The Ard Godfrey House

Norwegian-American artist Arnold Klagstad was part of a wave of Public Works of Art Project artists employed by the government during the Great Depression, and he painted many scenes of the burgeoning city of Minneapolis. He captured the historic Ard Godfrey House in this 1934 oil painting, showing the oldest surviving wood frame house in the city. The house was first built in 1849 in the milling district around St. Anthony Falls, where Maine millwright Ard Godfrey lived and worked. In the early 1900s, it was relocated to Richard Chute Square at University and Central in Minneapolis, where it became a museum. The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis restored the 1.5-story house in 1976, and you can still tour it today to enjoy a slice of city history.