COBBLE CREST
By Bob Reiss, From the Re-Echo, Fall 2005

Cobble Crest was the country estate of Minneapolis businessman Leslie H. Fawkes.  The estate consisted of 60 or more acres on both sides of Minnetonka Boulevard at what is now Cavell Avenue.  Included in the estate was a large deer pen with tame deer, a stable, a trapshooting area, a waterfall, Cobble Crest Lake (which had been excavated), statues, and the home.

The home is located at 2840 Cavell Ave. So.  At one time it had seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and several porches, one of which was 54 feet wide.  There were three fireplaces, one of which took up a complete wall in the living room.

Because Fawke's hobby was cobblestones, the whole house is built entirely of cobblestones, hence Cobble Crest.  Fawkes came to Minneapolis from Illinois and opened a bicycle company in 1893.  At the beginning of the automotive age, he renamed his company Great Western Cycle and Automotive Company and it became the first auto agency in Minneapolis.  He sold Reo Speedwagons, Cord sport cars, and Auburn and Overland cars.  He also built the building at Hennepin Avenue and Harmon Place that is named after him.

When the depression hit in the 1930s, all of Fawkes' car companies went bankrupt and he was forced to sell his country estate.  The second owner was Howard Meager.  He built a dance floor by the lake and opened it to the public.  Bands were brought in to provide music for dancing and entertainment.  There is no record of a liquor license being issued at this location, so it is possible the liquor was illegal.  The endeavor did not last long, probably because of the end of Prohibition. 

The third owner was a dentist name Dr. Tinker.  It was during his ownership that the property was subdivided. Homes in the Cobble Crest addition were built from 1956 to 1958. 

Ward Hurd, son of a former Park mayor, was the fourth owner of the property in 1959.

The current owner is James J. McDonough, who has owned the house since 1976.  He is in the process of restoring it.



This story about Cobble Crest was sparked by a visit to the Historical Society by Dara Miller of Des Moines, Iowa.  Her mother and father were early residents of St. Louis Park.  They lived on Oak Hill in one of the Monitor Drill houses that were built in the low swamp land.  Her mother, who lives with Dara in Des Moines, remembered working in downtown Minneapolis and walking to and from Carl Reiss's Waiting Station at Brownlow to catch the streeetcar.

Dara got to see her mother and father's former home but she was also looking for Cobble Crest.  At the time, there was nothing in our files about this, and no one in the Society had heard of it.  Dara was looking for Cobble Crest because her father had played in an orchestra at this nightclub.  Her mother worked there as a waitress when they met and married.  Recently, one of our researchers found an old 1983 newspaper story that told us the story.  Dara Miller and her mother will be pleased.




 

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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.