I’ve started a new video series where I’ll be highlighting old homes, buildings, and sites in Minnesota. If you know of any cool places that I should check out, please send me your ideas!
Posts Tagged ‘architecture’
Historic Minnesota Episode 1 – Red Wing
Tuesday, September 11th, 2018The Schneider Tavern in Frontenac
Saturday, September 16th, 2017Built in 1862 by Engelbert Haller and Kasper Koch, this lovely Greek Revival building was originally built to operate as a general store and served as the township’s stagecoach stop; however, two years after completion it was sold to Jacob Schneider who used it as a tavern and hotel. The tavern and store were located on the main floor (now the living room and office), with simple accommodations to rent upstairs. A separate entrance on the side of the home was used so guests could access the rented rooms and store without passing through the tavern, and is the reason why the main staircase is located behind the front rooms and not at the front of the home (like residential homes of the era). The Schneider Tavern was in operation until 1887 when it was sold to the son of Evert Westervelt.
Evert Westervelt arrived to the area from Pennsylvania in 1852 and is the founder of the small town of Frontenac, originally named Westervelt. Having opened a local limestone quarry of dolomite shortly after his arrival (which supplied all the local limestone foundations, walls, and tombstones), he purchased a total of 320 acres of land as the site of his new town and began the process of plotting streets and lots to sell to future settlers. In 1859, the town was renamed Frontenac in honor of Louis de Buade de Frontenac, governor general of Canada between 1670-1698. (Minnesota did not become a state until 1858).
The home stayed in the Westervelt family until it was purchased in 1982 by a couple who began the restoration process and opened the home as a bed and breakfast. In 1999, the current owner purchased the home, and over a decade, restored and updated the home further, including the restoration of the front porch. Using old photos, the owner was able to recreate the original design and trim detail.
Old photos of historic homes are extremely useful for restoration efforts and determining what architectural elements were original or added in later decades. For instance, the Schneider Tavern, was not originally built with a bay window on the southern side of the home, to the left of the porch. It was added later, sometime after 1891, when Westervelt purchased the home and used it as a private residence (we can surmise that the above photo was taken after 1891 simply because that was the year the American company of Anchor Post and Fence bought the patent rights to the chain link fence from a United Kingdom company and began production in the United States). From what I have read in a book about Frontenac, there is a question on whether the Moorish attic windows were added later, but looking at old photos and the design of the home, it appears they are original to the structure. Other questions have been asked about the decorative gable trim (if it was added by more recent owners), but again, old photos show the gable trim and porch brackets date to at least pre-1887.
This home is currently “pending” for sale. Additional information, photos, and an interactive 3-D tour can be viewed at the property website.
The Judson Bishop House in St. Paul
Saturday, August 19th, 2017Built in 1882, this grand home was commissioned by Judson Wade Bishop of the Second Minnesota Regiment and designed by architect Abraham M. Radcliffe. Featuring a limestone and Kasota stone foundation, the French Second Empire styled home is easily recognized by its mansard roof and sits on close to a half-acre of land.
Born in Evansville, New York in 1831, Bishop was the son and grandson of Baptist ministers. He studied civil engineering and worked as a draftsman in Ontario before moving to Chatfield, Minnesota in 1857. While residing in Chatfield, he worked as a railroad surveyor and served as the principal and teacher of Chatfield Academy. He helped form the 2nd Minnesota Regiment during the Civil War, being the first man to muster in and the last man to muster out. He is remembered for his courageous military actions during the war and in particular for leading his troops into battle up Missionary Ridge at Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1863. A painting depicting this famous historic scene hangs in the Governor’s Reception room at the state capital (Bishop is depicted as the soldier waving his hat). He was promoted rapidly during the war, and received a brevet promotion to brigadier general in March 1865.
