8550 MINNETONKA BOULEVARD/

2950 Aquila Ave. So.

The oldest house still standing in the City was built in 1874. It is generally referred to as the Westling House for the family that owned it from 1942 to 2008.  The milestones in the life of the house include:

1874
The original part of the house was built.
                                                                                                                         
1884

The house was added onto, as evidenced by "1884" etched in the cement, and a copy of an 1884 newspaper found in the wall during a subsequent renovation. News of the day was a visit to Minnesota by General Grant.

1889-1892

Maps show the property belonging to Mary M. Bruce.

1920s

During prohibition the place was a speakeasy, decorated with umbrellas, and featuring a magic cistern - pull on a rope to retrieve the hooch.

1933

Belmont Tavern and Belmont Stables were both listed in the City's first directory.

1935

Only Belmont Tavern was listed in the directory. A.J. Rowan requested a license to sell beer, although a Mr. Vader Van Slyke was listed as the owner of the Tavern.

On August 12, 1935, Emily Knoss from Hopkins was accused of selling intoxicating liquor at the Belmont Tavern address.  She was fined $25, but it was suspended and discharged.

1942

The property and acres of land were purchased by Richard J. and Marlys Westling. As early as 1939, the Westlings had raised produce and chickens on land they rented at 31st and Louisiana. The Westlings also farmed at their new location, and raised chickens and pigs.  The picture at right was taken in 2000.

1947

The Westlings subdivided the property (West Lynn) and built 65 homes. Mrs. Westling designed the houses. Drawings of the homes were found in the barn when the property was sold in 2008 and are being stored by the St. Louis Park Historical Society.

The Westlings named the streets in the subdivision, which the City said had to be named after patriotic themes. Thus, they named:

Aquila: Mrs. Westling originally wanted to name it Aragon, but it was deemed too close to Oregon. Then she found a book called Action at Aquila, which described a Civil War battle where 8 men were killed. The 1938 novel was written by Hervey Allen (who also wrote Anthony Adverse in 1933, which Warner Bros. made into a major motion picture in 1936, starring Fredric March, Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains, and Gale Sondergard, and directed by Mervyn LeRoy).

Boone: This street was named in honor of Mrs. Westling's shirt-tail relative, Daniel Boone; she had to show the Village evidence of a battle named Boone to get it approved.

1963
A new room was added to the front of the house, with a kind of hunting den look.  The picture below was taken in 2008.



2008
The Westling family sold the property to Peter Knaeble and Matt Pavek, who subdivided it into four lots.  After initial plans to tear down the house, the owners and the City worked to create variances that would allow the house to stand.  The owners remodeled the house in 2009, revealing original flooring buried under layers of tile, linoleum, and carpet.  The beautifully refurbished house is now for sale.  The address has been changed to 2950 Aquila Ave. So. to reflect the fact that the driveway is on Aquila. 

The barn was torn down in 2010.  Some of the wood was salvaged. 

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.