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When construction was completed in 1919, this property became the new headquarters of the North East Neighborhood House (NENH). The NENH was a settlement house rooted in Plymouth Church's Immanuel Sunday School Mission, which moved to Drummond Hall in 1899 before its final relocation twenty years later. Part of the greater settlement house movement that started in the late 19th century, the NENH provided valuable services and resources to the Northeast neighborhood, including education, recreation, employment assistance, and healthcare. Robbins Gilman and his wife Catheryne Cooke Gilman guided the facility through its first three decades, establishing it as one of the preeminent settlement houses in the nation. As the influence of these houses deceased throughout the 20th century, the NENH was folded into East Side Neighborhood Services, Inc (ESNS). ESNS continues serving East Minneapolis to this day, but it sold the NENH property in 2001. Today, the historic buildings are part of the affordable housing complex Bottineau Lofts.

The North East Neighborhood House's main building, built in 1919

The North East Neighborhood House's main building, built in 1919

The NENH building as it looked in its early years

The NENH building as it looked in its early years

Robbins Gilman was a reformer and the first director of NENH from 1915 until 1948

Robbins Gilman was a reformer and the first director of NENH from 1915 until 1948

Catheryne Cooke Gilman, wife of Robbins Gilman, was instrumental in establishing NENH

Catheryne Cooke Gilman, wife of Robbins Gilman, was instrumental in establishing NENH

Mr. Gilman talking with kids in football gear on the steps of the NENH main building

Mr. Gilman talking with kids in football gear on the steps of the NENH main building

The NENH included a Day Nursery to take care of young children

The NENH included a Day Nursery to take care of young children

Education was a major part of NENH's services, which included sewing classes

Education was a major part of NENH's services, which included sewing classes

A woman giving a piano lesson to a young student in the 1920s

A woman giving a piano lesson to a young student in the 1920s

An NENH employee dressed as Santa with gifts for the children

An NENH employee dressed as Santa with gifts for the children

The NENH building as it looked in 1976, from across the street at Bottineau Field Park

The NENH building as it looked in 1976, from across the street at Bottineau Field Park

The settlement house movement gained momentum in the 1880s as a means to help impoverished citizens in the growing urban centers of America. While sometimes associated with religious organizations, the settlement houses were usually designed to provide a secular resource for communities. In the young city of Minneapolis, however, many religious organizations still had a number of important neighborhood centers. One of these was the Immanuel Sunday School Mission, founded by the Plymouth Church in 1881 and located in the Northeast section of the city. Though initially offering religious education, the institution expanded its services to include industrial education, recreation, and clubs. Due to its increasing popularity, the Mission moved nearby into a larger building named Drummond Hall in 1899. 

The shifting demographics of the Northeast, however, affected the popularity of Drummond Hall. By the early 20th century, many of the area’s original inhabitants (who were primarily of French, German, and Scandinavian origin) had been replaced by immigrants from Eastern Europe. Since these new arrivals were largely Catholic, many of them did not trust Drummond Hall and its Protestant associations. The Hall was forced to close in 1913, but Plymouth Church subsequently conducted a survey of the neighborhood to see how it could best serve the residents. The church found that a new kind of settlement house was needed, one that could unite the community’s disparate ethnicities and religions, while providing much needed educational, economic, health, and social services. 

The new facility was named North East Neighborhood House (NENH), and it opened on January 20, 1915. The new director was Robbins Gilman, who had previously worked at the renowned University Settlement in New York City. Along with his wife, Catheryne Gilman (another reformer who was put in charge of the women and girls department), Mr. Gilman established NENH as an integral center of Northeast Minneapolis. In addition to recreational facilities, the Gilmans introduced an employment program, which helped women find jobs; a nursery to provide childcare; and a dental clinic, since many community members could not afford proper dental care. Additionally, the NENH provided important services during World War I, such as hosting bond drives and helping young men with their draft papers. During the war and afterward in the 1920s, a period marked by increasing xenophobia, many people in the neighborhood gained American citizenship with the help of the settlement house. 

As the popularity and importance of the NENH kept growing, Gilman eventually persuaded the board of directors to construct a larger building at 1929 Second Street NE. This new building, which actually consisted of two structures (the main building and the north wing), was designed in the Georgian Revival style by the local architectural firm Kenyon and Maine. The NENH’s new headquarters was opened to the public in November of 1919, at a ceremony attended by over 600 people. The organization still used Drummond Hall until two more buildings (a dormitory and a gymnasium) were added to the new location in 1927. With these additions, the facility became the fifth largest settlement house in the country, and it started to rival University Settlement in New York and the Hull House in Chicago in terms of reputation and prestige. 

NENH maintained its prominence through the Great Depression and World War II, but major changes started occurring in 1948. That year, the Gilmans finally retired after 33 years at the helm of the institution. In the 1950s and 1960s, as the government began providing more social services to communities, the influence of the traditional settlement houses started to shrink. Many of Minneapolis’s settlement houses merged with one another, and in the 1960s the NENH joined with the Margaret Barry House in Beltrami to form East Side Neighborhood Services (ESNS). The new company eventually sold the Margaret Barry House, though it continued to operate from the NENH property for the rest of the 20th century. It finally moved to a new location in 2001, and the NENH buildings were converted into Bottineau Lofts, an affordable housing complex consisting of apartment units and townhouses. However, since the North East Neighborhood was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, much of its historic character was maintained through the transformation. ESNS still continues the work started by the Gilmans over a century ago, adapting to the changes and challenges of the new millennium. 

  1. Gardner, Denis P. . National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, National Park Service. Accessed April 3rd 2020. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/ab1ce92c-0a9c-4068-8c1b-21a21e8228c4.
  2. Bolin, Winifred Wandersee. "Heating up the Melting Pot." Minnesota History. Vol. 45, No. 2 (Summer 1976): 58 - 69. Minnesota Historical Society.
  3. Gardner, Denis. P.. Minnesota Treasures: Stories Behind the State's Historic Places. Saint Paul, MN. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2004.
  4. Karger, Howard Jacob. Minneapolis Settlement Houses in the "Not So Roaring '20s:" Americanization, Morality, and the Revolt Against Popular Culture. Western Michigan University Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. Vol. 14, No. 2 (May 1987): 89 - 110.
  5. DeCarlo, Peter J. . Northeast Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, MNopedia. September 22nd 2014. Accessed April 3rd 2020. https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/northeast-neighborhood-house-minneapolis.
  6. Bottineau Housing Project, Phoenix Development. Accessed April 3rd 2020. http://phoenixdevco.com/bottineau.
  7. Olson, Gail. Bill Laden is Retiring, My Northeaster. May 5th 2017. Accessed April 3rd 2020. https://www.mynortheaster.com/news/bill-laden-is-retiring/.
Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_East_Neighborhood_House

https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/northeast-neighborhood-house-minneapolis

https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/northeast-neighborhood-house-minneapolis

https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/northeast-neighborhood-house-minneapolis

https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/northeast-neighborhood-house-minneapolis

https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/northeast-neighborhood-house-minneapolis

https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/northeast-neighborhood-house-minneapolis

https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/northeast-neighborhood-house-minneapolis

https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/northeast-neighborhood-house-minneapolis