Through the fallen leaves 

Location: 5101 46th Ave. 

Administration Building, Minnehaha Veterans Home Complex – Built in 1892 and designed by architect W.B. Dunnell, “the Administration Building is the most elaborate of the original Richardsonian Romanesque buildings on the campus, as well as the focal point of the Soldiers’ Home. It is a tall, two-story brick and red sandstone structure built on a raised basement foundation of red sandstone. The east-facing facade overlooking the Mississippi River is dominated by an ornate, four-story square brick tower topped by a pyramidal roof. 

The tower is located to one side of the entrance and has a two-story, round bay on the facade, and a rich array of rusticated and carved stone with gargoyles and finials. A large, semicircular stone arch marks the main entrance (an identical arch is found on the west entry) which is surmounted by a wide panel of delicately carved stone tracery within which are figures depicting a cannon, admiral’s hat, and a peg leg…

The Administration Building originally contained offices for the Soldiers’ Home, a library and reading room (which also served as a chapel), the commandant’s residence, and a storage room in the basement. The building continues to be used for administrative purposes today.”

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (NPS Form 10-900)http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/nrhp/nomination/89000076.pdf

Photo: Ashley Yellick