The subdivision of Norwaldo was platted on November 6, 1912 – a man named Lafayette Perkins was somehow involved. The plat is bounded by Lake Street, Zarthan, 34th Street, and Webster.
A document from 1927 advertises lots in Norwaldo. The map shows that the eastern boundary is a straight line that approximates the route of Highway 100. However, the highway wouldn’t be built for another few years. It seems that the subdivision and the Highway were both bounded by the 5th Meridian. The ad, titled Closing Out Prices, was issued by C.C. Wolford, who “lives on the addition.”
Plots were available for $5 down, with no interest for one year, and no payments when sick or out of work. Weekly payments ranged from $1 a week to $3 weekly. Each street had a minimum amount that you had to spend to build your house. They ranged from $800 to $3,000, with the highest priced homes to be built on Lake Street and Minnetonka Blvd. A big advantage of the tract is that the streetcar to Minneapolis ran along Lake Street. After a rather complicated payment schedule, the flier included the following:
No lots sold to colored people or unnaturalized foreigners, belonging to the “Dago” class. Be sure and get Christian name and middle initial of purchaser and have him spell out his name and the name of the street on which he lives. If the purchaser is a woman state whether she is a Miss or Mrs. and get her first name and not her husband’s first name.
Unfortunately, such clauses that are unthinkable today were common in real estate literature.
Today, the land they called Norwaldo is part of the Sorenson neighborhood.