While I was walking, I noticed lots of places where there was writing engraved in the sidewalk. Apparently this is a part of Northfield’s “Sidewalk Poetry Project” which was started in 2011. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthfieldSidewalkPoetry/
I noticed that a lot of houses were subdivided in this neighborhood. This is one of many examples.
This house was relatively unusual for the general style of the neighborhood. It had a flat siding and a very modern look.
This was one of a few houses that had this cute sign. There seems to be a movement in Northfield to compost more.
Along the way, I saw several houses with house cats lounging in the sun.
The neighborhood was clearly left leaning with many political and identity related signs decorating the front yards.
According to a friend of mine from Madison, Wisconsin, having houses with bright colors is not too unusual, but I’ve never seen such variety of house colors before. I saw a full range from bright yellow to blue to black.
Many houses seemed to have a plaque denoting the age of the building. Obviously, the history and age is a point of pride for the residents. This was the oldest one I saw.
I didn’t see many houses with birdfeeders, and definitely not ones as large as these. All the birds flew away when I came close sadly.
There were a handful of these “Little Free Library” stands set up. I feel as if they reflect an invested community involvement, although I’m not really sure on the true impact of these.
I liked this house. Although stylistically similar to the rest of the neighborhood, the stucco siding was unusual.
I was struck by how small this stop sign was. It doesn’t show up as well in the photo, but it was really pretty small for a stop sign.
Dark colored houses is a trend that I have been noticing more and more, and not just in Northfield. I suppose it makes sense in a cold state like Minnesota, but I wonder how much it must heat up in the summer.
This was one the only actual fences that I saw. What I primarily saw were natural fences, like the trees behind the fence. I suppose that the owner of the house must really value privacy. Good fences make good neighbors I guess.
The large majority of properties had no fences separating them at all. If I had wanted to, I probably could have gone trekking around through their backyards (I did not do this). Additionally, notably in contrast with Viking Terrace, residents are able to have outdoor toys and structures.
For about a block, the East side of Maple St had no sidewalk. I’ve always wondered why that has been the case for some places.
Throughout my walk I saw and heard many crows. They’ve been known to be crazy smart.
I was a big fan of the yellow on this house, but not a big fan of how the steps didn’t align with the door.
A good example of a house that portrays both it’s national identity, but also it’s personal identity. On my walk, I did notice many more identity related signs though.
