Overview

The John Nordstrom Store is one of the last remaining wood-frame storefronts from the late 1800s. 

• Location: 2110 24th Avenue South
• Neighborhood: Seward

Historic profile

The John Nordstrom Store is one of the last remaining wood-frame storefronts from the late 1800s. It was built in 1883 for Elwood S. Corser, a real estate entrepreneur. It was designed with a store on the first floor and living space for the shopkeeper on the second floor.  

The building has a rectangular footprint and wood-frame construction. The Italianate style is shown in the parapet gable, wood trim, brackets under the eaves, and the round window with wood tracery. It looks like it has a flat roof, but its gable roof is hidden by the parapet.  

As Minneapolis grew beyond downtown in the late 1800s, there were many neighborhood storefronts like this one. Residents depended on these small stores for their groceries and household goods. Neighborhood stores also helped maintain close community bonds.  

John and Otilia Nordstrom were typical shopkeepers of the era. They emigrated from Sweden in the 1880s. They leased the building in 1895 and bought it a decade later. They operated the grocery store with their children. In the 1930s, they sold the building to new shopkeepers.  

Commercial business practices changed. These small stores declined. The John Nordstrom Store was renovated into a single-family home in 1979.