Damascus Commandery #1, Knights Templar
Saint Paul Minnesota
Obituary Charlie Nelson, 61 / Historical architect knew state, loved job
Master of compromise had far-reaching influence
BY DAVE ORRICK
Pioneer Press
No matter where you are in Minnesota, there's a historic log cabin within 50 miles.
And Charlie Nelson has been there.
From remote cabins to the State Capitol to St. Paul's Irvine Park, Nelson's presence can be found on nearly every historic preservation project in the state for the past 30 years.
Nelson, 61, died early Saturday from illness tied to a years-long struggle with cancer, friends and family said.
On Sunday, they recalled the longtime state historical architect with the Minnesota Historical Society as a tireless preservationist and a master of compromise — in a field where compromise is often as valuable as knowledge and passion. And he had those, too.
"He knew every road in this state — dirt road, paved road — he knew every significant structure," said Nina Archabal, executive director of the Historical Society, who worked with Nelson from the late 1970s until his retirement in 2004. She said no one else knew more. "When we lost Charlie Nelson, we lost wisdom and knowledge that — of course we hope will be replaced — is an enormous loss for the entire state. He was a rare blend. He knew the buildings, he knew the people. But he also knew that living was the art of compromise."
For example, when a 1991 fire ravaged the then-110-year-old Washburn Crosby Mill in Minneapolis, "There were many people who thought it was a fool's errand to do something with this enormous pile of rubble," she said. Not Nelson. Still, when a developer with a commercial interest in the site offered to preserve part of it but also wanted a modern steel-and-glass elevator thrusting up from the ruins, many preservationists winced.
"Some could argue that that glass elevator is an intrusion," Archabal said. "Charlie didn't see it that way. He saw the value in the views it would offer. He also saw the value of compromise. It went a long way to saving the mill."
Today, the site, just upstream from the new Guthrie Theater, hosts the Mill City Museum and remains a National Historic Landmark.
Nelson's need to "save" started at a young age, growing up in historic Old Mill Creek, a northern Illinois architectural estate managed by his father.
When he was 8, he was wandering through the remains of a burned building, said Angie Guggenberger Nelson, his wife of 38 years.
"He found an architectural piece: an old griffin made out of old oak," she said. "He rescued it. That was his first save."
Hardly his last.
After a tour together in the Peace Corps, the Nelsons — who met while earning their degrees at the University of Minnesota — went house shopping. He wanted a Victorian that was "untouched," Angie Nelson recalled Sunday, but he discovered the real estate agent was steering the couple clear of a fatigued section of North Minneapolis, where Nelson ended up finding a house he loved so much he purchased it on sight.
"When we moved in, Minneapolis was tearing everything down around us," she said of the neighborhood. "We recruited our friends to come in and buy them up."
And so began the Old Highland Neighborhood Association.
Nelson joined the Historical Society that same year and supervised the statewide survey for the National Register of Historic Places. In 1974, he became the state architectural historian and in 1978, the historical architect.
"He loved architecture and he loved history, and it was just that simple," said David Nystuen, a friend and coworker at the Historical Society who often road-tripped with Nelson around the state, where his work ranged from preserving the Joyce Estate in Itasca County to educating property owners about restoring their log cabins. "He'd watch the History Channel in some hotel at night. Next morning, he'd tell me all about the history of the (Ford) Edsel or the Boer Wars."
Active in the Masonic Temple, Nelson founded the Minnesota Masonic Historical Society and Museum.
He won numerous awards. In 1995, the U.S. Forest Service gave him a National Award for Excellence for his work on the Joyce Estate, an old hunting camp north of Grand Rapids. In 2005, shortly after his health forced him to retire, both the St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission and the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission awarded him their highest honors.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Billman-Hunt Funeral Chapel in Minneapolis, and 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Lakewood Cemetery chapel in Minneapolis. The funeral and interment will follow Wednesday beginning at 2 p.m. at Lakewood Cemetery. Donations can be made to the Old Highland Neighborhood Association, the Minnesota Masonic Historical Society and Museum and the Charlie Nelson Fund for Historic Preservation.
Dave Orrick can be reached at dorrick@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2171.