Does anyone know Carl? This was his gas station.
 At least that's how it is named in the 1960 Edina phone directory: Carl's Edina Cities Service, located at 5241 Eden Avenue. For all I know Carl could have been Ms. Carl, but this was 1959, so I'm betting on a Mr.There isn't a gas station in the city today that matches the same address, but there are a couple that are close on Vernon Avenue. Because the area was redeveloped, the address numbering system could have changed. Maybe the gas station has survived under a new name. Maybe it has not. I'm letting you do the work this week to find out. (It's not like I didn't try. I just couldn't see a similarity in the roof lines with the existing stations.)Is this building still around in the Grandview area? Did you know the owner or do you remember the business? Inquiring minds want to know. Share your knowledge by commenting here or email me.Happy Friday, everyone!
Dr. Walter Bonnett opened Edina Pet Hospital in 1958 at 5237 Eden Avenue. In this August 1959 tax assessor photo, it looks like landscaping is still on the "To Do" list, judging from the pile of dirt off to the left side.
But maybe not. This was a different Edina, after all, with this end of Eden Avenue being home to industrial buildings like Danen's excavating, Wanner Engineering, Roto Press and a taxi company instead of retail shops, condominiums, library and senior center. Look at those wide open spaces around the clinic -- quite different from the address today.
 1960 Edina phone directory ad In 2001, the City of Edina acquired the land by eminent domain for redevelopment, and the Edina Public Library and the Edina Senior Center were built there. At that time, Edina Pet Hospital was owned by Dr. Dan Shebuski, who had worked with Bonnett at both his Edina and Southdale practices. Edina Pet Hospital, now in its 53rd year. still endures in Edina at 7701 Cahill Road. Dr. Bonnett died in 2010. His obituary (published in the June 27, 2010 Minneapolis Star Tribune) noted that he founded the Edina, Southdale, Eden Prairie, and Eagan Pet Hospitals. Magnolia boys, Cedric and WalterAs a side note, Bonnett was born in Magnolia, MN, the same small town as another Edina resident, Cedric Adams, popular radio host and owner of Cedric's restaurant in the same Grandview area. With Magnolia's population at 261, it can't be a coincidence that Bonnett and Adams both moved to Edina and set up businesses within blocks of each other. They weren't classmates, though, by any means; Cedric was born in 1902, while Dr. Bonnett was born in 1921. Hmmm.... a mystery to be solved on another day. Does anyone know more? If you remember Dr. Bonnett and the early days of Edina Pet Hospital, please comment here or email me.Happy Friday, everyone!Note: Because I've posted only twice this week, I will publish a bonus Photo Friday later this afternoon.
Today, you will need a napkin to wipe the drool off your chin and some willpower so you don't run out to a Sonic or Dairy Queen after reading this post. Ready?Here is a photo of the Biltmore Drive-in, located at 5001 Vernon Avenue. Although this photo was taken for tax assessing purposes, I love that the photographer captured two young customers on bicycles on what looks to be a beautiful August day. In case you can't read the menu, here's a sampling of what you could buy. (Note that nothing cost more than $1.65.)
Broilburger 50 cents
Steak sandwich 50 cents
Cheeseburger 40 cents
Biltmore burger 50 cents
Floats 20 cents
Heavy malts 30 cents
Freezes 25 cents
1/2 Chicken in a basket $1.65
Shrimp in a basket $1.25
Egg salad 30 cents
Peanut butter sandwich 25 cents
Did that make you hungry? Sorry to do that to you. Well, it's Friday. Go out and enjoy a malt... just remember to bring more than 30 cents.
Note: Edina had a bunch of businesses with Biltmore in the title, but as far as I know, none shared the same owner. In the same way that many businesses today have Southdale in their name because of the nearby landmark mall, these businesses no doubt traded on the fact that the well-known Biltmore Hotel was in the area. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Do you know anything about the Biltmore Drive-In or any other drive-ins in Edina? Does anyone know who owned the business or how long it lasted? Share your knowledge and comment here or email me.Happy Friday, everyone!
