Lost Minneapolis V
Hello all readers,
It has been some time since I have been able to write. Since I last wrote I have been in Europe for several months soaking up the atmosphere and unfortunately not getting anything done on the house. Now as the holidays come close and then finish, I am plugging away on the interior which I will update later. This post however, I wanted to finish up my seriers of lost Minneapolis Mansions. Please bear with me as this might be a long post. I could go through million other photographs in the historical society photographs to compare what was then and what is now. All the photographs that I have discussed from this post as well as Lost Minneapolis Mansions IV , Lost Minneapolis Mansions III , Lost Minneapolis Mansions II , Lost Minneapolis Mansions I are a collection of photographs entitled "Art Glimpses of Minneapolis, the city of homes" 1898. A fantastic collection that I wish there were more volumes like this documenting our grand residential history so fully.
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The Thomas Shevlin was a typical upper middle class Victorian home located at 129 Oak Grove. Complete with colonial revival details and a dizzying array of chimneys. The first photo is from the 1890s and the two interior photographs are from around 1905. According to Hennepin County :
From Hennepin County:
Next we have the Frederick Underwood House on 216 Tenth Street South. Again located downtown and long gone with our growing city. Underwood was the President of Erie Railroad for 25 years and lived in New York City from 1899 onward.
Joshua Pinault had a very fine mansion on 1205 Mount Curve Avenue, which is still a luxurious street filled with posh homes and expensive properties. The house itself was not architecturally stunning or unique per say for the time, but it found itself in the national spotlight due to its fine artifacts. Located at 1206 Mount Curve it was filled with expensive furnishings and antiques. A 1904 House Beautiful article states:
The home of Dr. Pinault is a storehouse of antiques brought from France, things which have belonged to the family for generations. So numerous and valuable are the pieces and are so distinguished by their age, origin, and associations as to merit a chapter by themselves. Much of the wood is mahogany, carved in the style of the greatest French Louis enriched by gilding and upholstered in genuine Gobelin tapestry. Photographs fail to show the beauty of these antiques except in form and proportion."
In 1906 these antiques were national attention.
The house was built in 1887 by C.M Douglas, who owned a coal delivery business. 300 Clifton was built in the Queen Anne style, with prominent porches and a turret in the southeast. Harvey Brown, a successful businessman and banker bought the house in 1890 and lived there until his death in 1904.
The house was purchased in 1905 by Eugene and Merrette Carpenter and was owned by the family until 1948. This constitutes the historically significant time period. Eugene Carpenter and Merrette Lamb came from lumber milling families and were owners of the Carpenter-Lamb Lumber Co. of Minneapolis. The Carpenters were also significant patrons of the arts and Eugene Carpenter played a pivotal role in establishing the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
After purchasing the house in November 1905, the Carpenters hired a young and promising architect, Edwin Hawley Hewitt, who had recently finished his schooling in Paris. The task was daunting. Hewitt was asked to turn the Victorian style house into a Georgian Revival style house. “About as different as can be,” said Olivia (Carpenter) Coan who was 9 years old in 1906 during the renovation.
Hewitt removed the roof, moved fireplaces, built additional foundations, moved interior and exterior walls and rebuilt the carriage house from the foundation up all in time for the family to move in by September 1906, 10 months after the purchase.
300 Clifton faces south towards Clifton Ave, has 14 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and sits on a one acre double lot. The north edge of the property is bordered by a low bluff which forms the foundation of the 6500 square foot carriage house. The main house is 12,000 square feet. All three of the original fireplaces are still functional. A focal point of the house is the gardens to the east.
In 2006, John Steele rescued the house and recognized its potential as a residence once again. Steele initiated the painstaking restoration work by restoring woodwork and reestablishing the original floor plan among other major projects. In 2013, the property was purchased by John and Norman Kulba with aims to complete the restoration work so nobly advanced. In 2014 the couple legally changed the use of the house back to a residence and established it as a Bed & Breakfast. It is currently a six room Bed & Breakfast, with a salon/spa, which opened in the Spring of 2015.
The C.C. Webber residence at 411 Clifton Ave also, was not so lucky. Built in 1896 the building was around until at least 1951. The site today however is filled with giant high rise apartments.
Villa Rosa the family estate last owned by Clinton Morrison became an important location in Minneapolis's history. The villa built in 1858 according to Larry Millett was a Italianate home set on 10 acres. It was demolished in 1910 when Clinton donated the estate to the city of Minneapolis for construction of the Minneapolis Arts Institute which still stands in this spot today.
Here is a photo of the institute when it was completed and in essence still looks the same:
The residence of Mr. W.S. Nott at 15 Groveland Ave on Lowry Hill was built in a heavy stone and fortress like appearance. Built in 1893 by architects Long and Kees in Richardsonian Romanesque style.
