• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • WRESTLING WITH GOD BOOK
  • CONTACT

Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
  • WRITING & READING
  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
  • WIDOWED
  • FUNNY BUTTON

Tudor Bungalows in the Twin Cities—Little Houses With a Big Sense of Humor

September 4, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

A grey-green Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall
Tudor bungalow with curved half timbering. Photo by Barbara Newhall

By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Can a house have a sense of humor? Charm, yes, of course. But a sense of humor? Houses are houses. They’re serviceable. They’re meant to be lived in. Some are works of art even. But can a house make you smile?

I never gave it thought until I visited Minneapolis-St. Paul last month and was treated to row upon row and neighborhood upon neighborhood of Tudor bungalows.

There were hundreds of these houses, thousands maybe, all built before World War II, yet each was unique. This one had a single square of brick inlaid over an upper story window like a beauty mark. That one had a chimney right next to the front door. Another had curvy half-timbering and herringbone brick work. Many had sandstone embellishments running up the chimneys. All had a sense of fun.

A quiet neighborhood in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall
A whole neighborhood of Tudor bungalows in the Twin Cities. Photo by Barbara Newhall
A grey-green Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall
Herringbone brick work flanks the door. Photo by Barbara Newhall
A grey-green Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall A grey-green Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall
Rustic touches — flower boxes, stone steps. Photo by Barbara Newhall
A grey-green Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall     A grey-green Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall
Bold stone work and tapered facade. Photo by Barbara Newhall
A grey-green Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall     A grey-green Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall
Curved roof line and tapered chimney. Photo by Barbara Newhall
The alley behinda street full of tidy looking Tudors, so that access to garages is from this ally, leaving the street view of the neighborhood free of driveways and massive garage doors. Photo by Barbara Newhall
In this walkable neighborhood of Tudor bungalows, you access your garage from an alley like this one, leaving the street view free of driveways and massive garage doors. Photo by Barbara Newhall
tudor roof with round arch above the window in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall
Blue-green stucco overlaid with tan. Photo by Barbara Newhall
Brick work on the chimney of  a Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall
Detailed stone work on a chimney. Photo by Barbara Newhall
The stucco has fallen away from the chimney on a Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis, revealing the brick work underneath. Photo by Barbara Newhall
The stucco had fallen away from this chimney, revealing the brick work underneath. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Filed Under: A Case of the Human Condition

Share This with a Friend

Share

If you enjoyed this, get my Latest Riffs on Life!

We respect your privacy and do not share your email with anyone. [convertkit form=1389962]

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emily E Newhall says

    July 1, 2024 at 9:05 am

    South Minneapolis has some beautiful neighborhoods and communities. Thanks for visiting!

    Reply
    • Barbara Falconer Newhall says

      July 1, 2024 at 10:27 am

      I love walking in this neighborhood. Every house is a little different, a little surprise.

      Reply
  2. Enock says

    December 7, 2015 at 3:50 pm

    Great set of photos. I am drinvig from Washington State to Newport Beach later this summer via 395. The main purpose is to see as much of the history of the Aqueduct as possible. I have a number of days available to poke around the area. Are there any other do not miss places to see the project?

    Reply
  3. kathryn says

    September 4, 2014 at 10:47 pm

    I love these quirky houses! Thanks for the photos.

    Reply
  4. Nancy Davis Kho says

    September 4, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    Love these pics! Reminds me a bit of the Oak Park neighborhood of Chicago, especially with the alleyway access to the houses…fun to look at how creative the builders were!

    Reply
    • Barbara Falconer Newhall says

      September 4, 2014 at 5:12 pm

      Really. That’s what I keep thinking — how much creativity went into those facades. The masons must have had a blast putting them together. . . We had an alley behind our house in Detroit. It wasn’t kept as clean as the ones I saw in Minnesota. It was used strictly for picking up the garbage — and a lot of garbage was always lying around. Fun for us kids. We’d go garbage picking — which our moms didn’t like much.

      Reply
  5. Peter says

    September 4, 2014 at 8:49 am

    Cool story. I didn’t realize you were paying so much attention to Twin Cities architectura when you visited!

    Reply
    • Barbara Falconer Newhall says

      September 4, 2014 at 1:35 pm

      Yeah. Thanks for driving me all over town!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

GET MY Riffs on Life BY EMAIL

True stories often told through a humorous lens–because you just can't make them up!

We respect your privacy and do not share your email with anyone.

 

LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Help Me Be a Fun Grandma. I Need Ideas for My Babysitting Week

help me be a fun grandma

I agreed to provide child care for a week this summer. Help me be a fun grandma. Tell me, how do I keep two kids, 8 and 5, entertained?  Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
  • On Writing & Reading
  • My Rocky Spiritual Journey

 
Need some levity? Push my Funny Button!

TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

In My Rain-Battered Garden — Nothing Is Forever, Not Even Those Poppies

books on shelf by john gardener, sands hall, strunk and white, noah lukeman, robert mckee, theodore m bernstein, stephen koch, susan shaughnessy. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

The Writing Room: Two Must-Have Craft Journals for the Literary Writer

leonard-cohen-documentary

Widowed: John Donne, Meet Leonard Cohen — And Send Us a Song, Please, From the Mystery Beyond

violet pansy blossom with green edges. Purple Rain. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My Purple Rain Garden: Is the Universe Trying to Tell Me Something?

MORE DON'T MISS!

© 2009–2025 Barbara Falconer Newhall All rights reserved. · Log in