Here are some grand views of the Grandview District (shown on the Google map below). You probably have seen news stories or perhaps even participated in the discussion of the future of the Grandview District. (If you want more info, see background materials and a draft plan at the Edina Citizens Engagement web site.) Today, as a bonus Photo Friday, I thought I'd show you some interesting aerial photos on how the area has changed since 1947. I urge you to go to Historical Aerials web site to get sharper images and explore the area in detail. The site has a really cool feature where you can slide a bar to see the area change from one year to the next. (Kind of like the "before" and "after" advertisements that show the effect of wrinkle cream.) I love it. Seriously, go there today. You don't have to look at just Grandview...type in the address of your house and see how your block has changed over the years. It's a little addicting for a history fan like me, especially since I think aerial photos sometimes look like ultrasound images. In other words, I can't always identify parts of Edina in its infancy when it looks so different than it does today. This web site really helps compare and contrast the exact same street year to year.(You would think I was a late night pitchman on some home shopping channel, but I have no affiliation with the web site. Just a new fan....)Anyway on to the grand views of Grandview. This 1947 view shows no freeways. (Go to the web site and zoom in to see how few buildings were in the area.)Grandview 1966 (below). You can see a diamond interchange, and the large building to the right (or east) of the interchange is the 1954 Village Hall, which sits approximately where the current City Hall parking lot is today.
Grandview 1970 (below). You can see Highway 100 has been widened and the off ramps are now loops. Tupa Park, where historic Cahill School and Minnehaha Grange Hall No. 398, was created from the green space in the lower right loop.
And finally, Grandview in 2006, much as it looks today. This is after the Grandview Square area was developed, with the new public library and Senior Center building.
What will the area look like in the next decade? Check out the draft plan below to see what is being proposed (see page 24 for a map) for the next chapter in Grandview's history.
Note: I bring you this extra edition of Photo Friday, only because I didn't post earlier in the week due to the holiday and illness. Thank you to researcher Dan Lapham for telling me about www.historicaerials.com.
This "horse" captures the attention of every second-grader who visits the Edina History Museum during our behind-the-scenes storeroom tour.
Adults like her too. Isn't she a beaut?
All the tack, in case you missed the name emblazoned on the side, was donated by J.A. Danens and Son, who dug many of Edina's basements with horse and scraper. You can tell the Danens took pride in their work. The tack -- despite being used on sweaty hard-working horses -- is in pristine condition. After a long day of digging, the Danens cleaned everything. (Later on, when they used machinery, they washed their trucks every day.)
Here's a closer look at the name...
and the scraper.
It's hard to believe that a horse and scraper could dig a house basement, but that's how it was done. Here's the photographic evidence: Danens' horse team digs out basements near Alden and West 51st Street in Edina's new South Harriet Park, early 1940s. This is a bit late for a horse and scraper operation, but patriarch Joe Danens, who started the business in 1913, resisted modernization. He had dug most of the basements in the Country Club area with horses and scraper and continued to work a team even after 1936, when his son Calvin “Sonny” Danens bought power shovels, dump truck and bulldozer. With machinery, however, J.A. Danens and Son were poised for the post-World War II building boom. In 1947, Sonny estimated that the company was digging 400 to 500 basements in a year. By 1975, Danens had dug 75 percent of all Edina and Minneapolis basements south of Lake Street. From 1950 to Sonny’s death in 1975, Danens and Son worked on Southdale, Edina City Hall (1954), Edina’s first high school and several Minneapolis downtown buildings. Danens’ projects included Northern States Power building, all of Dayton’s stores parking ramps, the Federal Reserve Bank, Minnesota Orchestra Hall and the Sheraton Ritz Hotel. Danens helped transform Edina by helping expand Highway 100 in the 1970s. “(My wife and I) both can remember when there was no road, no Highway 100, just a trail used in the winter. They never did get a road across until 1920 and they called it the new road for years,” Sonny said. Danens started with a building near 50th and France and expanded to a large garage in the Grandview area ( 5116 Brookside Avenue). Sonny sold all his equipment at a huge public auction in 1975 when he retired; soon after, he died during open heart surgery. His wife Marion Green Danens died last year, but she often came into the museum to visit the horse and reminisce. The Danens name lives on with an Edina street named after the family.
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