Thanking Richard Kronick

Preserve Minneapolis Board of Directors honors Richard Kronick, a dedicated board member who has retired from our organization. Dick has been a driving force in the direction and leadership of the Preserve Minneapolis Board and we recognize his dedication here. Dick will be greatly missed as he has volunteered endless hours to his passion for preservation and has been a library of information about preservation in Minneapolis and within the architecture community throughout the United States and beyond.

In his teens, Dick wanted to become an architect. His fascination with the house depicted near the end of the movie, “North By Northwest,” led to years of drawing houses and floorplans. Algebra proved to be a stumbling block. He began his career as a free-lance writer and a writing trainer, taking him all over the country and around the globe. His interest in architecture remained, but now it combined Dick’s talent as a writer. According to Dick, ‘Communication is bred into me.” He became the newsletter editor at the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians in 1992-3. Dick titled the newsletter, “With Respect to Architecture.”

In 2021, Richard was awarded with the highest honor to an individual for architectural preservation in Minneapolis, the esteemed “Steve Murray Award”. It is awarded to an individual who has displayed leadership, courage, and dedication to heritage preservation in Minneapolis.

Dick has had a long association with the architecture of Purcell and Elmslie. He has studied their papers at the Northwestern Architectural Archives, led tours, consulted with owners, and written scholarly papers. His bus tour of Purcell & Elmslie houses in Minneapolis raised money for Preserve Minneapolis and was completely unique in its conception and execution.

While there is no grander award to recognize Dick’s contribution to preservation as the Steve Murray Award, the Preserve Minneapolis Board of Directors offers our sincere and heartfelt gratitude for his service. We wish Richard good health and his knowing that the Board will always welcome him with open arms. Thank you, Dick, for your dedication and passion for Preserve Minneapolis.