According to Kodet Architectural Group who owns and restored the building:
The interior of the mansion originally featured wood paneled walls, stained glass and ornate carved woodwork. Unfortunately, after Nott’s death the home suffered the abuse from a number of diverse groups. During the 1970s, the building was used as a 55-bed nursing home, a halfway house, and a warehouse. By the early 1980s, the house had been a victim of both a fire and years of neglect. The structure was examined by many, including architects, and all were unwilling to tackle the effort of reviving the building.
Kodet Architectural Group, Ltd. rescued the abandoned mansion in 1986. Post 1893 additions were removed from the exterior and damaged stone pieces replaced. Interior elements, such as stairs and woodwork, were relocated or reconstructed to accommodate the building’s new use as office and exhibition spaces. Completely new mechanical, computer, and lighting systems now make the mansion fit for another century of productive use. The building now houses the Kodet Architectural Group offices as well as other small businesses.
It has been some time since I have been able to write. Since I last wrote I have been in Europe for several months soaking up the atmosphere and unfortunately not getting anything done on the house. Now as the holidays come close and then finish, I am plugging away on the interior which I will update later. This post however, I wanted to finish up my seriers of lost Minneapolis Mansions. Please bear with me as this might be a long post. I could go through million other photographs in the historical society photographs to compare what was then and what is now. All the photographs that I have discussed from this post as well as Lost Minneapolis Mansions IV , Lost Minneapolis Mansions III , Lost Minneapolis Mansions II , Lost Minneapolis Mansions I are a collection of photographs entitled "Art Glimpses of Minneapolis, the city of homes" 1898. A fantastic collection that I wish there were more volumes like this documenting our grand residential history so fully.
The Thomas Shevlin was a typical upper middle class Victorian home located at 129 Oak Grove. Complete with colonial revival details and a dizzying array of chimneys. The first photo is from the 1890s and the two interior photographs are from around 1905. According to Hennepin County :
Thomas H. Shevlin was born in Albany, New York in 1895 to John Shevlin and Matilda Leonard Shevlin. By age 15 he was working in the lumber business for John McGraw and Company and stayed there 10 years. He moved to Michigan and in 1882 he was treasurer and general manager of the Stephen C. Hall Lumber Company. The Hall Lumber company established a Minneapolis branch in 1884, which became Hall & Ducey in 1886, the same year Shevlin moved to Minneapolis. His house was built in 1885 by John L. Amory.
Ducey withdrew from the lumber company and it became known as Hall & Shevlin and later Shevlin-Carpenter Lumber Company.
In 1882 Shevlin married Alice C. Hall and they had three children, Thomas Leonard, Florence, who married D.D. Tenney and Helen who married George C. Beckwith.
The girls in the image above are most likely Helen and a friend.
Thomas Shevlin died in 1912 but not before Alice Shevlin Hall was dedicated at the University of Minnesota (Alice died in 1910).
Helen and George Beckwith lived in the house until 1915. The house was razed by 1921.
Next is the Cornelius Shove house. The Hennepin County Library did a little write up about this house so I am inserting what they have written about the man and the house. Since I am trying to cover all the houses in the original book publishing of houses I wanted to include this one and the research already done by others.
From Hennepin County:
Cornelius B. Shove Residence, 1002 Hawthorne Avenue, 1898
Cornelius Shove was born in Syracuse, New York in 1844. When he was 6 the family moved to Manitowoc, Wisconsin and by 13 he started his career in banking at T.C. Shove. He remained at T.C. Shove for 11 years, acquiring the practical skills that would allow him to manage his own insurance business later in his life.
After some time getting more experience with the insurance industry, Shove moved to Minneapolis in 1878. He organized the Millers and Manufacturers Insurance company in 1881, thanks in part to a change in state law that allowed companies to transact insurance business upon a combination of stock and mutual plans. This was an innovation at the time, passed by the state legislature and signed by governor John S. Pillsbury. The business was essentially a mutual company, distributing to it’s policy holders the surplus of premiums paid by them over the cost of the insurance.
He married Mrs. Carrie A. Norton in 1883 and also built the house in the 1880s. Carrie died in 1926 and Cornelius died in 1927. By the time the house was razed in 1927, downtown was no longer a prime residential district. It was replaced by a parking lot.
The site today:
Next are the homes of George and Liewellyn Christian.
Located at 414 and 428 Eighth Street South respectively according to the Dual city blue book of 1899. This is located in the busy downtown area and when the city crept too close the owners moved away. George Christian's later house now houses the Hennepin County Museum but these houses are long gone.
Next we have the Frederick Underwood House on 216 Tenth Street South. Again located downtown and long gone with our growing city. Underwood was the President of Erie Railroad for 25 years and lived in New York City from 1899 onward.
