Park seeks proposals for former Manfred house

Change is on the horizon for the former interpretive center atop the Blue Mounds State Park north of Luverne.
Local park staff learned in March that funding is available for a landscape architect to develop a plan for the iconic structure built by the late Luverne author, Fred Manfred.
“I’m really glad we’re going to get momentum going to plan something for future use,” said Blue Mounds State Park manager Chris Ingebretsen.
He said the state will request proposals from landscape architects this spring, and the chosen firm will be asked to submit several options for consideration this fall.
“Applicants will submit an initial proposal and bid cost, and a vendor will be selected from the applicants,” Ingebretsen said.
“The successful applicant will then be asked to provide up to three proposals, ranging from a modest to moderate investment of capital funds.”
He said the park doesn’t currently have a cost estimate for the project.
“Final design proposals from the hired vendor should include initial cost estimates for those designs,” he said. “Any design submitted will include the demolition.”
 
Moisture issues vs. historic preservation
Community input meetings in 2017 invited public comment about future park resource priorities, and several lengthy discussions centered on the former interpretive center building.
A spiral staircase in the home leads to an outlook atop the house with an expansive view of the Rock River valley below. Manfred is said to have done much of his writing from this room, and it’s what gives the building a cultural significance in the park.
Manfred built the home in 1960 and in 1972 sold it to the DNR, which reopened it in 1974 as the park’s interpretive center.
It’s been closed since 2015 after engineers deemed the moisture-damaged support beams to be unsafe.
They’ve studied options for rebuilding, but any repairs or new construction in that location would result in similar moisture damage over time, and state officials recommend dismantling it.
Manfred’s children acknowledge that moisture was an issue in the home from the day it was built into the hillside, and seeping water has been an issue since then.
The first-floor north wall is comprised of underground Sioux quartzite that serves as a conduit for prairie water drainage and natural springs.
While community members advocated for the building’s historical importance, facilities experts and engineers determined it’s neither safe nor prudent to repair or reconstruct it.
Instead, they’re focusing on a way to showcase the location that is already served by a paved driveway to County Road 8 at the bottom of the hill.
 
‘Eagle Rock Vista’
Once the scenic overlook is redeveloped, it will be called “Eagle Rock Vista.”
Eagle Rock, a large boulder about 400 meters north of the building, is the high point in the park at 1,683 feet, offering a 360-degree panoramic view that includes three states.
The trailhead will feature parking, maps and information kiosks that share park history and background on Manfred and his contributions to literature and to the community.
A new building isn’t in the plans, but 2017 community discussions had considered a possible day use shelter and ways to better highlight the park’s natural landscape.
Ingebretsen said he looks forward to making the hilltop landing better for the public and for historic significance.
“There is a natural beauty as you look out from the rock,” he said. “There is opportunity for an enhanced day use area there, while still interpreting its hits historic significance.”
To that end, the park will continue to work with Minnesota’s State Historic Preservation Office as plans are developed.
“Investigations over the past two years have led us to believe the Manfred house can’t stand as it is,” he said. “But we’re looking at options to honor the Manfred legacy while better utilizing the resources in the area.”
Once an architect is chosen and a plan is approved, work would begin in the summer of 2020.