Restoration Begins on the Turnblad Mansion and Carriage House

This spring and summer, visitors to the American Swedish Institute campus will see the first outward indications that restoration of the Turnblad Mansion and Carriage House has begun. As part of the multi-year Stories, Stonework & Stewardship project, these historic 1908 structures will undergo their first-ever full restoration to ensure they remain fixtures in the community for generations to come. Museum galleries, FIKA Café, and the Museum Store will remain open to the public for the duration of this project phase, though portions of the campus courtyard will be temporarily closed to visitors as work takes place.

The first phase of the project includes restoration of the Turnblad Mansion and Carriage House limestone façades, renovation of the Mansion’s east veranda and perimeter fence, and restoration of many of the buildings’ 160+ windows. Scaffolding will appear around the Mansion’s south and east sides as crews repair and stabilize some structural issues with the porte cochère and southeast turret.

ASI will also receive 12 new limestone scuppers, or stone downspouts, which will replace weatherdamaged ones found at various points along the Mansion's veranda. Hand-carved from the same Indiana Limestone used in the original buildings— and to the exact specifications as the originals— these replacement scuppers are being produced locally by Margaret Moore and Scott Halverson of Northern Stone Carving in Northeast Minneapolis. Margaret and Scott employ many of the same handcraft techniques and tools that were used by master craftsman Herman Schlink and his team of stone carvers when they produced the Turnblad Mansion’s original stone carvings.

Watch a video interview with Margaret and Scott today at asimn.org/support/mansion project.

Also during this phase, the interior of the Carriage House will undergo full rehabilitation.

In a 1955 edition of the ASI Bulletin, referring to the sculptured lion heads on the Turnblad Mansion, Mary Schlink, wife of Herman Schlink, noted that Swan Turnblad instructed her husband to carve the heads ‘as grotesque as possible.’

Originally an apartment for household staff and the garage for Swan Turnblad’s 1904 Waverly electric car, and most recently updated in the 1980’s, the Carriage House is currently used as offices for ASI’s 30+ full time staff and many volunteers. Following the rehabilitation, ASI will be able to offer an accessible, creative, and welcoming environment in which staff and volunteers can gather and work. During this phase, ASI staff will move to primarily remote work environments, with select offices and volunteer areas moved to the lower level of the Nelson Cultural Center and to within the Turnblad Mansion itself.

Together with the community, ASI looks to the future with this project and to ensuring the Turnblad Mansion and Carriage House remain gathering places for another hundred years. Learn how your support can help safeguard the future of these historic assets at asimn.org/ support/mansionproject