Hidden Saint Paul - Historic Carriage Houses

A street easily overlooked in Saint Paul is Irvine Avenue. It is located "below" Summit Avenue, and you can look up to see the back sides of the most expensive historic homes on Summit. A few great finds are some of the remaining carriage houses of these massive homes.. Some have been saved and converted to single family residences or condo units, but others, like the fantastic ruins pictured above are slowing decaying away.

This old carriage house sits behind 332 Summit Avenue...you can see what it used to look like, as of 1950, from this photo. It is a protected historic structure so any future plan to restore or demolish the building would have to meet Preservation Committee approval.

Ramsey Hill Neighborhood Walking Tour

If you are looking for something fun to do this Mother's Day, why not enjoy a stroll with Saint Paul historian and writer Jane McClure as she takes us "Off the Beaten Path". This Sunday, May 11, from 2-4 pm, explore the location for the first school patrol in the country, the Selby street car tunnel, Irvine Avenue, and parts of Ramsey Hill not located in the Historic Hill Preservation District.

Meet at the flagpole located on Summit Avenue, across from the Saint Paul Cathedral.

Georgian Revival on Summit Avenue in Saint Paul

This weeks showcase Historic Home is 260 Summit Avenue.

Built in 1902 by the famous Clarence Johnston, the home was designed for Louis W. Hill, the son of James J. Hill, who's own large mansion was just a few houses down the street.

As you can see, it looks as if there are two homes in front of each other. The original house at the back with the gambrel roof was built in the Georgian Revival style in 1902. Needing more space, the front addition was added in 1912 giving four guest bedrooms and bathrooms on the first floor, and a grand ballroom on the second level. The front portico was saved and moved from the original spot to the front of the new addition. Combined together, the home has a total of about 25,000 finished square feet!

The home has had many uses over the last century. When Louis Hill died in 1948, the home was sold to the Roman Catholic educational guild, and then bought in 1961 by the Daughters of the Heart of Mary and used as a retreat. It went mostly untouched until 2001 when it was purchased by a local family and restored to its original splendor (at a purchase price of $1.7 Million). They currently use it as their primary residence and rent space out for special events.

Local history has F. Scott Fitzgerald attending a party here once. A costume ball held at the mansion even found its way into his story, "The Camel's Back".

Do You Own a Money Pit? Part 2

It could be if you purchase a historic home without doing your homework first. This post is a follow on to my first post Do You Own a Money Pit, which featured the exterior problems to look for in your Minneapolis historic home purchase.

Remember Tom Hanks in the "Money Pit" and all the neat discoveries they found in the inside of the home? I specifically like the staircase problem and the tub falling through the ceiling. It was funny, right? Well, it is, until it happens to you. Here's some advice on what to look for should you be thinking of buying an older home.

The house in these photos was a historic home we owned and planned on moving into upon completion. It started out great. Projects were going well, until a major Category 4 Hurricane hit. After that, it became a huge money pit. So my advice comes from first hand knowledge on this project and a couple others we have done as well.

So a couple things to look for on the Interior should be:

