
I was driving down Lake Street yesterday in downtown Wayzata and saw the Sun break through the clouds right behind the Christmas Tree which is placed on the Panoway Plaza and had to stop and shoot a photograph. Hope you enjoy this one!
I was driving down Lake Street yesterday in downtown Wayzata and saw the Sun break through the clouds right behind the Christmas Tree which is placed on the Panoway Plaza and had to stop and shoot a photograph. Hope you enjoy this one!
The Wayzata Planning Commission will review a proposed project thatwould convert the existing former TCF Headquarters Building at 200 East Lake Street in Wayzata to a 10-unit condominium building.
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Courtesy ESG Architecture & Design |
Two new structures would be added to east and west of the current building. The proposed eastern building would include 10 condominiums and the proposed western building would include 18 town homes.
The entire project would stretch from Barry Avenue to Ferndale Road along the south side of Lake Street.
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Courtesy ESG Architecture & Design |
Small “pocket parks” would be developed on the far east and west ends of the property.
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Existing TCF Building |
The current structure was build in 1990. It served as the corporate office for TCF National Bank. TCF employees moved to other offices and the building was listed for sale.
The existing building would not change. It has a legal non-conforming height of 52 feet to the top of the gable and 60 feet to the top of the spire.
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Courtesy ESG Architecture & Design |
Under the proposal, the property is envisioned as entirely residential. No commercial or other office uses are planned.
One question the Planning Commission will consider is whether an all-residential use of the property be appropriate for the site.
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Courtesy ESG Architecture & Design |
The Planning Commission could direct staff to prepare a draft Planning Commission Report and Recommendation.
This would then be reviewed at the following Planning Commission meeting.
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Courtesy ESG Architecture & Design |
Minnetonka-based Lake West Development, LLC and Minneapolis-based ESG Architects are working on the project. Lake West Development has a signed purchase agreement for the property that would allow it to redevelop the property as it proposes.
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Courtesy ESG Architecture & Design |
The City of Wayzata only allows buildings in a Planned Unit Development (PUD) District to be 35 feet tall. The building height in this proposal complies with the 35-foot rule.
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Courtesy ESG Architecture & Design |
November 11, 1918 would turn out to be an extraordinary day for the more than 500 residents of Wayzata. It was a dry day with temperatures in the mid-50s, more than 10 degrees higher than normal.
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Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society |
But this extraordinary day offered its crowning moment while the town slept, several hours before sunrise. At 4 a.m. local time World War I officially ended. During the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”, Germany and the Allies signed a peace agreement in France. In a time when radios where not common household appliances, the front page of daily newspapers delivered the joyful news to the town.
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Armistice Day Celebration in Minneapolis Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society |
Minnesotans throughout the state celebrated in the streets of towns small and big. Minneapolis was home to one of the largest impromptu celebrations. People could be seen on the streets shoulder-to-shoulder while others cheered from windows in buildings above. The boys overseas would soon be coming home. Well, some of them would. Unfortunately, many of the local boys who served in World War I would not set foot in Wayzata again.
Within the pages of the 1918 Wayzata yearbook, there was mention of one young man in the History of the Class of 1918 section of the annual:
“One of our boys, Ernest Aselton, heard the call of his country answered it by enlisting in the Marine Corps.”
Aselton joined the Marine Corps in August of 1918 and was killed in action in France two months later.
The local men who served overseas formed deep bonds with other service members in Europe. They sought that type of comradery when they got back home. Less than a year after the Great War ended, the Wayzata Legion was granted its charter on September 3, 1919. The founding members had familiar Wayzata names like Quay, Manning, Getten, Frost and Kysor. Arthur H. Quay was the first Commander. Post 118 was named in honor of Aselton. The first national Legion convention was held in Minneapolis in November.
History repeated itself in 1939 when Europe was once again thrust into another war, World War II. And because of this, the Great War, the war to end all wars, was simply known as World War I. Similarly, the name Armistice Day, which celebrated the end of World War I, was changed in the United States to Veterans Day in the mid-50s. Since then, it has been a day to honor those who served the U.S. military.
More than one hundred years after World War I ended, November 11 still has significance in our community. It serves as a reminder of how far we’ve come over the course of a century. From the days when news was delivered in black and white to now when it’s consumed by swiping a smart phone. More importantly, it is an opportunity to thank those who serve our country.
Wayzata and the Lake Minnetonka area is rich with Native American history. But the wealth of historical documentation available about the Wayzata Depot or the businesses along Lake Street, for instance, is not available to help tell the story of the American Indians who inhabited this area.
