Minneapolis magnate Lowry's monument celebrated

The 100th anniversary of the monument honoring Thomas Lowry, one of the foremost movers and shakers in Minneapolis history, will be marked Tuesday evening.

A program on the developer and streetcar magnate, who died in 1909 — and the monument erected to him — will be held at the downtown Minneapolis library's RMKC meeting room at 7 p.m.

The memorial to Lowry is the city's most outstanding civic monument, in the opinion of architect Peter Sussman, who also is an amateur historian and a board member of Preserve Minneapolis.

The bronze and granite statue stands in Smith Triangle at 2330 Hennepin Av. S., opposite Temple Israel. But that's not where it was dedicated 100 years ago Tuesday.

The original site was the now-gone Virginia Triangle at the intersection of Hennepin, Lyndale and Groveland avenues.

The state highway department moved the statue in 1967 as Interstate 94 and its Lowry tunnel were being constructed, according to a Park Board history.

"One day it was there, and the next day it was gone," recalled Sussman, who passed through the bottleneck area frequently as a youth.

It's difficult to overstate Lowry's role in the city's development. Initially a lawyer, then a real estate developer, he later co-founded the Minneapolis Street Railway Co., serving as its longtime president. He also played a major role in the Soo Line railroad. His streetcar and real estate ventures often overlapped. According to the website MNopedia, one-third of the land that's now Minneapolis passed through Lowry's hands in the 1870s.

Lowry was a founding member of the city's Library Board and donated large tracts for city parks. He was key in bringing the 1892 Republican national convention to Minneapolis and helped get the city's first first-class hotel, the West Hotel, built. Minneapolis' Lowry Hill neighborhood is named for him.

During Tuesday's program, Sussman will speak about the monument, Andrew Frenz will discuss its historic designation, and streetcar historian Aaron Isaacs will outline Lowry's role in Minneapolis development.

The Park Board has the triangle on its schedule for site and sculpture improvements in 2020. Park Commissioner Anita Tabb said some edges of the base have chipped off and the bronze statue may need refurbishment. Although neighbors and park crews helped trim and renovate foliage in the triangle, more attention to renewing the landscaping is needed, she said.

Sussman said he calls the monument the city's most significant because of Lowry's importance and the beauty of the monument, which was designed by noted Austrian-born sculptor Karl Bitter.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438

Twitter: @brandtstrib