Bishop returned to his job after the war moving from Chatfield to Le Sueur, to Mankato, and then finally to St. Paul when he was promoted to U.S. Deputy Surveyor in 1866. He also served as the general manager for the St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad from 1871-1883. Bishop is well known in Minnesota history, especially for his published works about the Civil War (The Story of a Regiment, 1890) and his time with the railroad in Minnesota (History of the St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad, 1905).
Bishop married his first wife Ellen Husted in 1866, having four sons together before her death in 1878. A few years later he purchased land west of the Cathedral and built this beautiful home. His next wife Mary Axtell,whom he married in 1884, bore him five more daughters. The house served as the Bishop family residence until his death in 1917.
Over the next 65 years, the home passed through a succession of owners, being broken up into no less than 18 sleeping rooms. When the present owners purchased the home in 1982, it was in terrible disrepair. The front porch had been removed, the roof leaked, the siding was rotting, and it had suffered from vandalism and attempted theft of the interior woodwork. It took the owners over 5 years to restore the home back to its original grandeur.
Interestingly, Bishop’s youngest daughter, Middy, visited the home and current owners before her death (1992 at 90 years old). She told them wonderful stories about the home, including how her father was always worried the Christmas tree candles would start a fire, and that F. Scott Fitzgerald came to her birthday party once and was quite rude.
The Wadsworth Williams Tudor Revival Home in Minneapolis
Monday, June 19th, 2017Designed by architect William Kenyon for Wadsworth and Ida Williams in 1931, the home has known only three owners durings its life. Mr. Williams was born in 1875 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, moving to Minnesota in the late 1890’s to attend Carleton College in Northfield, graduating in 1900. At the time, Carleton College did not offer specific degrees, thus Wadsworth graduated with a study in Classics. (He later served on Carleton’s Board of Trustees from 1937-1959, and in the early 1960’s his widow, Mrs. Ida Bourne Williams, made a gift to Carleton for the creation of a Chair in Economics as a “perpetual memory” to her husband – the Wadsworth A. Williams Professor of Economics.) Fifteen years after graduation, at the onset of World War I, Williams was a working as a clerk for the banking and investment firm Wells & Dickey Company. Decades later he had worked his way up to become Vice President of the company. According to a descendant of the family, the “home was built during the depression to create jobs for people who could both learn and build a beautiful, highly crafted home to lift everyone’s spirits at a time of great struggle”.
What they created was a fantastic example of the Tudor Revival style in stone, stucco, and half-timbered design and clearly showcases the excellent craftsmanship of the era. Original exterior architectural details abound, adding a story book element to the home: medieval styled arched entry door, copper gutters with fine details of acorns and hearts, decorative bargeboards, ornamental gables, and leaded glass casement windows. It is the perfect home for a historical minded buyer who appreciates the fine details this home has to offer.
The home is currently For Sale and additional photos of the home can be viewed at the property website.
Here are some photos of the decorative features of the home, inside and out:
The John Hutchinson House in Faribault
Thursday, March 23rd, 2017Sitting high on a lot amongst some of the oldest and most prestigious homes in Faribault is a lovely Queen Anne Victorian home that was built in 1892 for John Hutchinson, a prominent and successful businessman in the area. This “Painted Lady” features a unique three-story octagonal tower and an ornate porch which wraps around the front façade. Many of the original interior architectural elements survive such as pocket doors, gingerbread trim, inlaid hardwood floors, two elaborate fireplaces, and a beautiful decorative staircase (an amazing achievement for a home that at one time in its history was a boarding house and whose floorplan has been slightly altered over the years). The home was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1982 and is currently operating as the Historic Hutchinson House Bed and Breakfast.
