Gold Medal flour ad found on house leads to efforts to preserve history

Gold Medal flour ad preservation efforts

A homeowner in South Minneapolis is asking for help to preserve some pieces from the past that have ties to the history of Mill City.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A homeowner in South Minneapolis is asking for help to preserve some pieces from the past that have ties to the history of Mill City.

'It's been a crazy whirlwind'

What we know:

George Johnson has lived in his house on Minnehaha Avenue for more than 20 years.

But a recent home improvement project led to the discovery of a hidden history, more than a century in the making.

"I'm an architect, I've done a lot of historic preservation work and for that it was kind of like just a perfect match," said Johnson.

‘It’s an iconic Minneapolis thing’

The backstory:

Johnson was replacing the original siding back in June when contractors uncovered identical advertisements for Gold Medal Flour on both sides of the house.

He did some digging and found out the house, which was built in 1912, used to be a grocery store on the corner until a fire closed the business and prompted the building to be moved to its current location and converted into a single-family home in 1915.

"It's never seen sunlight for 110 years, so it's in perfect condition a lot of it. It looked like it was painted a couple of days ago. Its just really, really cool," said Johnson.

Now Johnson has created a GoFundMe to raise $25,000 to preserve the signs for future generations.

He would like to keep the ad on the north side exposed so people can see it, but that would involve removing the entire facade, sealing the house, reinstalling the sign and then applying sealant to protect it, which would be an expensive proposition.

"I just think it's part of our history, a really interesting and unique part of our history that you're not going to find," said Johnson.

'We just want to do it right'

What they're saying:

For now, the sign is covered with building wrap, until Johnson decides what to do with it, but he hopes these pieces from the past become timeless treasures for the entire community.

"It's exciting. It's fun. It's really interesting. It's fun to dig into the history. It has been a blast," said Johnson.