Homes of Lake Minnetonka Tours & Lectures

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at 10:21pm. 1367 Views, 1 Comments.

Tours of four Lake Minnetonka homes will be offered in four sessions in May. The tour and lecture series, called "Homes of Lake Minnetonka," will be hosted by the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, local author Bette Hammel, and several architects.

Hammel, who will lead historical lectures about the homes, is the author of "Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka," published October 2009. The book highlights the history and architecture of 30 Lake Minnetonka homes. Out of four houses that will be featured in the series, three of them were in her book.

Architect Marcelo Valdes, University of Minnesota professor and owner of M. Valdes Architects, and Jon Monson, of the Landschute Group, will also join the tours. Designer Pamela Vasquez of the New Studio in Minnetonka…

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Tom Petters' Wayzata Home Sells for $5 Million

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 9:01pm. 2294 Views, 0 Comments.

What may be the best-known house on Lake Minnetonka has been sold. After more than 400 days on the market, 37 showings and one rejected offer, the 9,300-square-foot, 7-bedroom home in Wayzata MN once owned by convicted Ponzi scheme operator Tom Petters sold for $5 million. That is down from $8.25 million when it first went on the market in January of 2009.

Court-appointed receiver Doug Kelley, whose office oversaw the transaction, said he was "very happy" to close on the deal given the weak market for high-end homes.

"This is just the second home in the last two years to sell for $5 million or more in the Lake Minnetonka area," Kelley said.

The property sits on about 1 1/4 acres, has 250 feet of lakefront, a guest house, a 6-car garage and an empty wine…

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Strange But True: Own a Piece of Minneapolis Skyway

Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 11:55pm. 586 Views, 1 Comments.

An 83-foot piece of the Minneapolis skyway has been taken down from the sky and put up on the market. It could be yours for just $49,500.

This section of skyway was built in the late 1970s and spanned across 5th Street. It connected J.C. Penney and Powers department stores, which closed in the mid-1980s. Powers was leveled in 1993, and instead of taking down the skyway, it just sort-of dead-ended on the other side of the street. When light rail came, the skyway segment needed to go.

Minneapolis architect Ben Awes and his City Desk Studio partners offer in a Craigslist ad an array of possibilities for the 1,380-square-foot structure, all 140 tons of it sitting behind TCF Bank Stadium: office, bridge over a creek, ice rink warming house, etc.

"The one we are…

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Unique Real Estate: A Duluth Fixer-Upper

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 6:30pm. 478 Views, 0 Comments.

The historic St. Louis County jail may be demolished if a buyer can't be found. The county has spent nearly $250,000 over 6 months to maintain it, but so far no one has stepped forward to buy it. The asking price is only $60,000.

St. Louis county has applied again for a permit to tear it down. The last time it applied, the Duluth City Council rejected the permit but the state of the economy may mean that could change this time.

The jail, completed in 1923, is one of four governmental buildings and a monument that are part of the Duluth Civic Center Historic District.

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Unique Homes ~ Bridge-to-Home Conversions

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 10:44pm. 1039 Views, 1 Comments.

Nothing too big to report today, so today is a post Just for Fun. But it also may give you a new look at unique homes and creative architectural problem solving.

I can't quite remember how I stumbled across it, but I found this Radical Redesign: Bridge-to-Home Building Conversions. I could not believe that there areseveral bridges that have been converted into living spaces or vice-versa: homes and buildings that were designed to also be a bridge.

My favorite picture from the series is this one of a skinny stone house precariously perched on a stone bridge. It has been in Ambleside, England, for over 300 years. It is currently a store and visitors center.

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A Unique Home with Exotic Architectural Style: Mayan Revival

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 at 11:57pm. 849 Views, 1 Comments.

A house designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright has landed on the market.  The 1924 concrete-block structure in Los Feliz known as the Ennis House is listed at $15 million. It has four bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms in about 10,000 square feet. It sits on a 3/4 acre lot atop a hilltop with beautiful city and ocean views.

The home's design was based on ancient Mayan temples. The Ennis House, along with several other buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, is sometimes referred to as an example of the Mayan Revival style. The strange look of this California landmark, which is listed on the national Register of Historic Places, made it an appealing location for filming movies. Horror film fans may recognize it as the outside face of the original 1958 "House on…

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Alfred F. Pillsbury Mansion

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 at 5:41pm. 2428 Views, 0 Comments.

Alfred F. Pillsbury was the only son of Pillsbury Co. founder John S. Pillsbury.  Alfred was never excited about the family flour-milling business, however. According to local historians, he instead devoted his time to collecting art.  With a particular fondness for ancient Asian art, he amassed a huge collection of Chinese bronzes, jade and porcelain during his lifetime. Pillsbury was also a stamp collector, owned the first high-wheeled bicycle, and one of the first three cars in the City of Minneapolis.

By the time Alfred died in 1950, he had amassed an estate of $6 million. He left his art collections to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  The 900 pieces Pillsbury bequest to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts still form the core of the MIA's ancient…

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