Twin Historic Cities

Historic architecture from Minneapolis and St. Paul. A good building isn't just a place, it's a work of art.

[twinhistoriccities]

This cute North End duplex was built in 1887, an age which is not uncommon for the neighborhood, though it is the oldest documented on its block. This home like many of its neighbors has seen exterior renovations which have changed their character significantly, though the basic design shines through here better than most thanks to the open porch. #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #curbappeal #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at North End, Saint Paul)

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Built in 1904 in a fairly common style, then probably modified to include the enlarged, off-center porch. What a lovely garden! #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #curbappeal #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Midway, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

Though it's frigid out right now, here's a photo from a few months ago of a lovely pre-1900 house in Frogtown. This area filled in around streetcar lines on Dale Street and Thomas Avenue; this house is near both, and is fairly large for its size and area. #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #curbappeal #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Frogtown, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

Came across this striking Midway house in the midst of being repainted. Isn't that yellow striking? (Not wild about the black.) Built 1900 or likely earlier. #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #curbappeal #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Midway, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

This house in Saint Paul's Hamline-Midway, built 1911, has an unusually elaborate cast-block masonry exterior, including a face up top (zoom in to see). Cast block houses are uncommon (though not exactly rare) in Saint Paul, but few have the level of ornament shown here. Whoever lived here could not have been a shy man! #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #curbappeal #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Midway, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

Another lovely house from the Midway, this one built in 1910. The gardens on this one are just glorious in summer. I wish mine were half as nice! #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Midway, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

The former East Side Commercial Club, built 1907, now a private residence. The building stands just off Payne Avenue, the commercial heart of Saint Paul's East Side which is currently being considered for a new historic district. #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Payne-Phalen, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

The Adolph Bloom house, built either 1890 or 1894, a wonderful Queen Anne mansion which Larry Millett once said "fairly shouts for attention." The siding has been replaced, as has the roof (it used to be grey; who knows the original), and the second-story door is all wrong, but there's plenty of original detail left. It's on Mount Ida Street in Railroad Island; across Rivoli Street is a commanding view of downtown and the Cathedral. #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Payne-Phalen, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

A Richardsonian Romanesque duplex built by E. G. Anderson, 1889. Anderson was a builder active in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood, then the center of Saint Paul's Swedish community. This duplex was built at the top of one of the area's steep hills, giving it a prized view. Note the green window accents, colored to match the steep copper roof. #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Payne-Phalen, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

Built 1899. This is one of a small pocket of older homes (on a highly irregular street grid) eventually consumed by the advancing sprawl of the city of Saint Paul. Hard to say what's original on here, but isn't it lovely anyway? #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Midway, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

The Charles Schlader house, built 1884. This part of the North End is dominated by small, plain old houses on tiny lots, many built for railroad workers at the nearby yards. This one displays an aspirational Second Empire style, one not uncommon in other areas of the city, but adapted to this house's more humble circumstances. #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters #mansardmonday (at North End, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

Built 1885. Frogtown has its share of impressive 19th-century houses, some lovingly preserved or updated but not a few in various states of disrepair. Although this house has been modernized and a bit neglected, original details are visible in the attic windows and along the eaves. #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Frogtown, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

A lovely brown Victorian house, built 1887, in Saint Paul's Midway neighborhood. When this home was constructed it would have had few neighbors for miles around; although conveniently located midway between the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul (hence the neighborhood's name), the distance to both made the area impractical for city workers until the the explosive expansion of the cities' streetcar system in the 1890s. #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Midway, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

This colorful Railroad Island duplex is the Nels Okeson house, one of the oldest Victorian mansions still standing in Saint Paul's East Side, probably from the 1870s or 1880s. Although it looks bright and cheerful today, the house was in such bad condition a few years ago that it was condemned and nearly demolished. Fortunately, the home was donated to the city, which performed the restoration you see here. #stpaul #saintpaul #minnesota #twincities #preservestp #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #capturesaintpaul #capturemn #onlyinmn #minnstagramers #stp #thisplacematters (at Payne-Phalen, Saint Paul)

[twinhistoriccities]

This house on Franklin Avenue is easy to miss, thanks to the massive and deeply unsightly midcentury commercial addition in front, but it is in fact one of the very oldest houses in the neighborhood, built by T. P. Healy, the well-known Minneapolis "master builder" whose homes are regarded as among the finest of their era in Minneapolis. It was the home of Samuel F. Pray, a "capitalist" and real estate speculator who once had dealings with the Young family (of Mormon fame), and later his widow Frances. It is difficult to say when the house was built; city records indicate 1901, but city directories indicate that the Prays lived at this address from at least the 1880s, and the house (or its core) may well date to that era. #minneapolis #minnesota #twincities #preservempls #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #captureminneapolis #capturemn #onlyinmn #mncomm #minnstagramers #mpls #thisplacematters #mplspreservation (at Stevens Square, Minneapolis)

[twinhistoriccities]

A classic up/down duplex in Whittier, one block off busy Lyndale Avenue and built in 1906. The first occupant was Emil Weinhold, owner of several pharmacies ("druggists"); he lived until 1928, but he moved from this property in 1910. It was then the home of Wycoff (or Wyckoff) Clark, a manager at a roofing company. #minneapolis #minnesota #twincities #preservempls #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #captureminneapolis #capturemn #onlyinmn #mncomm #minnstagramers #mpls #thisplacematters #mplspreservation (at Whittier, Minneapolis)

[twinhistoriccities]

Two tiny Queen Anne-style houses stand out on busy, commercial Lyndale Avenue. Both date back to at least the 1880s, and are the only examples of this type of architecture left on Lyndale Avenue, though such small houses were once much more common here. City directories for the 1880s list for inhabitants mostly carpenters and tradesmen, who would have done busy work in the then-rapidly-developing streetcar neighborhood. It was likely just such a carpenter who constructed these. #minneapolis #minnesota #twincities #preservempls #historic #oldhouselove #houseporn #houseportrait #architecture #archidaily #archi_ologie #casasecasarios #captureminneapolis #capturemn #onlyinmn #mncomm #minnstagramers #mpls #thisplacematters #mplspreservation (at Whittier, Minneapolis)