Unique Homes & Real Estate 
There are currently 17 blog entries related to this category.
Unique Home: Former Donaldson Mansion for Sale in Minneapolis
Friday, April 15th, 2011 at 8:53pm. 2097 Views, 1 Comments.
It's Friday, a day to cast away seriousness and daydream a little. How about a $6.5 million daydream?
This 1906 home was built for department-store magnate Lawrence Donaldson. Designed by Kees and Colburn, the same architecture firm that designed Donaldson's downtown Minneapolis office and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange building, the house at one time contained 10 fireplaces, a three-level carriage house with terrazo-marble floors and an ahead-of-its-time central vacuum cleaning system. Over time, the original gold-leafed ceilings had been painted over, the custom-made Tiffany light fixtures were auctioned off, and the once-sprawling yard had been subdivided.
After a top-to-bottom restoration and more than 10 years of living in the home, Ron Beining and…
Home with History Ready for New Owners
Saturday, April 9th, 2011 at 10:47pm. 785 Views, 2 Comments.
An amazing home that played a part in Minnesota history is for sale in Vasa, MN. The Barker & Hedges Team with Re/Max Results, a leader in the Twin Cities real estate market, is offering this exquisitely restored home that once served as Lutheran Social Services Vasa Children’s Home. Located at 15251 Old Children’s Home Road in Vasa, Minnesota, this home was built in 1899. For 27 years, this house was the dormitory for the Vasa Children’s Home. From 1926 to 1968, the property was used for many purposes, including as grain storage for local farmers.
In 1968 the home, remaining structures and land were purchased as a single family residence. The previous owners began the work of restoring both soundness and beauty to the structures. Over the course of eight…
Historic Buildings Being Documented in Minneapolis
Monday, March 28th, 2011 at 12:29pm. 652 Views, 0 Comments.
Minneapolis planners are hoping to finish a 10-year-long citywide update of historic sites and places this year. It is the first survey of its kind since the 1970s.
Some may think historic preservation saves buildings that were sites of historic events or are associated with famous people. But there's more to it than that. Other things can come into consideration, such as a collection of relatively intact homes from a specific period as few as thirty years ago.
One example is the Mereen-Johnson Machine Co. on Lyndale Avenue N. near Shingle Creek. Its a a 1906 brick factory that curves along a railroad track. The woodworking machine fabricator is a remnant of the sawmill industry that once proliferated in Minneapolis near the Mississippi River.
A property's…
U of M Solar House Has No Buyers
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 at 7:07pm. 765 Views, 0 Comments.
MPR recently reported that University of Minnesota students have spent months trying to sell their prize-winning solar-powered house. They're having trouble finding a buyer for the 550 square-foot house.
As part of its "Sustainable Shelter" exhibit, the house is on display across the street from the Bell Museum in Minneapolis. The house is shaped like a typical Minnesota family home, but the roof is covered in solar panels.
The house placed fifth internationally in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon last year. Although building costs reached $1 million, including a $100,000 Department of Energy grant and many donations, the house's market value has been set at $550,000 based on the cost of materials and labor.
Project coordinators put the home up for…
Historic House Finds a Home
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010 at 11:49pm. 630 Views, 0 Comments.
For more than 10 years, what was thought to be a worthless shack sat in the corner of the Maple Grove Public Works yard. It's owner, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, didn't know the diamond in the rough it had on its hands.
Built in 1854, it was the area's first frame house in an era of log cabins and sod huts. Whatsmore, the man who lived there was Pierre Bottineau, a legendary frontiersman who helped pioneer development in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Maple Grove, Osseo and parts of the Dakotas.
After the building's history was discovered, MnDOT hired the Minneapolis firm of MacDonald & Mack Architects to restore it. The structure had been moved around and subjected to a number of different uses over the years. It was moved to the Public Works site…
Historic E.S. Hoyt House for Sale in Red Wing
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at 9:48pm. 2093 Views, 0 Comments.
An incredible piece of Minnesota architectural history has just hit the real estate market in Red Wing: The E.S. Hoyt House. This extraordinary home was designed by Minneapolis-based architecture firm of Purcell & Elmslie and the Barker & Hedges Team with Re/Max Results has been chosen to market this fantastic property.
Located at 300 Hill Street in Red Wing, Minnesota, it was built in 1913 for E.S. Hoyt, who was president of the famous Red Wing Stoneware Company. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since the 1970s. Many beautiful homes have been preserved in Red Wing, but the Prairie School style Hoyt House stands out from the crowd of Second Empire, Italianate, Gothic and Greek revivals found in this Mississippi River town. With…
New Owners for Van Dusen Mansion in Minneapolis
Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 9:56am. 2017 Views, 1 Comments.
The Van Dusen mansion in downtown Minneapolis is getting reborn as an events center. The historic home was recently a multi-million dollar pawn in the Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme.
The mansion was purchased in April for $1.55 million by St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, his son, Matt and daughter-in law, Jennifer, who have extensive food and beverage management experience. The Van Dusen Mansion, will specialize in weddings, social events and business meetings.
Jeff and his wife, Julie, have a keen interest in historic buildings and already own a bed and breakfast in Stillwater that's been renovated. They also completely renovated the downtown Saint Paul building that houses Jeff 's law offices.
The partnership between the elder and younger Andersons, called the…
Two Minnesota Ultra-High-End Homes Discussed by Forbes
Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 6:55pm. 2210 Views, 0 Comments.
Some spectacular Minnesota homes were recently mentioned by Forbes. The topic of discussion? Ultra-high-end homes on the market for tens of millions of dollars in unexpected locations. What are they doing there?
The first Minnesota home mentioned is a $10 million gated compound called the Brentwood that has all the amenities a high-caliber home should: a three-tiered screening room, a billiards hall with a wet bar, master bathroom with a fireside Jacuzzi and 10-spigot shower, guest homes, a lushly wooded lot, tennis court, and, like all the best Minnesota homes, a boat dock. Sounds like a Lake Minnetonka home, right? Wrong. It is located about 2 hours away from the Twin Cities in Big Chippewa Lake, Minnesota.
In many parts of the U.S., even the most…
ASID Showcase Home Tour
Thursday, May 20th, 2010 at 10:04pm. 1473 Views, 0 Comments.
The American Society of Interior Designers of Minnesota is holding their Showcase Home Tour right now through June.
Each year, Twin Cities interior designers from the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) takes over a home and gives it a design makeover. This year, there are two homes on the tour instead. And visitors can see both of them for the price of one!
26 designers re-designed two homes:
Adventurer, explorer, and author of "The Blue Zones," Dan Beuttner’s Lake of the Isles Home was redesigned to incorporate his "blue zone" theories about longevity, as well as his extensive collection of art and mementoes.
The second home on the tour, located about a mile away, is a condo at The Edgewater near Lake Calhoun. At this location designers had an…
Converted Historic City Hall for Sale in Norwood Young America
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 at 6:51pm. 1648 Views, 1 Comments.
An historic building that once served as Young America's city hall is for sale on the market, listed at $449,900. This 1909 two-story brick building has been converted to a single-family home that could also easily accommodate a home-based business.
Located at 102 2nd Avenue SE in Norwood Young America, this striking home is on an easy access corner lot. The first floor is 2,000-square-feet including a garage, a bathroom, and open space which could serve as a living room or would also be suitable for a business.
The upstairs has over 3,000-square-feet of living quarters which includes 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large kitchen, a living room, dining room, and a 3 season porch. Additionally, there is a partial loft which houses a recreation room,…
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