Longfellow in Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

3012 Minnehaha Avenue South: Lauritzen Wagon and Blacksmith Shop

The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota

— 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

3012 Minnehaha Avenue South: Lauritzen Wagon and Blacksmith Shop marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by McGhiever, May 26, 2019

1. 3012 Minnehaha Avenue South: Lauritzen Wagon and Blacksmith Shop marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Martinus Nelson built a blacksmith shop here in 1888. The smithy serviced local horses and wagons that kept area dairy farms running. Danish immigrant Christian Lauritzen took over in 1898. Business was good in the growing community, and by 1904, Lauritzen built a more substantial shop with a brick façade. Five years later he moved his wife, Hilleborg, and their two children to a nearby home he had built on Minnehaha Avenue, where he lived out his life. Despite the rise of the automobile and the ever-decreasing number of horses in the area, Lauritzen continued to operate the blacksmith shop at this location until his death in 1942. The building survived for almost 100 years; it was torn down in the late 1980s to provide parking for an adjacent business.

Martinus Nelson construyó aquí su herrería en 1888. Prestaba servicios a caballos y carretas que mantenían las granjas lecheras de la zona. Inmigrante danés Christian Lauritzen asumió el cargo del negocio en 1898. El negocio prosperó en la cresciente comunidad, y en 1904 Lauritzen construyó un local más sustancioso con fachada de ladrillo. Cinco años más tarde

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mudó a su familia (su mujer Hilleborg y sus dos hijos) a una casa cercana que había construido en Minnehaha Avenue, donde vivió el resto de su vida. A pesar del surgimiento del automóvil y el declive del uso de caballos, Lauritzen siguió operando su herrería en este local hasta su muerte en 1942. El edificio sobrevivió casi 100 años; se demolió en los 1980 para proporcionar estacionamiento a locales vecinos.

Erected 2012 by The Museum in the Streets®. (Marker Number 5.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1888.

Location. 44° 56.883′ N, 93° 14.031′ W. Marker is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in Hennepin County. It is in Longfellow. It is on Minnehaha Avenue near E. Lake Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2613 E Lake Street, Minneapolis MN 55407, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 3010 Minnehaha Avenue South: Fire Station No. 21 (a few steps from this marker); Longfellow School (within shouting distance of this marker); 2700 East Lake: Coliseum Building / Freeman's Department Store (within shouting

Marker with former site of Lauritzen Shop across the street image. Click for full size.

Photographed by McGhiever, June 8, 2019

2. Marker with former site of Lauritzen Shop across the street

distance of this marker); 2629 East Lake: Minnehaha Grill (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Minneapolis-Moline (about 300 feet away); 2721-23 East Lake: Lake Theater (about 500 feet away); Snelling Avenue: African American Community (about 600 feet away); 2730 East 31st Street: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Minneapolis.

Another marker is no longer nearby. 2701 East Lake: International Order of Odd Fellows (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing).

Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 27, 2019, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 746 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on May 27, 2019, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. 2. submitted on June 8, 2019, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.