The Parson & His Pacer
Architectural structures with ties to M.W. Savage and his amazing pacer Dan Patch, buildings that have survived the too harsh passage of time, are limited in number. His home at 2600 Portland Avenue in Minneapolis is long gone. His racetrack, The Taj Mahal succumbed to fire, neglect, and in 1938 a demolition contract was awarded plowing under or removing the last traces of the racetrack. His mansion overlooking the Taj, Valley View is gone too. The only remnants are the four horseshoes worn by Dan Patch placed in each cornerstone of the New Masonic lodge.
One structure to survive is the newly restored Savage Depot, relocated in downtown Savage Minnesota and open for business as a coffee shop. Still intact are the well-worn steps that carried M.W. and Charles Lindbergh to the upper level. But another, not often mentioned, beautiful structure exists that has very close ties to the Parson and his pacer. The Wesley United Methodist Church still towers over 1st Avenue at Grant Street in the heart of Minneapolis.
Savage was known as The Parson because he wore a long frock coat, didn't smoke, drink, or go to the track on Sundays. Marion and his wife Marietta were devout, prominent members of Wesley Church, which would have been a short wagon ride, mere blocks from where his once grand mansion stood on Portland. The Wesley Church is a magnificent structure and houses the first Methodist congregation to organize west of the Mississippi (1852) and has occupied the Grant Street site since 1891. The Church was refurbished in 1909 and M.W. donated significant amounts of earnings from his beloved Pacer to the ornate Church.
Savage was of course an envelope-holding member of the congregation, and the pastor and trustees also approved Dan joining the church and issued the horse numbered envelopes as well. Savage reportedly refused to have Dan race on Sundays citing his Methodist obligations. After church Dan would sometimes give wagon rides in the summer and sleigh rides in the winter to the neighborhood kids attending services.
At a cost of $150,000 architect Warren Howard Hayes built a Romanesque pink granite structure with towers soaring to 137 feet, tallest in the city at the time. Features include a grand circular domed light above an auditorium accommodating up to 1200 faithful. Wilton velvet carpet was installed as well as skylights and 32 Tiffany windows. Finished in deep oaks, maples and cherry woods the wide moldings, curved pews and thrust stage are dwarfed by the large façade of pipes of the historic Wesley pipe organ. As you gaze across the polished pews you can almost see the Parson and his bride kneeling in prayer, listen hard and you can catch the clip clopping of Dan’s hooves off the cobblestones through the stained glass windows.
Classrooms surround a large hall adjacent to the auditorium and this is where you’ll find the Dan Patch Room, currently used as a nursery, a fact the former crooked legged foal may appreciate. A picture of Dan on the state fair racetrack still hangs in the church office. And if you search all the nooks and crannies, take the grand staircase as far as you can, in the dim light you will eventually find the M.W. Savage Room. Locked. Unknown what lies within, the Parson did not answer. In the distance I swear I heard the Pacer whinny from his hitchin post.
References: thewesleychurch.org, americanheritage.com, angelfire.com, Star Tribune, The Great Dan Patch, Tim Brady.
One structure to survive is the newly restored Savage Depot, relocated in downtown Savage Minnesota and open for business as a coffee shop. Still intact are the well-worn steps that carried M.W. and Charles Lindbergh to the upper level. But another, not often mentioned, beautiful structure exists that has very close ties to the Parson and his pacer. The Wesley United Methodist Church still towers over 1st Avenue at Grant Street in the heart of Minneapolis.
Savage was known as The Parson because he wore a long frock coat, didn't smoke, drink, or go to the track on Sundays. Marion and his wife Marietta were devout, prominent members of Wesley Church, which would have been a short wagon ride, mere blocks from where his once grand mansion stood on Portland. The Wesley Church is a magnificent structure and houses the first Methodist congregation to organize west of the Mississippi (1852) and has occupied the Grant Street site since 1891. The Church was refurbished in 1909 and M.W. donated significant amounts of earnings from his beloved Pacer to the ornate Church.
Savage was of course an envelope-holding member of the congregation, and the pastor and trustees also approved Dan joining the church and issued the horse numbered envelopes as well. Savage reportedly refused to have Dan race on Sundays citing his Methodist obligations. After church Dan would sometimes give wagon rides in the summer and sleigh rides in the winter to the neighborhood kids attending services.
At a cost of $150,000 architect Warren Howard Hayes built a Romanesque pink granite structure with towers soaring to 137 feet, tallest in the city at the time. Features include a grand circular domed light above an auditorium accommodating up to 1200 faithful. Wilton velvet carpet was installed as well as skylights and 32 Tiffany windows. Finished in deep oaks, maples and cherry woods the wide moldings, curved pews and thrust stage are dwarfed by the large façade of pipes of the historic Wesley pipe organ. As you gaze across the polished pews you can almost see the Parson and his bride kneeling in prayer, listen hard and you can catch the clip clopping of Dan’s hooves off the cobblestones through the stained glass windows.
Classrooms surround a large hall adjacent to the auditorium and this is where you’ll find the Dan Patch Room, currently used as a nursery, a fact the former crooked legged foal may appreciate. A picture of Dan on the state fair racetrack still hangs in the church office. And if you search all the nooks and crannies, take the grand staircase as far as you can, in the dim light you will eventually find the M.W. Savage Room. Locked. Unknown what lies within, the Parson did not answer. In the distance I swear I heard the Pacer whinny from his hitchin post.
References: thewesleychurch.org, americanheritage.com, angelfire.com, Star Tribune, The Great Dan Patch, Tim Brady.
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