Hutchinson was born in Montreal, Canada in 1840, immigrating to the United States with his parents in 1851. Eight years later, he settled in Rice County and worked with his father in farming, as well as a contractor and builder. In 1862, he enlisted with the 6th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, serving first in the US-Dakota War of 1862, and then moving south a few years later to fight in the Civil War. After mustering out in 1865, he returned to Minnesota to begin a career in the saw-milling and lumber industries. It was in 1885, after a stint as manager for the Flynt Furniture Company, he founded the Faribault Furniture Company, in partnership with Albert Stockton. The company became the leading manufacturer of furniture in the region. Not one to dabble in only one trade, he also partnered the Faribault Roller Mills and Faribault Loan and Insurance Company.
Times were hard for Hutchinson when it came to family, losing his first wife in 1876, and his second wife just a few years after moving into the Queen Anne home. He married his third wife in 1902. In 1915, he moved to California with his wife and youngest child, passing away in November of that year at the ripe old age of 75. His prominent home still survives though, and stands as a testament to the prestige and beauty of a bygone era in Faribault, Minnesota.
The E. S. Hoyt House in Red Wing
Saturday, February 11th, 2017Known as one of Minnesota’s best examples of the Prairie School style, as well as one of the finest designed by its architects, William Purcell and George Elmslie, this modern home for the time was the talk of the town when construction was completed in 1913. Built for Elmore S. Hoyt, then President of the Red Wing Union Stoneware Company, the home was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1975. The house remained in the Hoyt family until 1976, and has only had two other owners in its long history.
Hoyt was born in Kansas, arriving in Red Wing in 1881 at the age of eighteen years. He began working as a salesman with the Minnesota Stoneware Company and eventually married a local veterinarian’s daughter, Florence McCart, in 1888. In 1893, Hoyt was named general manager of the company. He later helped engineer the merger of the Minnesota Stoneware Company and the Red Wing Union Stoneware Company in the early 1900s, becoming it’s president. The company eventually became Red Wing Pottery, a name that still resonates with collectors and enthusiasts today.
Well positioned on its lot, the Elmore Sherman Hoyt House stands as a testament of the modern movement that still resonates today. Sections of the second floor cantilever over the main floor with many of the brackets featuring fret-sawn ornamental panels of botanical and geometric details designed by Elmslie. The exterior rose-colored stucco was specifically chosen by the architects to pair with the Oriental brick brought in from Brazil, Indiana. A decorative screen, befitting the architectural style, was added in 1915 by the architects to the passageway leading from the house to the garden shed and garage.
One of the standout features of the Hoyt House is the 99 diamond-patterned art glass windows arranged in long bands around the home, and inside too. Designed by Elmslie, who had an artistic specialty for ornamental motifs, the windows consist of pale, opalescent colors and clear glass to allow as much natural sunlight into the home as possible. The living room, dominated by windows, features a massive art glass pocket door, as well as a built-in bench and wood burning fireplace. The decorative mosaic panel above the fireplace, designed by Edward L. Sharretts of Mosaic Arts Shops in Minneapolis, is made of ultramarine, green, and black opal glass and porcelain with antique dull gold leaf fired on, and depicts a moonlit scene with clouds and trees. In the dining room, two grand built-in buffets with art glass flank the entry into the pantry, where the original telephone room has been converted to a half bath. The kitchen is the only room that has had extensive updates over the years, and features a set of cabinets that were originally used in the living room as bookcases.
The E. S. Hoyt House has been featured in the following books:
Minnesota’s Own: Preserving Our Grand Homes
At Home on the Prairie: the Houses of Purcell and Elmslie
Historic Homes of Minnesota
A Face of Red Wing
UPDATE: SOLD It is also currently For Sale. Make sure to view the 3-D interactive home tour!
The W. W. Mayo House
Monday, January 30th, 2017Located in the small town of Le Sueur, Minnesota is a very small house that drivers could easily travel by without knowing it’s historical significance. Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, as well as a Minnesota historical site, this Gothic style home was hand-built in 1859 by Dr. William Worrell Mayo.
