eye on two houses in Washington Park, both of them designated as role models in the pattern book. "If I could get my hands on them, I would move in in a second."
The pattern book already is having an impact in the neighborhood. Washington Park resident Paul Mackie, an associate professor at the university, used the book's ideas to remodel his Queen Anne house. Two photos, one a "before" photo of his house and the other showing Wielde-Heidleberg's "revisioning," grace the cover of the pattern book. And for any future renovations, Mackie said, he'll consult with Wielde-Heidelberg and the pattern book.
"What's nice in this neighborhood is that we have a definite go-to place to get ideas and advice," he said. "She's so much an engine for the neighborhood."
The Washington Park District Architectural Pattern Book can be viewed at www.ci.mankato.mn.us/Projects/CD.aspx.
For the online pdf story, go to http://www.mnscu.edu/media/publications/pdf/mnstate_magazine_fall08.pdf
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