Book a furnished studio at Oaklands on 9th and you’re not just renting a downtown Minneapolis apartment for a week or a month — you’re staying inside the city’s first apartment building, built in 1889. The brownstone was designed by Harry Wild Jones, the architect behind some of Minneapolis’s most beloved landmarks. After a 2016 fire left it a roofless shell, it was painstakingly brought back to life in 2019. Most guests come for the full kitchen, the free laundry, and the walk-everywhere location — but if you slow down for a minute, you’ll notice the building quietly telling its own story. Here are a few original details worth looking for during your stay.
A grand staircase that survived three winters with no roof
The first thing many guests notice is the main staircase (pictured at the top of this page). When restoration began, it was the part of the project that worried the crew most — it had been rained and snowed on for three straight winters while the building sat open to the sky. Remarkably, most of it was saved. With a few matching parts donated from the old Grand Hotel, the original woodwork came back together, and today it climbs the center of the building beneath a red runner and dimly lit crystal sconces. It’s a good reminder that “historic” here isn’t a decorating theme — it’s the actual 1889 building.
The last original door in the building
Of all the doors in the Oaklands, exactly one is original and still hanging in its original spot. It leads to the old coal room in the basement — now the electrical room — and if you look closely you can still see where a 1970s basement fire scarred the top of it. It spent three years underwater in the flooded basement during the roofless years. A cleanup and a little WD-40 on the hinges, and it swings just fine today. In a building this old that came this close to demolition, one surviving original door feels like a small miracle.
Kitchens built from the building’s own wood
Look closely at the kitchens and you’ll find the building recycling itself. Many of the wood backsplashes and built-in shelves are made from the Oaklands’ own old oak flooring, salvaged before and during the fire — and some of the high floating shelves are repurposed stair treads. Outside, the brickwork was re-pointed by hand with custom-mixed lime mortar, the same soft mortar originally used on the handmade brick (more than 4,000 pounds of it). It’s the slow, correct way to repair historic masonry — the National Park Service even publishes a guide on repointing it exactly this way — and it’s a big part of why the exterior still looks right.
Old bones, genuinely modern comforts
For all the history, your studio is built for real life. Power for the whole building runs in through the original 1889 coal chute — now carrying electricity for per-apartment mini-split heating and cooling, induction cooktops, instant hot water, fast Wi-Fi, and keyless locks. You get a full kitchen, free on-site laundry, all utilities included, and a flexible month-to-month setup with no lease, in Good, Better, and Best studio tiers. The restoration also earned the Oaklands a local historic designation — there’s a marker out in the garden — the kind of recognition overseen by the city’s Heritage Preservation Commission. In other words, it’s a 135-year-old building that finally has 21st-century guts.
If you love this kind of history
You’re in good company downtown. The Oaklands was saved from demolition alongside its sister property, the Eugene J. Carpenter Mansion at 300 Clifton, a historic bed and breakfast in nearby Loring Park. To see more of Harry Wild Jones and the city’s grand old architecture, Minneapolis Trolley Tours is an easy, fun way to take it in, and the Pillsbury Club — set in the historic Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion — makes another atmospheric stop. When you’re ready to plan the rest of your visit, Meet Minneapolis keeps a current rundown of what’s happening downtown.
Come see it for yourself. Check dates and book a furnished studio directly on our booking page, or give us a call at (612) 314-5124. We’re at 215 South 9th Street, right in the heart of downtown Minneapolis — a night, a week, or a month, whatever you need.