Dr. Mayo arrived in the United States in 1845 from England, settling in New York where he worked as a pharmacist. He then moved to Layfayette, Indiana where he earned his medical degree in 1850 from the Indiana Medical College. (He earned a second medical degree in 1854 from the University of Missouri.) After living in Indiana for a time, he found his way to Minnesota after being plagued by malaria outbreaks. He eventually settled in Le Sueur after serving as the first county commissioner of St. Louis County. Having built the home himself, he lived here with his family, setting up his first medical practice in a room upstairs. It was in 1864 that he moved his family to the town of Rochester, Minnesota where he served as the examining surgeon for the Minnesota Civil War draft board. It was with his two sons, William and Charles, that St. Mary’s hospital was created, known today as the Mayo Clinic.
As for the small little house in Le Sueur, it wasn’t finished housing future nationally known individuals. Carson Cosgrove and his family moved into the home in 1874, with three generations living there through the 1920s. In 1903, Cosgrove conducted the organizational meeting for the Minnesota Valley Canning Company, later serving as the head of the company. We know this company today as the Green Giant Company.
Fun Fact: The door to his home office is five feet seven inches in height – forcing his taller patients to stoop, but just what the doctor needed for his own five-foot-four-inch frame.
If you would like to learn more about the history of the Mayo family, please visit the Mayo Clinic History and Heritage site.
Church of the Advent in Farmington
Monday, March 14th, 2016412 Oak Street, Farmington, MN
There is nothing more lovely than a cute little church in a small town, especially one with red doors. Built in 1872, this church’s building style was suggested to the congregation by Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple, and constructed according to plans found in Richard Upjohn’s 1852 book titled Upjohn’s Rural Architecture. The episcopal parish had been formed only the year before, and owing to the rural location and small congregation, the building was designed as a smaller version of the All Saints Church in Northfield, Minnesota, that was constructed six years prior by Bishop Whipple.
The exterior is a simple version of the Gothic Revival style, also know as Carpenter Gothic, and clad in board and batten vertical siding. The small detail of trefoil window on the front, as well as the small belfry, (not to mention the bright red doors), really make this church stand out. Three Gothic style stained-glass lancet windows line each side of the church, two of them being original to 1872 . The inside is much like it was 143 years ago, with its scissor-beam rafter construction and beautiful wood walls. The pews are original, also designed according to Upjohn’s book with small trefoil details at the end of each pew. The sanctuary was originally heated by a small iron stove, and illuminated by kerosene oil wall lamps. When I toured the church, my guide informed me that the bell, the first ever in Farmington, was made in the same foundry as the Liberty Bell.
Beginning in the mid-1920s and lasting into the 1930s, church attendance began to decline, partly due to the closing of the railroad yards and families moving away. Episcopal services were eventually haulted, but the church building was still maintained by some of the original families. It was also rented out by lutherans who later formed the Farmington Lutheran Church.
Over time, different parts of the building have been restored, and additions were added in the 1970’s to accommodate the growing needs of the parish. In 1979, the original building was added to the National Registry of Historic Places. Today, it is a shining beacon of preservation in the small town of Farmington, and an example that even the smallest buildings deserve to remain among us.
Historic Walking Tour of Edina’s Country Club District set for May 7th, 2016
Tuesday, March 8th, 2016Join the Country Club Neighbors for Preservation for the 2nd-Annual Historic Neighborhood Walking Tour on Saturday, May 7 for a stoll through the history and architecture of the Country Club District in Edina. Begin at Wooddale Park Pavilion, 4500 W. 50th Street, Edina for check in at 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. tour. Ticket fee of $10 payable by cash or check, advance registration at ccnfp@outlook.com.
Six original Country Club homes on Arden and Bruce Avenues will be featured, as well as the Baird Farmhouse, the Victorian era styled home of Sarah and George Baird, whose farmland was sold to help create Minnesota’s first planned community. This 1886 built home is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The featured homes on the tour represent a variety of architectural styles of the period, including English Cottage, Italian Renaissance, Mediterranean, and Bungalow. Most homes were built between 1924-1944.