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Spirit Knob, Breezy Point in the background. The Maurer House, in Wayzata, in the foreground. Courtesy Wayzata Historical Society |
Oftentimes, any written record is told from the settlers’ viewpoint. And in so many cases, the history of Native Americans is an oral history. It is not printed in a book, but rather a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation. But the history is there – you just have to dig a little deeper.
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Spirit Knob, Breezy Point, 1868. Courtesy Wayzata Historical Society. |
The name Wayzata is derived from Native Americans. Native American Mythology A to Z describes Waziya as a giant who guarded the entrance to the place of the Aurora Borealis. LAKOTA Belief and Ritual simply describes Waziya as the North Wind. The Dictionary of Dakota Language published in 1852 defines the word Waziyata as north.
Lake Minnetonka was a special place for those who inhabited the area before our country pushed west. The Mdewakanton Dakota, a division of the Great Sioux Nation, coveted the lake for its abundance of fishing and hunting. The Dakota inhabited the area for thousands of years, according to the Historical and Architectural Resources of Wayzata, Minnesota published in 2003.
The earliest recorded exploration by European Americans of Lake Minnetonka was in 1822 when two 14-year-old boys canoed up Minnehaha Creek to what is now known as Gray’s Bay.
The 2003 study reports that between the 1850s and 1960s several earthworks were discovered around Lake Minnetonka. The Wayzata Mounds is one of them. If you visited the Wayzata library or city hall, you were standing on one of these earthworks. These were essentially Native American cemeteries. There is a reason one of the cross streets located on the downslope of this hill is called Indian Mound Street.
In the mid-1850s, Oscar E. Garrison, Wayzata’s founding father, noted the Wayzata Mounds and sent word to the state geological and natural history survey at the University of Minnesota. The land was mapped in 1887 and a detailed description of the site was published in 1911 by N.H. Winchell in The Aborigines of Minnesota.
As recently as 2014, bone fragments were pulled from burial mounds during road construction of Bushaway Road just south of Gray’s Bay. The Hennepin County project was halted until the remains could be collected and the mounds could be properly restored. A proposed roundabout was ditched to preserve the land.
Perhaps more striking evidence of Native Americans history can be seen from downtown Wayzata. Just south and a bit west where Wayzata Bay opens to the rest of the lake is Spirit Knob – a slender finger of land reaching out into the lake. Like many things, this piece of land looks different than it would have before white settlers inhabited the lake area. Spirit Knob stood higher above the water then. There are various theories on what Spirit Knob meant to the Dakota who inhabited the land thousands of years ago. We know that it was a sacred place.
There are countless places around Lake Minnetonka where one can reflect on what life was like hundreds of years ago; all you need a little historical context and a bit of imagination.
One of the benches on the edge of a grassy area on the south side of the Wayzata Library is one of them. From this hallowed hill you can see Spirit Knob reaching out into the lake. And this time of year, the winds will switch – blowing in cool from the north – rustling the leaves painted in myriad fall colors. Perhaps whispers of those who walked before us.
Staff have confirmed that the Starbucks on Lake Street will close Friday, Oct. 23.
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Starbucks, 740 E. Lake Street, Wayzata |
There were no details given as to why the store is closing.
Inquiries with Starbucks’ corporate media relations team have not been answered.
A petition to try to save the store from being closed is hanging on the store’s bulletin board.
All the major news outlets are reporting on the unfortunate death of Alec Lawrenz. Lawrenz had been on a camping trip to the Tofte area. An outpouring of heartfelt support happened organically on Facebook, and please see the following stories:
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2016 Wayzata Art Experience scheduled for June 25th & 26th 2016. Submitted photo. |
ART | FAIR | MUSIC | FOOD | FAMILY FUN!
Two days only! It’s all happening on the shores of Lake Minnetonka in charming downtown Wayzata….
Come for the art, stay for the fun!
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Wayzata Art Experience. Submitted photo. |
Check out our NEW Features
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Antique & Classic Boat Show. Submitted photo. |
Presented by The Greater Wayzata Area Chamber of Commerce. A big thank you to our sponsors TCF Bank, Mediacom, Align Health & Wellness, Envy Skin Clinic, The Brost Clinic, Coldwell Banker Burnet, Renewal by Andersen, Venture Photography, Above & Beyond Construction, and Life & Vitality Chiropractic.
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Wide receiver Jeff Borchardt catches one of his two touchdown passes against Osseo. Photo Wayzata Photography. |
Your Wayzata Trojans defeated the Osseo Orioles Friday night 30-7 in the 5AAAAA Sectional Championship. Read more here: Wayzata takes on Osseo in the Section 5AAAAA Championship game.
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