Joshua Pinault had a very fine mansion on 1205 Mount Curve Avenue, which is still a luxurious street filled with posh homes and expensive properties. The house itself was not architecturally stunning or unique per say for the time, but it found itself in the national spotlight due to its fine artifacts. Located at 1206 Mount Curve it was filled with expensive furnishings and antiques. A 1904 House Beautiful article states:
The home of Dr. Pinault is a storehouse of antiques brought from France, things which have belonged to the family for generations. So numerous and valuable are the pieces and are so distinguished by their age, origin, and associations as to merit a chapter by themselves. Much of the wood is mahogany, carved in the style of the greatest French Louis enriched by gilding and upholstered in genuine Gobelin tapestry. Photographs fail to show the beauty of these antiques except in form and proportion."
In 1906 these antiques were national attention.
Gathering from reports the most of the items were found and taken into police custody. The items were locked into a safe before being released to Dr. Pinault who quickly made this request so that the assessor would not find out the true value of items and declare a large tax bill to be paid. Dr. Pinault soon sent a letter from his new home in Mississippi declaring that his items were exempt from taxes as he presently lives in a place where it will not be applicable. The house itself is surprisingly gone in a neighborhood filled with jewels. A modern building vaguely reminiscent of the stone house that formerly occupied the space sits on this lovely street.
The comfortable home of Sol. Smith Russell on 1613 First Ave S with its large yard was typical of the Victorian era in Minneapolis. Sol Smith was a well known comedic actor known through the country. Smith Died in 1902 in Washington D.C. Leaving behind his wife and Daughter, both of whom shared the name Alice. The modest home was also lost to history, currently sitting close to where the freeway cuts through the city.
Art drawing of Sol Smith Russell Residence
The beautiful home of Harvey Brown at 300 Clifton Ave faired better than most of the other buildings in this post. Technically it stands although in a very different form. Presently the house is used as a private residence and bed a breakfast. From the owner's research here is the history of this interesting home:
The house was purchased in 1905 by Eugene and Merrette Carpenter and was owned by the family until 1948. This constitutes the historically significant time period. Eugene Carpenter and Merrette Lamb came from lumber milling families and were owners of the Carpenter-Lamb Lumber Co. of Minneapolis. The Carpenters were also significant patrons of the arts and Eugene Carpenter played a pivotal role in establishing the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
After purchasing the house in November 1905, the Carpenters hired a young and promising architect, Edwin Hawley Hewitt, who had recently finished his schooling in Paris. The task was daunting. Hewitt was asked to turn the Victorian style house into a Georgian Revival style house. “About as different as can be,” said Olivia (Carpenter) Coan who was 9 years old in 1906 during the renovation.
Hewitt removed the roof, moved fireplaces, built additional foundations, moved interior and exterior walls and rebuilt the carriage house from the foundation up all in time for the family to move in by September 1906, 10 months after the purchase.
In 2006, John Steele rescued the house and recognized its potential as a residence once again. Steele initiated the painstaking restoration work by restoring woodwork and reestablishing the original floor plan among other major projects. In 2013, the property was purchased by John and Norman Kulba with aims to complete the restoration work so nobly advanced. In 2014 the couple legally changed the use of the house back to a residence and established it as a Bed & Breakfast. It is currently a six room Bed & Breakfast, with a salon/spa, which opened in the Spring of 2015.
The C.C. Webber residence at 411 Clifton Ave also, was not so lucky. Built in 1896 the building was around until at least 1951. The site today however is filled with giant high rise apartments.
Villa Rosa the family estate last owned by Clinton Morrison became an important location in Minneapolis's history. The villa built in 1858 according to Larry Millett was a Italianate home set on 10 acres. It was demolished in 1910 when Clinton donated the estate to the city of Minneapolis for construction of the Minneapolis Arts Institute which still stands in this spot today.
Here is a photo of the institute when it was completed and in essence still looks the same:
The residence of Mr. W.S. Nott at 15 Groveland Ave on Lowry Hill was built in a heavy stone and fortress like appearance. Built in 1893 by architects Long and Kees in Richardsonian Romanesque style.
According to Kodet Architectural Group who owns and restored the building:
The interior of the mansion originally featured wood paneled walls, stained glass and ornate carved woodwork. Unfortunately, after Nott’s death the home suffered the abuse from a number of diverse groups. During the 1970s, the building was used as a 55-bed nursing home, a halfway house, and a warehouse. By the early 1980s, the house had been a victim of both a fire and years of neglect. The structure was examined by many, including architects, and all were unwilling to tackle the effort of reviving the building.
Kodet Architectural Group, Ltd. rescued the abandoned mansion in 1986. Post 1893 additions were removed from the exterior and damaged stone pieces replaced. Interior elements, such as stairs and woodwork, were relocated or reconstructed to accommodate the building’s new use as office and exhibition spaces. Completely new mechanical, computer, and lighting systems now make the mansion fit for another century of productive use. The building now houses the Kodet Architectural Group offices as well as other small businesses.
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