Summit Avenue

Summit Avenue 
 

The Summit Avenue tour was a great way to learn about the different houses in Minneapolis. The houses we saw on Summit Avenue were million dollar houses. We first saw the James J. Hill house. The tour guide gave a lot of great information about James J. Hill and the history of the house. We then saw his son's house which was right next door. Again, this house was flawless from the outside. We saw the F. Scott Fitzgerald house which is basically a bunch of town houses put into one.

The James J. Hill house was where we met as a tour group. I got to go inside to use the restroom before the tour and our guide showed us some areas of the house. I got to see the laundry room and parts of the downstairs.

The James J. Hill house had a couple of Dormer Windows which seemed to be very popular when the house was built.

This house belongs to one of the son's of James J. Hill. The window is a Palladian Window.

This is part of the front of James J. Hills son's house. This is a portico with a pediment roof with columns.

This is house shows columns in the upper window.

 

Above is one of the houses we went into. The owner let both of our tour groups inside. The outside of the house looks like it would be really dark and not really pretty on the inside. That all changes.

This was a little seating area that we saw.

This picture shows the living room of the house. Across from the couch is a grand piano. The fireplace was so beautiful just to look at. The room was full of white which gave me the idea of elegance. A lesson that I learned was don't judge a house by the outside. The exact lesson for everything else. The house that we went inside of was my favorite because I actually got to see the inside of it. I like the unique plant growing on the house. It made it different and it was just a beautiful house and nothing what I saw inside was expected.
History of Summit Avenue
The history of Summit Avenue dates back to the early 1850s, when Saint Paul was in its infancy. Mansions were starting to appear on top of the hill in the earliest days of the city.The district began to decline in the 1930s as many old mansions either turned into rooming-houses or went vacant for many years. The housing stock was not decimated by commercial development pressure, as the bluffs separating the Summit Avenue area from downtown St. Paul made it difficult for downtown to expand into the area. The area began to turn around in the 1960s and 1970s, as young couples discovered that the Victorian homes could be purchased affordably and could be restored over time. Neighborhood associations also formed and helped with preservation efforts. The Hill District is again one of the most fashionable places to live in Saint Paul.

Below is the link to get your own walking tour!
http://sites.mnhs.org/historic-sites/james-j-hill-house/summit-avenue-walking-tour

The link includes a description of the tour, times that the building is open and admission prices. There is a walking tour of Summit Avenue and of the James J. Hill house!
Enjoy!

 

Cass VS Clarence

Cass Gilbert

Gilbert was a conservative who believed architecture should reflect historic traditions and the established social order. His design of the new Supreme Court Building (1935), with it's classical lines and small size contrasted sharply with the very large modernist Federal buildings going up along the National Mall in Washington, D.C., which he disliked. Cass Gilbert reminds me of a more classical person and likes to stick to the books on architecture. He was the architect for the Woolworth Building (below left) and our Minnesota State Capitol (below right).

   

Clarence Johnston

Clarence did all sorts of buildings in Minnesota. The U of M is just one example for this, parts of the U of M were designed by him. His style is more tasteful and understanding version of modern. February 1883, Johnston went abroad, traveling in Europe and Asia Minor. The Folwell Hall is an imaginative version of central European late Renaissance/early Baroque architecture. In 1886, Mr. Johnston established his own practice in Saint Paul. Five years later, he was retained by the State Board of Control, preparing plans for the Minnesota State Prison and other institutions. He was architect for the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota and drew plans for all the buildings on the new campus and some on the older portion. The Minnesota State Prison is a Gothic Revival building. He also designed part of Winona State University which is also Gothic style. Clarence was the architect for the F. Scott Fitzgerald House on Summit Avenue. The house is a Romanesque Revival. I can point out that he was interested in the revival look.
 

Fitzgerald

Summit Terrace

In 1919, after dropping out of Princeton University and serving in the army, this young 23-year-old returned to his parents' rented townhouse at 599 Summit Avenue. 

The Romanesque Revival townhouse structure is complete with turrets, small balconies, and slate roof containing eight units for single-family occupancy. Little could architects Clarence Johnston and William Willcox have dreamed the brownstone row house they designed in 1889 would gain such popularity. 

The current owners, Mike and Nancy Jones, say passersby have even tried to peek in the front windows. The structure still slows traffic as curious tourists stop to determine exactly which unit

 F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in.

 

James J. Hill House

James J. Hill House

The James J. Hill House in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was built by railroad magnate James J. Hill. The house, completed in 1891, is near the eastern end of Summit Avenue near the Cathedral of Saint Paul. The house, for its time, was very large and was the "showcase of St. Paul" until James J. Hill's death in 1916. Hill bought three lots on Summit Avenue in 1882, during an era when wealthy citizens were scrambling to build fashionable homes in the neighborhood. After James J. Hill died in 1916 and his wife died in 1921, the children eventually moved out. In 1925, four of the daughters purchased the house from the estate and donated it to the Church. The Church used it for the next fifty-three years as space for offices, residences, and a teacher's college for women. Fortunately, the church preserved it well and did not make any significant alterations, although most of the original furniture was sold during this period. In 1961, the United States Department of Interior designated the house a National historic landmark. The Minnesota Historical Society acquired the house in 1978. The house has been restored and is now open for tours.

