1. History of 4612 Moorland
and 4610 Browndale homes
Written by Megan Brueske, Journalism Intern, and Jane Lonquist, Historical Society.
We are launching a history section within Country Club Neighborhood Life and want YOU to be
involved! We would like to feature historic homes, histories of Country Club, stories from
residents who have lived within Country Club for more than 15 years, and other fun historical
facts. We are excited to share this new section and have started out by bringing you a
fascinating story about two of the model homes that were built between the 1920’s and1930’s.
We hope you enjoy reading about the neighborhood's past and look forward to learning about
your individual historic stories.
Did you know that in 1924 when only 25 homes were built in the Country Club neighborhood, it
was difficult to attract residents to move into the neighborhood? During this time period,
people thought that Edina and the Country Club District was to far away from Minneapolis. The
Thorpe brothers, who owned the district, commissioned the firm on Liebenberg and Kaplan to
design eight model homes in the hopes of drawing interest to the Country Club District.
Liebenberg and Kaplan were best known for their architectural work of movie theaters. They
designed more than two-hundred theaters and remodeled roughly six-hundred theaters. The
local theaters you might recognize would be the Edina theater built in 1934, the Uptown
theater built in 1937 and the Varsity theater built in 1938.
We are lucky enough to share with you two of the original eight model homes, the Moorland
house and Brownsdale house. The Moorland house was built in 1926, which makes it an
impressive 89 years old. If the age of the house wasn't special enough, it was built in a French
Provincial style which replicated the rural, middle-class residences of the 17th and 18th century
France. The exterior of the house is made with a smooth stucco material with a classic entrance
design of a broken pediment above the door. There are two types of windows on this house,
the first story has arched framed windows and the second story has rectangle framed windows
with permanent shutters. French styles homes are known for their tall, steeply pitched hipped
roofs along with a prominent round tower, tying the house together in a impressive overall
style. Fun fact, the original cost of the Moorland home was approximated to be around
$8,500.00.
The Brownsdale house sits on the original site of the Brown Farmhouse. The home started to be
constructed in 1930, but was delayed by the Great Depression, it wasn’t completed until 1932.

2. The homes architecture was constructed in the Tudor Revival style, which resembles an upper-
class urban English cottage of 16th and 17th century England. The exterior of the house is made
of half-timbering with brick or stucco infill and stone trim. The windows on the home are
arranged in an informal pattern absent of shutters and arches with exception to the entrance
design. Tudor style homes are known for their steep-pitched roofs along with a decorative brick
chimney bringing the entire house design together. Fun fact, only five families have every lived
in the home with the first one being the Potter family.
"The 2016 Historic Neighborhood Walking Tour is a fun way to learn about the history and
architecture of other Country Club homes. Save the date -- Saturday, May 7 at 10 a.m. -- for this
new neighborhood tradition."