Overview

This house was built in 1888 for a prominent Minneapolitan, Harington Beard, and his family.

• Location: 5100 Nicollet Avenue South
• Neighborhood: Tangletown

Historic profile

This house was built in 1888 for a prominent Minneapolitan, Harington Beard, and his family. Harington lived here with his first wife, Grace, who passed away in 1913, and later his second wife, Eleanor. The house is in Washburn Park, which was planned as a garden suburb. This was one of the first houses in the neighborhood.

Architect Harry Wild Jones designed the house in the Shingle Style. Jones was a well-known local architect who mastered many architectural styles. The painted-yellow walls were clad in wood shingles and clapboard. Now they are stuccoed on the first story. The asymmetrical exterior has octagonal turrets, multi-pane windows, and bay windows. Windows vary by size and color across the elevations. Some windows have fan-shaped carvings above. The west elevation has a large Palladian window. The house's gambrel roof is clad in gray asphalt shingles and has a red brick chimney rising from it. The house has 10 rooms organized around a central and large stair hall. The stair hall, library, and dining room all have cherrywood trim.

Beard was a respected art collector and expert. He opened the first art sales gallery in Minneapolis, bringing in art from large cities. He was also a trustee of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, sponsored mural projects, and served on the Minneapolis Board of Education. Beard and his family lived in the house, nicknamed Sunnyside, until 1968.