Minneapolis Plan Vault Collection
Scope and Content Note
The Minneapolis Plan Vault Collection is composed of plan sets deposited by builders and architects with the Building Inspections Department from 1909 to 1993 as a prerequisite for obtaining building permits. The Archives has sampled the plan sets to retain a broad spectrum of styles and buildings, including churches, commercial and industrial buildings, multi-family dwellings, hospitals and other types of structures.
The plans listed in the detailed contents section comprise approximately 2/3 of the total collection. The remaining 1/3 has not been inventoried but is searchable by Archives staff using the building owner's name (commission name) at the time of construction.
This finding aid was developed from a database which used a combination of last names and first initials as the leading entry, so researchers are urged to use the ctrl + ffunction to search for desired commissions, using either the street address field and/or the commission name. Researchers should contact the staff of the Archives in advance of planning any research visits to use this collection.
Dates
- Creation: 1910-1993
Language of Materials
English
Restrictions on Access
The collection is open to the public for reseach use. Copies may be requested if the condition of the material warrants.
Restrictions on Use
There are no restrictions on the use of the collection.
Historical Note
The City of Minneapolis first began to issue building permits in 1884. In 1910 the City began to retain plans collected by them upon the issuance of building permits. Over the course of years the City routinely discarded residential plans to make room for incoming drawings, thus the collection contains few, if any, plans for houses.
Extent
3150 Cubic Feet
Abstract
The Minneapolis Plan Vault Collection contains plan sets (copies) deposited by builders and architects with the Building Inspections Department from 1910 to 1990 as a prerequisite for obtaining building permits.
Arrangement
The collection is organized alphabetically by commission name.
Physical Location
High Bay, Mezzanine
Acquisition
The collection was acquired as a donation from the City of Minneapolis Department of Inspections (now Regulatory Services, 2010) in 1984.
Accruals
Plans sets were added to the original 1984 donation until 1993.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and the finding aid written by Alan K. Lathrop and Cole Ranzau in 2009 and 2010.
- Title
- Minneapolis Plan Vault Collection
- Author
- Alan K. Lathrop and Cole Ranzau
- Date
- 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Collecting Area Details
Contact The Northwest Architectural Archives Collecting Area