• Water Stains - stains can be found most commonly in these two places, ceilings and floors. Ceilings usually indicate a leaky roof and that the whole ceiling will need to be replaced. Floors mean either the ceiling has leaked so much onto the floor that now the floor is warped, or that a pipe from a bathroom, water heater, or kitchen is broken. If a pipe is broken, it could mean tearing out the walls to find the source, and if you don't find it right away, the cost to find it adds up and up and up.
• Slopping Floors - walk into the home and take a good look at the floors. You will be able to see slopes easily by looking at the baseboards and the floors relation to them. Walk on them and you can tell if you go downhill. Start thinking of foundation problems, or settling issues. We have even seen supporting beams cut to put a pipe through, thus causing floors to sag under the unsupported weight.
• Charred Attic Trusses - many historic homes used coal fireplaces instead of wood. The burning embers would sometimes leak through chimney mortar and cause attic fires. In the home above, during the inspection we found a 2200 square foot third level was completely charred. The good news was that by speaking with neighbors, the fire had been 60 years before and the wood was so thick that the fire barely affected the structural integrity. You might not be so lucky and find the damage was so great that the entire truss structure must be replaced.
• Original Plumbing & Wiring - if the home still has cast iron pipes and the original electrical system, then you are in for a huge cost to replace these items. But to do a project right and to keep the old wiring from burning the house down, they really need to be replaced. For a 4000 square foot home, it might cost you $15,000 for the electrical and another $15,000 for the plumbing, and that is just to install it. It doesn't include building the bathrooms, or installing fixtures.
• Wall and Trim Paint - take a good look at the paint on trim and determine how thick it is. Over the last hundred years there is no telling how many coats have been applied and how much of it is lead based paint. Lead based paint is a health hazard if ingested, especially by young children. It is best to get rid of all paint in the home through stripping (a timely & costly process). But once the original wood is revealed, sanded, and stained, the value of the home has greatly increased in the eye's of a buyer.
• Cracks in the Walls - if you see alot of cracks in the walls, beware! Most likely the walls are the original plaster and have been taped repeatedly over the years. As soon as you go to hang a picture with a nail, the "walls will come tumbling down". Replacing the plaster is expensive as most likely you will have to use thicker Sheetrock and account for the higher ceilings. Sometimes the cracks are also a sign of settling issues or structural problems. Best to have a contractor take a look at it to assess any problems.
• Cracked Windows, Rotten Sashes, Broken Pulleys - if the original windows are still in the home, make sure to open each window. Check for rotten wood around the frame and on the sashes and cracked windows. If the window won't open, chances are the rope pulleys are broken and need to be repaired. See the costs starting to add up?
• Non-original Additions to Home - additions can add much needed square feet, but they can also take away from the original design of the home. The top photo shows an area to the right with new exterior siding. This is where an addition was added to the home in the 60's to add a kitchen and studio (we converted it back from 5 units to single family). We had to remove this part which cost $10,000. After the demolition we found all kinds of rotting beams and shady construction, so beware the possible problems hiding behind an addition. We found a supporting beam under the home was completely eaten through by termites, something that would not have been found had we not removed the addition.
  
  This post just covers some of the interior parts of a historic home that you should pay attention to if planning on purchasing in the future. There is no telling what you will find when you buy historic real estate in Minneapolis or St Paul, so do your homework. Get a home inspector that specialized in older homes to thoroughly look over the inside with a fine tooth comb or you might be making your own "Money Pit" movie.

Minneapolis-St. Paul April Home Tour

Environmentally-Friendly Victorian Home to Be Showcased At Minneapolis/St. Paul Home Tour


At 95 Mackubin Street, in the Ramsey Hill neighborhood of St. Paul, one historic Victorian house is receiving an earth-friendly modernization. Green remodeling expert Building Arts will showcase the project at this April’s Minneapolis/St. Paul Home Tour.

A pilot project for Minnesota GreenStar Certified Green Homes and Remodeling, this home features geothermal heating and cooling, recycled flooring, Marvin Low E windows, energy-saving appliances, closed-cell foam insulation, and other innovative, earth-conscious elements. The floor plan has also been updated for contemporary living, with abundant natural light and an open plan for ventilation.

From concept through construction, Building Arts dedicates itself to creating spaces that reflect their owners and honor the environment. A local, full service residential remodeling company, Building Arts has always operated with a focus on sustainable construction.

Harvey Sherman, owner of Building Arts, has worked in the design and building industry for over 25 years as an architect, teacher, and residential remodeling contractor. Sherman takes his work and his dedication to the environment seriously. On this project, Sherman says the intent is “to bring the home up to date with current green thinking.”

Last year, more than 5,300 people visited the Home Tour, and success is expected again this year at this free, self-guided event. The Tour runs on April 26th and 27th, from 10 to 5 on Saturday and 1 to 5 on Sunday. Learn more at http://www.msphometour.com/ and visit http://www.building-arts.net/ for contact information, project photos and more.

Row Houses - Woodlawn Terrace

This weeks feature is not of a home, but of a historic building called Woodland Terrace in St. Paul.

