Stone Gothic on Grand Hill in Saint Paul

This weeks Historic Home is located at 530 Grand Hill, Saint Paul.

Built some time between 1885-1895, the home was designed by the firm Reed and Stem for Horace E. Stevens. Allen Stem also designed 340 Summit Avenue. The home sits on a corner lot, elevated off the street. With its red brick facade, the home really doesn't have a design category that it fits neatly into. However it does have mostly Gothic characteristics as seen in the front porch arch and the pointed arch windows. The center gable is also influeced from the Gothic Revival style, and the dominant dual chimneys make a grand statement.


An addition was added to the home in 1923 by the new owner, Charles H. Bigelow, Jr. The design so well matched the original home, it is very hard to distinguish between the two. The home has about 5000 square feet, six bedrooms, four bathrooms, and was last sold in 2002 for $795,000.

Hidden Saint Paul - Historic Carriage House of 332 Summit Avenue

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".