Historic Homes of Minnesota
Historic Homes of Minnesota

Author: Roger G. Kennedy

Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9780873515573

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Great Houses of Minnesota is the engaging story of the evolution of architectural styles in Minnesota from 1830 to 1914--from the influence of the early French traders along the Mississippi and St. Croix to the emergence of the school of Frank Lloyd Wright. Through photographs and colorfully informative text, internationally known historian Roger Kennedy helps readers understand the unique styles of Minnesota's first homes, including the Mower House in Arcola, the first large house on the St. Croix; Alexander Ramsey's "Mansion House" in St. Paul, influenced by Pennsylvania Dutch virtues; the whimsical Charles C. Clement house in Fergus Falls, clearly Norse in spirit; and the Purcell House in Minneapolis, a fine example of the Prairie School design. On a broad plane these architectural eras reflected social customs, politics, commerce, religion, and literature. On a personal level they often revealed the national origin and character of the families that made the house a home. In short, this is in large measure a history of the people. Kennedy has considered their heritage and traditions as carefully as he has examined the architecture they created, and he offers a fresh, wholistic approach to the study of our state's great houses.

St. Paul's Historic Summit Avenue
St. Paul's Historic Summit Avenue

Author: Ernest Robert Sandeen

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 9780816644094

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Well known as the most prestigious and beautiful street in the Twin Cities, Summit Avenue runs past the opulent mansion of railroad tycoon James J. Hill, an early home of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and several residences designed by renowned architect Cass Gilbert. In its heyday the four-and-one-half-mile-long boulevard included 13 churches, 9 schools, and 440 residences, 373 of which survive. St. Paul's Historic Summit Avenue highlights the fascinating story of this boulevard, from its pre-Civil War origins, when the area was still considered wilderness, to its fashionable height at the turn of the century. Ernest R. Sandeen discusses the preservation of Summit Avenue and takes readers on a walking tour of the first and grandest mile of the street, beginning with the Cathedral of St. Paul. A second walking tour gives the reader Fitzgerald's Summit Avenue, including excerpts from his notebooks and stories describing the area. The book concludes with an index of Summit Avenue houses built through the 1970s. Before his death in 1982, Ernest R. Sandeen was the James Wallace Professor of History and codirector of the Living Historical Museum at Macalester College. He served as a member of St. Paul's Historic Preservation Commission and as a partner in Lanegran, Richter, and Sandeen, an architectural preservation, design, and land-use firm.

Minnesota's Own
Minnesota's Own

Author: Larry Millett

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780873519298

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Larry Millett and photographer Matt Schmitt invite us into twenty-two lovingly preserved homes from across the state through over two hundred color photographs and Millett's captivating stories of their construction, original owners, and restoration.

Once There Were Castles
Once There Were Castles

Author: Larry Millett

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

Published:

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 1452933111

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Take a tour of the lost mansions of the Twin Cities

Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka
Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka

Author: Bette Jones Hammel

Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9780873517225

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Hundreds of cottages and cabins, mansions and houses line the shores of Lake Minnetonka, one of Minnesota's most beautiful lakes and site of the state's most coveted properties. Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka invites readers into thirty of these dwellings-built by families like the Washburns, Pillsburys, and Daytons. Evocative words and stunning color photographs guide readers through these beautifully designed and furnished homes. Portrayed in elegant detail are interiors of renovated Victorian cottages and rustic cabins, as well as those of houses designed by modernist masters like William Lescaze and Philip Johnson. Photographer Karen Melvin takes viewers through the front door, showing living rooms furnished with Mies van der Rohe couches and chairs designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and walls adorned with works by Robert Motherwell and Damien Hirst. Author Bette Jones Hammel relates the homes' histories of ownership and details the many renovations they have seen over time, renovations that have attempted to retain the homes' character and extend their lifespan. For the best views of the exteriors of these homes, you would need a boat. To see the interiors, you would need an invitation. Hammel and Melvin have chosen the most interesting houses-both architecturally and historically-and painstakingly scouted out the best vantage points, both inside and out, to provide a personal tour of these spectacular homes.

Great Houses of Summit Avenue and the Hill District
Great Houses of Summit Avenue and the Hill District

Author: Karen Melvin

Publisher: Adventure Publications

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780989262705

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This winner of 11 national publishing awards belongs on every coffee table Summit Avenue, grande dame of Victorian boulevards, is lined with magnificent turn-of-the-century mansions built by railroad magnates, lumber barons and captains of industry. Great Houses of Summit Avenue and the Hill District is a celebration of these homes on St. Paul's best-known and most beloved avenue. With a foreword by Garrison Keillor and fascinating stories penned by four award-winning writers, the book opens the doors to more than two dozen legendary homes situated on America's best-preserved avenue from the era. Photographer Karen Melvin takes us along for a tour through stately mansions to view these remarkable architectural gems. Richly illustrated with hundreds of photos, this book offers an irresistible invitation to step through the doors of these showcase homes to explain what we are all curious to know.

John H. Howe, Architect
John H. Howe, Architect

Author: Jane King Hession

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780816683017

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In 1932 nineteen-year-old John H. Howe arrived at Taliesin as a charter member of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Fellowship. There he would remain for the next thirty-two years, earning a reputation as "the pencil in Wright's hand" before establishing his own architectural practice in Minnesota. This is the first book to tell Howe's story and also the first full account of his place in the history of modern architecture--as chief draftsman and valued interpreter of Wright's designs and as a prolific architect in his own right. Illustrated throughout with Howe's sublime drawings, this biography is a testament to the underappreciated architect's extraordinary design and rendering skills. Influenced by Wright's principles of organic architecture, Howe operated under the conviction that "the land is the beginning of architecture." Architectural historians Jane King Hession and Tim Quigley show how this belief worked especially well for Howe in Minnesota, where his buildings appear to have grown naturally and organically from the landscape. Also remarkable are the visionary architectural schemes Howe created while serving time in prison during World War II as a conscientious objector--futuristic visions that anticipated Eero Saarinen's later designs for airports and Victor Gruen's for America's first indoor shopping mall. An enlightening look at an exemplary life in architecture, this book finally brings the accomplishment--and significance--of John H. Howe to the fore and at the same time illuminates a fascinating chapter in American architectural history.