Brick Tudor Revival Home on Portland

487 Portland Avenue, Saint Paul

This stately Tudor Revival home is just over 100 years old having been designed by Thomas Holyoke in 1909. Built for Charles Bigelow III, president of Saint Paul Fire and Marine Insurance from 1876-1911, the home has a sister house right next door at 495 Portland, which was built the same year and by the same architect for Fred Bigelow, his son.

While originally built as a single family home, it is currently two condo units, with the initial divide happening in 1951. The grand staircase was removed at this time, but many original features remain, including the numerous leaded glass windows. In the 1990's, the current owners renovated the large main floor living room which still retains the original wainscoting. Under decades of paint they uncovered beautiful Honduran Mahogany wood.

View a photo of the two Bigelow homes from 1972.

Impressive Queen Anne Historic Home in Stillwater

306 Olive St W, Stillwater, MN

Drive down Olive Street and you just can't miss this huge Queen Anne historic home. Built in 1882, the home was owned by John O'Brien, a local lumber businessman. He added some expansive additions to the home in 1896 to house his large family of eight plus three additional servants. However a few years later, the family moved West as the lumber boom in Stillwater was starting to slow down.

Like many historic homes, this one too fell into despair as the years wore on, but in 1981 it was saved by a couple who converted the home into one of Stillwater's first Bed and Breakfast establishments - The Rivertown Inn. In 1999, new owners made the B & B even grandeur with many restorations, including the exterior, thus preserving the home for decades to come.