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Windego Park Auditorium/Open Air Theater

1914 establishments in MinnesotaAmphitheaters on the National Register of Historic PlacesAnoka, MinnesotaBuildings and structures in Anoka County, MinnesotaNational Register of Historic Places in Anoka County, Minnesota
National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi National River and Recreation AreaPark buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in MinnesotaPurcell and Elmslie buildingsTheatres completed in 1914Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in MinnesotaUse mdy dates from August 2023
Windego Park 1
Windego Park 1

Windego Park Auditorium/Open Air Theater is an amphitheater in Anoka, Minnesota, located on the Rum River. The theater was built in 1914 and was spurred by the City Beautiful movement, as well as Anoka citizens' interest in outdoor entertainment and recreation. Its main organizer, Thaddeus P. Giddings, was a promoter of music education and had been organizing community singalongs in the summer of 1913. The theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The amphitheater was designed by William Gray Purcell, from the notable Prairie School firm of Purcell & Elmslie. The seating is on a steep slope, while the stage is on the level portion of the river bank. There is space for 1600 spectators. Purcell was particularly interested in designing the awning system after having taken an interest in the awnings used in the Roman Colosseum.In 1936, Giddings left for Michigan to organize Interlochen Music College (now known as Interlochen Center for the Arts) in Interlochen, Michigan. Community interest in the amphitheater waned, and the facility started decaying, with shrubs and trees starting to grow between the amphitheater's concrete risers. In 1979, an architecture student from the University of Minnesota drafted a plan to restore the amphitheater, and this restored interest in preserving it. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places that year, and community organizers did some cleanup work and patched the concrete steps. In 1997, the Windego Park Society was organized.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Windego Park Auditorium/Open Air Theater (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Windego Park Auditorium/Open Air Theater
South Ferry Street,

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Latitude Longitude
N 45.197222222222 ° E -93.392777777778 °
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Address

Amphitheatre

South Ferry Street
55303
Minnesota, United States
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Windego Park 1
Windego Park 1
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Nearby Places

Colonial Hall and Masonic Lodge No. 30
Colonial Hall and Masonic Lodge No. 30

Colonial Hall and Masonic Lodge No. 30 consists of two historic buildings located at 1900 3rd Avenue, South in Anoka, Minnesota. Both were owned by Anoka Lodge No 30 AF & AM, which was chartered on October 25, 1859. Colonial Hall, also known as the Aldrich House for its association with the house's first owners and occupants, local medical and civil leaders Dr. Alanson and Dr. Flora Aldrich, is a two-story wooden building built in 1904 in a combination of Colonial Revival and Greek Revival styles by local renowned architect Fredrick Marsh. The Aldrich House was purchased by the Anoka Lodge in 1921, and in 1922, construction began on the present two-story redbrick Masonic temple, which is located behind but to the north of the Colonial Hall. Designed and built in the Georgian Revival style, it was completed and occupied in 1923. On December 31, 1979, Colonial Hall and Masonic Lodge No. 30 was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1980s, the Anoka County Historical Society's offices and library were housed in Colonial Hall. As of July 2019, Anoka Lodge No. 30 was still meeting in the Lodge hall twice per month, along with Anoka-Shekinah Royal Arch Chapter #104, Zabud Cryptic Council #10, Order of the Eastern Star Marthas Chapter, Job's Daughters Bethel 48, and Anoka DeMolay Chapter.In December 2012 the decision was made to sell Colonial Hall to a private party for restoration.In 2016, Colonial Hall is occupied by a tenant, The Big White House, an antiques store.

Champlin Library
Champlin Library

Champlin Library, at 12154 Ensign Avenue North in Champlin, Minnesota has served patrons at that address since September 1994. Designed by TSP Architects and Engineers, at a cost of $1.2 million, the library includes 8,905 square feet. The first public library in Champlin, sponsored by the Champlin Women's Club, opened in 1913 in a small rented room and was open only on Saturday afternoons and evenings. In 1921, the Women's Club purchased a small cottage and converted it into a library, and in 1922 Champlin joined the Hennepin County Library system. A subsequent move to a building on Dayton Road and Oak Street (now Curtis Road) was followed by a temporary relocation in 1972 to Mississippi Point Park at Highway 169 and West River Road while a new library was constructed at the site of Dayton Road and Curtis Roads in 1973. The new facility, known as the Champlin Reading Center, measured 1,600 square feet when it opened in and held about 8,000 books in addition to reference materials, music, films and periodicals. An addition to the building in 1981 provided 600 more square feet to the library. During construction, library service was provided by bookmobile parked out front of the library. The 87% growth of Champlin's population from 1980 to 1990, and the need to realign Highway 169 shaped the decision to move to the Ensign Avenue location.Friends of the Champlin Library formed in May 1979, and have raised money for the library with semi-annual book sales.