5100 Wooddale Avenue
Edina, MN, USA

Country Club Historic District

The Country Club Historic District is a suburban residential district established in 1922 in Edina, Minnesota, United States. It was one of Minnesota's first comprehensive planned communities and served as the prototype for subsequent town planning in this suburb of Minneapolis. The development was modeled after the J.C. Nichols Country Club District in Kansas City, Missouri.

The district is also noted for its homogeneous Period Revival architecture. The architectural styles are primarily Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Georgian Revival and Mediterranean Revival designs. The neighborhood is listed in the National Register of Historic Places with 550 contributing properties mostly built 1924–1931. It was listing for having local significance in architecture, community planning, and landscape architecture.

National Register of Historic Places - Country Club Historic District

Statement of Significance:

The Country Club District, a well-planned suburban residential development dating from 1922, is significant as one of Minnesota's first restricted, comprehensive residential planning efforts, which became the prototype for Edina's subsequent residential developments; as a large homogeneous neighborhood of "historic revival architecture; and as the home of a large number of the Twin Cities' leaders in business, industry, communications, and civic affairs.

Planning for the Country Club District into a comprehensively developed residential community was begun by Samuel S. Thorpe and Thorpe Brothers Realty Company in 1922. In that year, the Brown and Browndale farms, as well as part of the Baird homestead, were purchased for the development. Between 1922 and 1924, Thorpe spent over one million dollars in platting the 300 acres into 585 homesites; planting and landscaping; installing and paving sidewalks and streets; installing water, gas, underground electrical wiring and sewers; and developing an eighteen-hole golf course and club house.

Many of the principles of "modern town planning," applied to post World War I developments such as the Olmstead Brothers' Palso Verdes Project near Los Angeles, Mariemont near Cincinnati, Roland Park near Baltimore, and the Country Club Districts near Charlottesville, Birmingham and Kansas City, were incorporated into the design of Thorpe's development. In many respects, Thorpe's development was modeled after J.C. Nichols' Country Club District in Kansas City --a landscaped development with curved streets, large contoured homesites, parks, and an eighteen-hole golf course. Thorpe borrowed the central theme represented in Nichols' development --a planned residential area, with streets paved and utilities installed before lots were sold; with detailed deed restrictions; control over the value and architecture of houses; and a neighborhood association under the developer's sponsorship to build community activities and work closely with the local government.

As a result of the strict adherence to these restrictions, Thorpe's idealized community of "the exclusive and select"—a community where you can be proud to live, proud of your home . . . and of your neighbor's home as well"—became a reality. The well-planned residential development envisioned by Thorpe, designed to be in close proximity to shopping, schools (in 1925 Thorpe donated part of Lot 16, Brown Section for construction of the Wooddale School), churches and a country club (an 18-hole golf course and club house were developed by Thorpe south of the district), is a district of well-designed and constructed homes, all but a few in an excellent state of preservation; well landscaped and maintained yards; no above ground electrical wiring; no obtrusive signage; contoured streets; and parks and intersection islands.

The majority of buildings in the district are two stories in height, set back twenty feet from sidewalks, built in proportion to adjacent buildings (the houses east of Wooddale Avenue are smaller in scale than those built to the west), and exhibit a minimum of alterations (additions and alterations have generally been limited to the rear facades of buildings).

The 554 buildings in the district, the majority constructed between 1924 and 1931, represent a significant concentration of historic revival architectural styles. In 1925, Thorpe Brothers Realty Company commissioned the Minneapolis architectural firm of Liebenberg and Kaplan to design model homes on Edina Boulevard and Moorland Avenue. The houses were designed in a variety of historic revival styles, including English Tudor, French Provincial and American Colonial. To a considerable degree, these houses set an architectural standard for later construction in the district.2 Historic revival styles, including American Colonial (158), American Georgian (6), Cape Cod Colonial (6), Dutch Colonial (4), English Cottage (180), English Georgian (3), English Tudor (20), French Provincial (11), Italian Renaissance (17), Mediterranean (67), New England Colonial (38), Norman (25), and Southern Colonial (1) inspired the design of 97% of the buildings in the district. The most popular designs are English Cottage (32%), American Colonial (29%), and Mediterranean (12%). The majority of buildings were designed and constructed by contractors. Following are descriptions of the most popular styles represented in the district.

