Morningside, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Streetcar suburb
A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Early suburbs were served by horsecars, but by the late 19th century cable cars and electric streetcars, or trams, were used, allowing...
adjoining the Linden Hills neighborhood of the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
city of Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. Morningside was once a separate village, but is now a geographically and architecturally distinct neighborhood in the city of Edina
Edina, Minnesota
Edina is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and a first-ring suburb situated immediately southwest of Minneapolis. Edina began as a small farming and milling community in the 1860s. The population was 47,941 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
.
Morningside is situated along the old Como-Harriet Streetcar Line
Como-Harriet Streetcar Line
The Como-Harriet Streetcar Line is a heritage streetcar line in Minneapolis, Minnesota which follows original streetcar right-of-way between Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun and is operated by the Minnesota Streetcar Museum...
and developed more quickly than the mostly rural village of Edina. In 1920, Morningsiders voted to secede from Edina and form their own village to provide amenities more suitable to a professional streetcar suburb. Morningside was the smallest village in Minnesota, with fewer than 1,000 residents.
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
s, on standard-sized suburban lots along straight-line streets, replacing land previously occupied by farm fields and orchards.
The Morningside neighborhood was platted for residential development in 1905 by the children of Jonathan Grimes, who inherited the Grimes farm and orchard in the Northeast corner of the village. Grimes Avenue bisects the neighborhood in a North-South orientation. The Jonathan Taylor Grimes House
Jonathan Taylor Grimes House
The Jonathan Taylor Grimes House is the oldest standing house in Edina, Minnesota. It was built in 1869 and appears to have been influenced by Andrew Jackson Downing's book The Architecture of Country Houses. The house is a 1½ story frame cottage with intersecting gable roofs, dormers, a bay...
on West 44th Street was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1976.
One of the early familiar figures in the village was George Weber. In 1929, the Morningside Mayor asked the school janitor, 55-year-old George Weber, if he would serve as the village marshal. He initially declined the job offer, but the council voted him in anyway. Weber served Morningside for the next 27 years. In 1956, with Weber’s retirement, the Edina Village Police began providing police protection to the Village of Morningside. Morningside was only 240 acre (0.9712464 km²) and was the smallest village in the state. Police headquarters for Morningside was at Weber’s home, 4400 Branson Street, and run by his wife. His duties also included the water meter reader and census taker. Court was held in the Edina Grange Hall on the first and third Monday evenings. A park in the Morningside neighborhood is named after Weber.
Morningside remained separate for 46 years, until 1966, when, in response to state prompting, it was reincorporated into the larger City of Edina. At least partly due to the impracticalities of building a sewage infrastructure for such a small municipality, Morningsiders voted to rejoin Edina. Yet, vestiges of Morningside's previous autonomy are still evident in the 55416 Zip Code that it shares with adjacent Minneapolis and St. Louis Park, in the water system which is connected to the City of Minneapolis water department, and in the charming village-within-a-city atmosphere that remains.
Even today, Morningside has a character distinct from that of the rest of Edina. Such a contrast can be seen in less than six blocks, comparing the Morningside/Minneapolis intersection at 44th and France and the Edina/Minneapolis intersection at 50th and France. Even today, the Morningside name can be seen in community organizations, roads and businesses.
Though the neighborhood is part of Edina, part of its distinction is the independent nature of this area that has roughly 750 homes. That independence is created in part by the cohesive relationships within the neighborhood that are developed through many event and organizations that are endemic to the neighborhood. The Morningside Babysitting Cooperative has existed for nearly a century and still tracks shared hours of child care amongst its members. The area has an active Neighborhood Association that provides for a voice at City Hall to look after the unique needs and values of Morningside. As well, Morningside has a Women's Club that meets once a month, and a men's group called the Morningside Athletic Club (MAC) that meets every Saturday morning at Weber Park for sports activity, such as soccer, football and ice hockey.