The Hennepin Center for the Arts (HCA) is an art center in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, United States. It occupies a building on
Hennepin Avenue
Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery (at West 36th Street), north through the Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the Virginia Triangle, the former "Bottleneck" a ...
constructed in 1888 as a
Masonic Temple. The building was designed by
Long and Kees
Long and Kees was an architecture firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota active for a twelve-year period starting in 1885 and ending in 1897. Named for its two proprietors, Franklin B. Long (1842–1912) and Frederick Kees (1852-1927), the firm ...
in the
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...
architectural style. In 1978, it was purchased and underwent a renovation to become the HCA. Currently it is owned by
Artspace Projects, Inc, and is home to more than 17 performing and visual art companies who reside on the building's eight floors. The eighth floor contains the
Illusion Theater, which hosts many shows put on by companies in the building.
HCA is now a part of the
Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts
The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts (formerly the Minnesota Shubert Performing Arts and Education Center) is a performing arts center and flagship for dance in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Cowles Center was de ...
(formerly the Minnesota Shubert Performing Arts and Education Center). The new performing arts center is a three-building complex that includes the renovated Shubert Theatre building (renamed the Goodale Theater) and a new glass-walled atrium connecting the two historic buildings and serving them both as a common lobby. The Cowles Center hosted a three-day Grand Opening Gala September 9–11, 2011.
The building was listed as the Masonic Temple on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1975 for its local significance in the theme of architecture.
It was nominated for the craftsmanship and integrity of its design by a significant local architectural firm, and for being one of the last well-preserved Richardsonian Romanesque business buildings in Minneapolis.
See also
*
List of former Masonic buildings in the United States
List of Masonic buildings in the United States identifies notable Masonic buildings in the United States. These have served as meeting halls by Masonic lodges, Grand Lodges or other Masonic bodies. Many of the buildings were built to house Maso ...
*
References
External links
History of the Hennepin Center for the Arts
{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
1977 establishments in Minnesota
Arts centers in Minnesota
Former Masonic buildings in Minnesota
Masonic buildings completed in 1888
National Register of Historic Places in Minneapolis
Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Minnesota