The American Colonial Revival style, popular throughout the district from 1924 through the 1950s, is typified by a height of two stories; a second story overhang, usually with drops or pendants; strictly symmetrical facades; gabled roofs; a chimney at one or both ends; narrow clapboard siding; double hung windows, usually with shutters; and doors with classical trim.

The English Cottage style, popular throughout the district from 1924 to 1931, is characterized by a height of two stories; use of stone, brick or stucco as the principal construction material; steep triangular gables projecting above a gable or hip roof, and usually not continuous with the plane of the wall; extensive use of decorative brick or stone around semicircular door and garden gate openings, on the foundation and front steps; impressive chimneys, usually decorated with brick or stone, frequently the chimney is placed on the front facade; and use of "mock" half timbering.

The Mediterranean (Spanish Colonial Revival) style was popular in the design of houses throughout the district from 1924 to 1930. The Wooddale School on West 50th Street exhibits Mediterranean style features. Mediterranean style residences in the district are characteristically two stories in height; have white or cream-colored smooth stucco walls; low hip roofs, usually with red or green barrel tile; contain wrought iron grilles as decoration, such as window boxes, mock balconets and railings; and contain semicircular openings, mock arcades and recessed panels.

Twenty houses on Casco, Drexel, Wooddale and Moorland Avenues and on Edina Boulevard were designed in the English Tudor style from 1925 to 1936. The style, closely related to the English Cottage style, is characterized by a height of two stories; extensive use of half timbering with stucco or brick; multiple triangular gables projecting above the roof; impressive chimneys, usually decorated with brick and stone, and containing projecting chimney pots; doorways with the "Tudor arch", a distinctive, very wide, almost flat, but pointed arch; oriel windows, often with tracery or diamond shaped panes; sharply pitched roofs; and projecting bays.

The New England Colonial Revival style? used in the design of thirty-eight buildings throughout the district from 1924 to 1950, is characterized by a height of two to two-and-one half stories; gable roofs, usually with dormers; strictly symmetrical facades; double hung windows with shutters; side sing or wings; cornice with dentils; chimney at each gable end; centrally located door with classical trim; and use of brick as the principal construction material.

Seventeen houses in the district were constructed from 1924 to 1927 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style on Arden, Bruce, Casco, Drexel, Wooddale, and Browndale Avenues. Italian Renaissance Revival style features used in the design of these houses include a height of two stories; rectangular or square plans; vertically symmetrical door and window openings; smooth stucco walls; low hip roofs, often composed of barrel tile; use of semicircular arches, lintels and recessed panels; projecting cornices; placement of second story windows close to the cornice; and centered doorways with classical trim.

The French Provincial style was used in the design of eleven houses from 1926 to 1941 on Bruce, Drexel, Moorland and Wooddale Avenues, Edina Boulevard and Sunnyside Road. These houses contain the following French Provincial design characteristics: a height of two stories; deep hip roofs; segmentally arched windows, dormers and doors; vertically symmetrical placement of windows, dormers and doors, often decorated with shutters; brick or stucco as the principal construction materials; and corner quoins.

The Norman Revival style was used in the design of twenty-five houses on Browndale, Moorland, Casco, Drexel and Wooddale Avenues, Edina Boulevard, Edgebrook Place and Sunnyside Road. Characteristics of this style include a height of two stories; combination of hip and gable roofs; multiple triangular gables projecting above the roof; impressive chimneys with decorative brick or stone and capped with chimney pots; extensive use of half timbering; main entrance located in a round tower capped with a conical roof; extensive use of decorative patterned brick or decorative stone.

The district contains 199 buildings (36%) that are categorized as pivotal buildings of historical and/or architectural importance that define the significance of the district. 351 buildings (63%) are considered complementary to the district. Four buildings, all built in contemporary styles in the 1970s, are categorized as intrusive to the significance of the district. Following is a breakdown of categories within the district with corresponding dates of construction and architectural style designations.