Zuhrah Shrine A.A.O.N.M.S.

2540 Park Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404
Phone: (612) 871-3555 Fax: (612) 871-2632

**Harrington Mansion**
Map and driving directions
Zuhrah has had four locations in Minneapolis, and moved to its current location, 2540 Park Ave., in 1929. The Property was purchased for $25,000, which is less than half of today’s property tax burden. Zuhrah Shrine Center has been built and rebuilt 2 times, but the historic Mansion remains intact, as built by the Van Dusen/Harrington lumber family in 1907. The property today is the scene of most Zuhrah activities. The Mansion has become a popular place for wedding receptions and provides a perfect place for wedding pictures on the Stair leading to the second floor.
Back at the turn of the century, Charles Harrington contracted to have designed and built, a stately buff brick Georgian mansion on the corner of 26th Street and Park Avenue. This Avenue at the time was very much the showplace of Minneapolis society and was the City's only asphalted pavement uptown, so surfaced from Tenth Street to Twenty-Eighth. The mansion architecture was designed by the firm of Keys and Colburn while the construction was done by the firm of Pike and Cook. In 1902 the building was turned over to Mr. Harrington at which time he brought in artisans from Norway and Sweden to complete the ornamental decor that can be seen today.

**Special notes of interest concerning our mansion.**
Divan Pictures - The pictures hang on the added wall that covers what was the entry to the Family Dining Room. At one time it was Zuhrah’s Red Fez Grill.
Entry Way - The entry way is the original Italian Mosaic. Off the hallway, near our “Mail Room” was a huge Bank Vault for the silverware, etc. and a smaller vault inside for the Jewelry. We found and returned silver that was left in the vault when we purchased the building. The wood carvings on the stair case, etc. were done on a hand peddled wood lathe and would be near to impossible to duplicate today. The Grand Father Clock was originally a wedding gift to a family member by J. B. Hudson, which you will recognize as the founder of Hudson Jewelry and who was also Zuhrah’s 4th Potentate in 1896. Its a beautiful clock and keeps perfect time.
Oil Paintings - You will find “Original Oil Paintings” throughout the entire Mansion as well as pictures of three Zuhrah Members who have been Imperial Potentates of the Shrine of North America (Presidents of our National Organization). They were Charles E. Ovenshire, 1917-1918, A. A. D. Rahn, 1938-39 and Warren F. Weck, 1978-79. They were also Zuhrah Potentates (Presidents) in the respective years of 1907, 1922-23, and 1967. On the second floor is a picture of A. M. “Cap” Shuey, who formed the first uniformed unit (Zuhrah Patrol) in all Shrinedom by marching in jaunty, white uniforms at the Imperial Session in Denver in 1894. The picture in the Divan Room, 1876 by Elmer Bymark who had two loves - The Zuhrah Shrine and his Picture. He died in a flat on Franklin Ave. and his sister donated the picture which was dirty, with hard to see detail. It had been stored behind a furnace by Zuhrah after we received it. Hetz was the painter. Zuhrah had appraised and consequently sold some donated art works, but not this picture. Past Potentate, George Reedy had it renovated. The picture depicts family. Note, the man’s tattoo can be traced to the German Quartermaster Corps in the Napoleonic War of 1813.
2nd Floor - It is thought that all the perimeter rooms were once joined by doorways. The inner hall area is where the Chamber Maid served the many rooms. Much of the decorating and furnishings are original or nearly so. We currently use a couple of the small rooms as “Zuhrah’s Historical Room” to show some of our past. You could spend a couple of hours in it and not see everything.
3rd Floor - Rumor is that the light on the stage is an “Original” Tiffany Lamp by Louis Tiffany. By looking out the windows, note the Terra Cotta Scroll that is virtually non-reproducible. Many a dance and other entertainment were held in this ballroom by the previous mansion owners and now by members of Zuhrah.
Red Fez Area - This is the old Carriage House for the horses and equipment. The old elevator is original and was used to exchange and store Carriages/Sleighs at the proper season. There is a picture at the entrance of the Red Fez Cafe that shows how the inside of the stable appeared when it served as a Carriage House. You can still see the stone horse heads above the closed up windows on the outside of the building. The second floor of the Carriage House is now used as a storage area and we still use the outside elevator system to move larger items.

**Additional Notes of Interest**
The North side of the Mansion, where our New Auditoriums are located, was a formal garden, called the “Side Yard”. Above the areas were you see dropped ceiling panels, you will find the Original Beams and we hope that someday they will be exposed.
The Porch on the second floor (south side) that extends out over the drive way is not part of the original building, but was an add on.
The Kings Chair, as we call it, on the 2nd floor stair landing is one of a number of pieces that are Austrian in origin. You will see other pieces on both the 1st and 2nd floor. There is a lot of history to this building which we are attempting to compile so that it is not lost to time.