Located on Dayton Avenue, the row house was built in 1889, supposedly by B.J. Buechner. They were renovated in the 1980s and updated with new mechanicals, etc. The building really is amazing once you get a closer look. The patterned brickwork and small stone carvings throughout, including the arched entry ways, really make the building "pop". At first glance, the buildings look Richardson Romanesque because of the stone work, but when you look at the gables, balcony design, windows, and roof line, Queen Anne Victorian screams out at you.




There is currently one unit for sale through Coldwell Banker for $645,000. To give you an idea on size, the four level unit has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and around 2700 square feet. Many people compare these units to those found in New England Brownstone row houses.

Gothic Inspired Home on Summit Avenue

This weeks showcase Historic Home is 339 Summit Avenue.

Built in 1898 by Crawford Livingston at a cost of $14,000, the home was designed by the famous Cass Gilbert. With a Gothic / Medieval design, there is no other home quite like it in the area. Whereas most homes have a distinct porch, this home is designed with the second story coming forward to be flush with the lower story. The arches are very beautifully done with the short Corinthian columns, and the diamond shaped spandrels are very unique.

Originally built as a single family residence, the home is presently divided into 5 condominiums, each having two bedrooms and somewhere between 1400-1800 square feet. The last condo unit sold in 2002 for $275,000. If the home were to sell today as one building, it would fetch well over $1 Million.

I found two old photos of the home. The first was taken in 1902, the home being the second from the left. You can really see how the streetscape looked at the turn of the 20th Century. The second is from 1973, during winter. The home thankfully has not been altered on the exterior throughout it's lifetime.

Saint Mathias Catholic Church - Hampton

Located in Hampton, Minnesota, St. Mathias Catholic Church was built in 1900, and like most small towns in the surrounding area, was founded by German and Luxembourger immigrants.

It is written in the Book of Acts, that Matthias was chosen as the next apostle to replace the traitor Judas. Saint Matthias lived till 80 A.D..

The Longfellow House

This weeks Historic Home in Minneapolis is 4800 Minnehaha Avenue.

Built in 1907, the home was constructed for Robert F. Jones and originally located at 4001 Minnehaha Parkway East. It was constructed as a 2/3 scale replica of a Colonial house located in Cambridge, Massachusetts that was owned at one time by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The home originally sat on 4.6 acres, part of Longfellow Gardens, a zoo and botanical gardens,which was run by Mr. Jones. When Mr. Jones died in 1934, the park was closed a short four years later. The property was deeded to the city of Minneapolis, which used the house as the Minneapolis public library up until 1967. Over the years, the historic building fell into ruin. It wasn't until 1994 that the house was saved, when the home was moved by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to its current location and renovated by the Kodet Architectural Group.

As part of the Minnehaha Park, including Minnehaha Falls, the Longfellow House is used as an interpretive learning center.

Historic Preservation Commissions

No one likes the government telling them how their home should look, but when it comes to historic homes, many neighbors applaud when the government intervenes. For decades, historic areas have been establishing committees to be watch dogs of historic districts. Here in Minnesota, they are called Historic Preservation Commissions. In other states they are called Architectural Review Boards.

In Florida, where we renovated a 110 year old Queen Anne Victorian, we had to go up in front of a tribunal called the Architectural Review Board. Let's just say, if the home is historic, than any renovations have to keep in the spirit of the home. They are ten times more strict than any commission here in the Twin Cities. Take for instance the 22 original wood windows in the home. Here in the Twin Cities, people can replace their homes with vinyl windows. In Florida, vinyl is not an option. The only thing we could do was replace with wood windows, which by the way, you cannot find at Lowe's. We had to have Pella windows custom make all the windows, especially the 9' floor to ceiling windows. Needless to say, they were not cheap.

Historic Preservation Commissions are a good thing. They allow for some or alot of design control, but how far their reach stretches, depends on the details in the local ordinances. Those that make the laws determine how "historic" a home must remain. Many times, the judgements passed by the HPC can be non-binding, with final approval given by the city. Other times the HPC holds the final say. It all depends on where you live and the local ordinances.

To learn more about local commissions, visit the following websites:

Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission

Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission

Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission