A New Birthday for KA

When Mathew Kraus and Amos Andersen purchased J.L. Robinson’s construction company in 1930, they decided on a name change. Although the reasons for the change are lost to history, it is clear that the renamed entity attempted to retain some of the founder’s vintage: Since the 1930s, Kraus-Anderson has claimed 1897 as its year of birth.

Exactly why 1897 has long been considered the year of origin for Kraus-Anderson is not made clear from anything we currently see in KA’s archive: As late as 1901, J.L. Robinson was still working with Peter De Lancy, his early partner in the building trade, and the J.L. Robinson Building Company wasn’t incorporated until 1913. On the other hand, J.L. Robinson was clearly working as a builder before 1897. Records in the KA archive point to small projects that Robinson completed independently as early as 1887.

I recently stumbled upon a mention of J.L. Robinson in an 1885 Minneapolis newspaper that credibly pushes KA’s origin back to that year. Robinson arrived in Minneapolis from his hometown of Chesterville Ontario in 1884, and in 1886 he married Anna McKay. Between these two events, Robinson appears to have made an early start for himself as a builder and entrepreneur, building a “frame office and shed” on Third Avenue near what was then the tracks of the Milwaukee Road.

The newspaper located his office/workshop “between 27th and 30th streets.” On a modern map of Minneapolis, this humble structure would be at 2904 3rd Avenue South, where 3rd Avenue runs into the Greenway. This early project was hitherto missed because the historic building permit index has Robinson’s name spelled wrong, both with the initial build and with an 1887 addition.

Viewing the actual permit makes clear what was suspected: This office and shed was built by J.L. Robinson, representing a very early project in the history of Kraus-Anderson and, arguably, its first headquarter building.