The East Second Street Commercial Historic District in Hastings, Minnesota, United States, is a downtown district consisting of thirty-five commercial buildings built between 1860 and 1900. The downtown area retained its historic integrity even as other communities modernized their downtowns as a result of post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

efforts. The district contains a number of two- and three-story buildings, each in a unique style. Although the buildings are very different, common features include distinctive

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

s at the roofline, often with the name of the business inlaid in brick or metal. The storefronts include large

display window A display window, also a shop window (British English) or store window (American English), is a window in a shop displaying items for sale or otherwise designed to attract customers to the store. Usually, the term refers to larger windows in the f ...

s with a main entrance flanked by cast iron or wooden columns. The upper levels of the buildings often include windows topped with ornate hoods. The historic integrity of the district is maintained through a number of guidelines that encourage restoration of buildings to their original appearance, replacement of any historic features that were altered, and avoidance of alterations that are not in keeping with the buildings' original historic context.

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{{Dakota County, Minnesota topics Buildings and structures in Hastings, Minnesota Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Geography of Dakota County, Minnesota Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Dakota County, Minnesota