The Architects of the house were Peabody and Stearns which was a premier architectural firm in the Eastern United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Based in Boston Massachusetts, the firm consisted of Robert Swain Peabody (1845-1917) and John Goddard Stearns Jr. (1843-1917).

Characteristics

Housing Characteristics 

We learned about roofing styles before and now we are moving on to house characteristics as a whole. As we learned about the different vocabulary with houses, we also learned about the housing styles that show these characteristics.

1. Bay Window - A set of two or more windows that extend out from the wall. The window is moved away from the wall to provide more light and wider views.

2. Casement Window - A window that opens by swinging inward or outward much like a door. Casement windows are usually vertical in shape, but are often grouped in bands. 

3. Clapboard - Also known as weatherboard or siding. Long, narrow boards overlapped to cover the outer walls. Used in Colonial style frame houses.

4. Dormer - A window set in projection from a sloping roof, serving rooms beneath the roof.

5. Eaves - That portion of the roof that projects beyond the wall.

6. Fanlight - A semicircular or arched window above a door.

7. Palladian Window - A three part window featuring a large arched center and flanking rectangular sidelights.

8. Pediment - A triangular crown used over doors, windows, or porches. A classical style.

9. Portico - A large porch usually with a pedimented roof supported by classical columns or pillars.

10. Rafter - A roof beam sloping from the ridge to the wall. In most houses, rafters are visible only from the attic. In styles such as craftsman bungalows and some "rustic" contemporaries, they are exposed.

11. Sidelights - Windows on either side of the door.

12. Turret - A small tower, often at the corner of a building. It's common in Queen Anne styles among others. A turret is a smaller structure while a tower begins at ground level. 

When we learn about the different styles of everything it really opens up your eyes to see how houses are actually constructed.

Roof Styles

Roof Styles

In Interior Design we went on a walk to look at different roof styles. The shape of the roof contributes a great deal to a house. The roof styles show different personalities within the house. Some housing styles are identified with a specific roof type, such as the gambrel of a Dutch Colonial.

1. Gable Roof - A roof with two sloping sides, forming a triangle at one or both ends.

2. Gambrel Roof - A roof with two angles of slope on each of two sides, the lower slope steeper than the upper slope. (the left side of the house shows this)

3. Hip Roof - All four sides of this roof slope inward to meet at a peak or a ridge.

4. Saltbox Roof - A variation of the gable roof, originally created when a low lean-to addition was built onto the back wall of the house.

5. Mansard Roof - All four sides of this roof have two slopes, the lower four steeper than the upper four.

6. Shed Roof - A simple, one-slope roof; also called a lean-to roof.

When we begin to learn about the different styles for houses, it really shows us what goes through the mind of the creator.

Life Cycle

Housing Life Cycle

This week in Interior Design class we learned about the housing life cycle and how it pertains to life.

Physical Needs 

~ Food = convenient place to prepare food, kitchens are for cooking

~ Safety = protection from predators and/or thieves 

~ Sleep = place to sleep

~ Storage = keeps things organized

~ Shelter = protects from weather and temperature 

Psychological Needs

~ Identity = reflects values, express personal life, shows achievements

~ Creativity = use imagination, space for hobbies, add variety and beauty

~ Love & Belonging = part of a community, open concepts, encourage togetherness

~ Privacy = good for mental health, get away from stress, house is sanctuary.

Life Cycle

 The life cycle displays our future at certain ages. It tells us

 the price of the houses that we can afford at certain ages. We looked for different houses to 

fit the needs at age 22, 33, and 42. When I choose a house, I will be looking at my life. For example at age 33 I would like to have children by then so finding a house with a certain number of rooms is important. It all depends on what you want in life, There is no certain requirement.

This is the house that I can afford as a 22 year old. I basically just need a house to live in. I don't have a personal family that I would extra rooms. This house is located in Winona, MN. I chose this house because it fits my basic needs. It also fits my price range because the salary that I have is $38,000. My budget was $187,000 for my first house at 22 years old. 

This house I selected is what I will afford when I'm 33 years old. By this time, I am married and have 3 children. This house fits me perfectly because I need 4 bedrooms. It has plenty of space for all of the children plus friends. The house comes with many great features like open space and lots of personal rooms. The salary I know have is $47,248 and my husband makes $40,000. Together we make $87,248. The House we can afford is $425,000. It fits perfectly because we reached our budget and it fits our life style. This house is also located in Winona, MN.

This is the house I selected for when I am 42 years old. The house is on the expensive side for my age, but I still have children living in my house so logically I would need that same amount of space as the other house. It is downsized by half of the square footage, This house is located in Maple Grove, MN. I think this would be a great place to live because it's near my family. This house is $514,900 which is perfect for the budget. 

When we learned about different budgets and house costs, it was exciting to find out we were actually going to look at houses of that cost. It really shows what styles you like and how you can change it.