Available for use in the Manuscripts Division reading room. Advance notice is requested.
There are no restrictions on the use of materials in this collection. Copies can be requested if the condition of the originals warrants it.
J. Walter Stevens collection (N 45), Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by commission name.
John Walter Stevens was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts, on June 13, 1856. He came to St. Paul in 1897, at the age of 23, to begin practicing architecture. For the next 55 years, he remained in business and was responsible for the design of many of St. Paul's outstanding buildings during that time. Stevens retired from practice in 1935 and died in St. Paul on April 26, 1937.
J. Walter Stevens designed many residences in St. Paul and such commercial and institutional structures as the Germania Bank Building (now the St. Paul Building; 1888), the Wilder Public Baths (1914) and the Noyes Brothers & Cutler Wholesale Drug Warehouse (now Park Square Court; 1886). Other structures designed by Stevens include the Goodsell Observatory, Carleton College, (Northfield, MN; 1887); Pattee Hall, University of Minnesota (Minneapolis; 1889); Hughes High School (Cincinnati; n.d.); St. Cloud (Minnesota) Reformatory (1889) and several churches in Massachusetts.
The collection includes blueline sections, elevations, plans and mechanical plans for the Noyes Brothers & Cutler Warehouse (St. Paul, 1886), and blueprint elevations, sections, plans and details for the Ambrose Tighe store and warehouse building (St. Paul, 1880s).
An unpublished finding aid with detailed contents is available in the Manuscripts Division.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.