Historic Appearance

    Northfield sits along the Cannon River, whose waters powered the gristmills and sawmills that created Northfield's early settlement.  Division Street, the main street in downtown Northfield, is located parallel to the river.  It is lined with commercial buildings that retain their original architectural features. There are only a few buildings that have nonconforming alterations.  Romanesque, Italianate and Victorian commercial streetfront architecture characterize these buildings.  All together, there are sixty-one buildings that form the downtown historic district in Northfield (Roscoe, 2003).

Building
This picture shows five of the buildings in the Northfield Historic District, including a clothing store, a sportswear
store, a yarn shop, a housewares/gift boutique, a bead shop and  a café.  All of these stores have apartments
and/or offices on the upper levels.

    The city of Northfield has made a consistent effort to retain the historical appearance of the buildings in  Northfield.  Sixty-one buildings are included in the Northfield Historic District.  Historic districts are regulated by the Department of the Interior.  Local governing councils are responsible for establishing and enforcing ordinances.  In Northfield, the local governing council is the Northfield Historic Preservation Council.   The ordinances developed by this council include specific requirements about the appearance of the exterior of downtown buildings within the historic district.  For more information, contact the Northfield Historic Preservation Council.  Many of the downtown business owners and citizens asserted that the historic nature of so many of the buildings downtown contributes significantly to the unique character of downtown Northfield.  These historical characteristics of downtown Northfield also contribute to people's sense of community in Northfield.  The continuity and character of all of the historic buildings in the downtown creates an ambiance which enables people's ability to feel a sense of community.  Many of the people that addressed the importance of the Northfield Historic District found it to be one of many factors that contributed positively to building their sense of community.  However, some people had a difficult time expressing why the historic character in Northfield effects their sense of community. They simply expressed that the historic district creates a particular type of ambiance that reminds them to slow down and linger on the streets.  This lingering gives people the opportunity to talk with people on the street; without this type of ambiance people may feel that they are too busy to socialize with others out on the streets.   There is not  a significant amount of scholarly research that proves a direct correlation between historic preservation of downtown districts to people experiencing a greater sense of community.

Buildings
One of the main blocks on Divsion St. S. in  downtown Northfield, including a furniture store, a used clothing store, an antique store, a pet shop, one empty store front, a local bakery and the Northfield Historical Museum. All of these buildings are included in the Northfield Historic District and have apartments and/or offices above them.