2011 Dupont Ave S
Minneapolis, MN, USA

2011 Dupont Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, USA

2011 Dupont Ave S Home History
Warren H. Hayes, 1894 / Harry Jones, 1907 / remodeled, Bertrand and Chamberlin, 1916

Constructed of ultra-hard quartzite from southwestern Minnesota with red sandstone trim, this Romanesque Revival- style building features two massive towers, an arcaded entry porch and a 24-foot-diameter rose window divided into 12 stained-glass "petals." The building has à complicated design his- tory. Warren Hayes was hired by the Fowler Methodist congregation in 1894 to draw plans for the church. By the time of his death in 1899, however, the congregation had raised only enough money to build part of his design-a chapel intended to be at the rear of the church. It wasn't until 1906 that the congregation had the wherewithal to complete the project. Architect Harry Jones was then called in to finish what Hayes had started. Jones followed the general style set by Hayes but also beefed up elements of the original design to create the building you see today.

In 1915 the Fowler congregation merged with Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church and sold this building to the Scottish Rite Temple, a Masonic organization. Although the church's vaulted auditorium was modified a bit in 1916 to accommodate Masonic rituals, it retains many of its original features, including an extensive stained-glass program. In May 1931, what's said to have been the largest funeral in Minneapolis history was held here for local daredevil and stunt pilot Charles "Speed" Holman, who died when his plane crashed during a performance in Omaha, NE.

Citation: Millett, Larry. AIA Guide to the Minneapolis Lake District. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009.