Some buildings wear their age quietly. Oaklands on 9th wears it proudly. Our home is an 1889 brownstone in downtown Minneapolis — designed by the prolific Minneapolis architect Harry Wild Jones — that came within a whisker of the wrecking ball before it was brought back to life. When you stay with us today you’re surrounded by full kitchens, fast Wi-Fi, and quiet per-room heating and cooling. But look a little closer and the building’s 130-year story is still right there in the woodwork.
A brownstone that almost didn’t make it
Built in 1889 with a handsome brownstone front, the Oaklands passed through several lives over the decades — as apartments and, later, as a hotel. Then came the 2016 fire. For roughly three winters the building sat abandoned and roofless, rained and snowed on, its boiler destroyed and its basement underwater. It landed on Minnesota’s most-endangered lists, both before and after the fire.
What saved it was a combination of the City prioritizing the building and a determined grassroots movement — Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman is credited with helping rescue it from demolition, just as she did for our sister property, the 300 Clifton mansion in Loring Park. Restoration began in 2019 — only the third renovation in the building’s 130-year history.
The details that survived
Walk the halls and you’ll meet the survivors. The grand staircase — the part of the project that worried the crew most — is mostly original wood. After three roofless winters it was carefully rebuilt, with a few parts donated from the old Grand Hotel, and given back its balustrade and a plush red runner.
Even more remarkable is a single door. As far as anyone can tell, exactly one original 1889 door survived in its original location: the door to the old coal room, now the electrical room. It still carries a scar from a 1970s basement fire and the memory of those underwater winters — a little cleanup and some WD-40 brought it back. It’s the only one left in the entire building.
Old materials, put back to work
The restoration leaned hard on the building’s own bones. Crews custom-mixed lime mortar — the same type used in 1889 — and worked through more than 4,000 pounds of it re-pointing the brick, often at night to stay out of the neighbors’ way. All 65 windows were restored start to finish over about a year and a half.
And the building’s old oak flooring didn’t go to the dumpster. It became kitchen backsplashes, built-in cubbies, and floating shelves — a few of them old stair treads. Even 130-year-old bricks unearthed beneath the former parking lot found their way back into the landscaping.
1889 character, 2019 comfort
None of this means roughing it. The coal chute that once fed the furnace now carries the building’s modern nervous system: fiber internet was literally spliced in the old coal room, and around 22,000 amps of power run the per-apartment mini-split heating and cooling, induction cooktops, instant hot water, Wi-Fi, keyless locks, and all-LED lighting. In 2022 the building’s historic designation was made official with a plaque you can still find in the garden, and the hallways double as a small history wall celebrating the Oaklands and its architect.
Stay in a piece of Minneapolis history
Today the Oaklands is a collection of furnished, month-to-month studios — Good, Better, and Best — a short walk from the skyway, Target Field, US Bank Stadium, and Orchestra Hall. If you love old buildings, you’ll be in good company downtown: you can explore the city’s protected landmarks through the City of Minneapolis preservation office and its Heritage Preservation Commission, read more about architect Harry Wild Jones, or plan a wider visit with Meet Minneapolis. For a story-filled spin through more of the city’s historic (and famously haunted) corners, hop aboard Minneapolis Trolley Tours or visit the Pillsbury Club.
Want to wake up inside a restored 1889 brownstone? Book a studio or call us at (612) 314-5124 — we’d love to share the place with you.
Keep reading: A Walk to the Minneapolis Riverfront: Exploring the Mill District from Oaklands on 9th · Furnished Month-to-Month vs. an Extended-Stay Hotel in Downtown Minneapolis: How to Choose