We’re on a mission to restore and revitalize the 1857 Lyceum Building—Northfield’s original town hall.
In 1857 Northfield’s founder, John North, gifted his town the Lyceum Building—home to the Lyceum Society—to bring civic dialogue, learning, community, and entertainment to the prairie.
The Lyceum Society fostered community discussions and advocacy for the abolition of slavery and the start of the Civil War. It was a place to discuss the role of religion in society, women’s suffrage, the temperance movement, and international affairs. The club hosted Northfield’s first public music performances. The building served as Northfield’s first library. It was used for some of Northfield’s first church services and other community events. In essence, it was Northfield’s first town hall—before Northfield even had a city government.
A Connection to History.
The original Lyceum Society began to wind down during the Civil War. Following the war, the building served as Northfield’s first public reading room, whose book collection eventually became the Northfield Public Library.
From the 1880s through 2020, the building served a wide variety of uses as a doctor’s office, portrait studio, prohibition-era speakeasy, chicken hatchery, a home (including to one of Minnesota’s first black families), a dentist office, and professional offices.
It had significant reconstruction work in the 1880s, 1930s, and 1970s, with the last significant work done 50 years ago.
“Believing in the utility of societies for intellectual improvement, we, citizens of Northfield, agree to unite ourselves into an association for the purpose of establishing a reading room, circulating library, and debating society.”
— John North, in his original bylaws for the Lyceum Society.
A Big Restoration Effort.
In January 2023 the Street family purchased the Lyceum and immediately began a full-scale restoration of the long-vacant and deteriorating building. The first phase of interior reconstruction was completed in March 2023.
Exterior repair work on Northfield’s last remaining wood-construction downtown building, along with significant landscaping renovations, will begin in summer 2023 and likely continue for the next year or so.
Our hope is to make the right improvements to this important building to give it new life in our community for next 50–100+ years.
“Long winter evenings were spent in debate, music, readings, and original papers. We had some astonishing bursts of eloquence, for genius felt in this free air untrammeled.”
— Northfield’s first mayor, Hiram Scriver, recalling early Lyceum meetings.
A New Life and Future.
The fully-renovated Lyceum Building now serves as Kelly Street’s private therapy clinic and as Aaron Street’s office for Remaking Ventures, the Street family’s historic preservation real estate development project.
A small Lyceum Building history exhibit is planned for the front lobby, which will soon be open for occasional tours by appointment and for some small community events. Stay tuned as these plans develop.
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