May 6, 2009


My listing price is $999,900. 
Now let me show you what I looked like in 1889!
4631(old 57) Lake Ave., White Bear Lake, MN 55110

This is the only sketch of me from that era that I know of so I'm not really sure how accurate it is.  I think an artist made it for insurance
purposes as it was included in a booklet, "All about White Bear Lake," published at the time to tout the benefits of living in my town.
My first owner, William M. Hopkins, had a general store in the village.  It's possible I was a "kit home" because of some key items that
were discovered during my rehabilitation.

Around 1923, I was purchased and sent to purgatory as a duplex.  I believe that George Flandrick, who had a meat market in town, had
his father-in-law, C.E.Davies do the work but I'm not sure!  So much about me was changed at that time that I was hardly recognized as
a true Eastlake stick-style Victorian.  Can you believe my front foyer had been converted to a bedroom!  You can see what I looked like when
my current owners bought me in 1978 by looking at my front view or my rear view!

No doubt you can tell I was a run-down & tired old house very close to becoming a "take-down."  They started to rebuild me as I might
have been built had a more affluent person owned me from the beginning.  Here's the sketch they were working toward and still are!

This is about where I am today in the reconstruction and rehabilitation.  Not bad since they've done most of the work themselves!  My private shaded deck fronts up to a sloping sandy beach and includes about 200' of dock.

Here's a partial list of the work they've done to me so far--

My full basement was reworked with new supports, beams, rim joists, floor drains - foundation additions were made to accommodate my new tower and my two storey back addition.  A 3/4 bath was built in my basement and a side door was installed in a kitchen media extension so swimmers could enter and go directly to the shower instead of traipsing through the formal part of the house.

I was completely stripped down inside and out to my balloon-framed 20' stud walls and sheathing (I've got 10' ceilings down and 9' up), new triple pane windows were installed, and I am fully insulated with new electrical (the guy put outlets everywhere), plumbing, and a five zone hot water heating system plumbed in with vintage decorative cast-iron radiators.  I also come with two fireplaces (not operational although gas could be installed fairly easily).   Originally, I had a single front door with a vestibule.  This was changed to a vintage oak French door set with beveled glass.  The pocket door was removed and placed between the front foyer and the back parlor.  Vintage oak doors were located and hung on the original pocket door tracks.  An antique frosted glass cottage door was installed in the closet of the front foyer as a major focal point and a oak staircase from a Summit Ave brownstone was salvaged for installation in this foyer which has a green marble entrance and original oak flooring.  An antique oak main newel was placed at the base of this stairs.  Antique lighting is used throughout where practical.

A three storey copper-topped tower with four teak skylights was added onto my southeast corner so that each floor could have a commanding view of the lake from Manitou Island to Cottage Park and a second-level bay was added to my east bedroom.  My stained glass transom windows in the tower room were constructed using glass from an 1881 Minneapolis church and more windows could be constructed from the remaining glass if my new owners want to negotiate for it.

A wrap around front porch was built with a walkout deck above.  I may need some inspiration on what this will finally look like, but this porch was planned to be bronze-screened with sawn balustrades so as to take advantage of the cool breezes off the lake on summer nights.

My attic was transformed from a triple hip/double gable into a quad gable with a veranda to the east and a vaulted tower room on the south overlooking the lake.  My attic is insulated, vented and sheet rocked so this space can be used as a master bedroom suite, a self-contained living space, or just about anything you can think of that can exist in this roof-defined architectural space.  Onto my north end, a 1024 square foot two storey addition was added with a four-car dual-heat garage space down and double dormer/sky lighted room above.  Currently this space is used as a studio/workshop but could also function as additional bedrooms and baths, a media room, a self-contained living space, or exercise space.  My garage has 11-foot ceilings and full span floor and roof trusses so it is open with no support posts. 

I held onto my 1920's garage/shed that could store additional toys such as boats or cars and which likely could be improved to look like a vintage carriage house. 

The mistress of the house loves to garden and has turned the front yard into a beautiful display of annuals and perennials some say "in an English garden" fashion. 

I need to give you a few more details about my room sizes and features.  When I was built, I didn't have a tower nor did I have a second storey bay extension over the dining room.  This extension allowed my owners to add a veranda in the attic above it.  These additions to my rooms make it difficult to get exact sizes with these "old world charm" nooks.  But I do have a large master bedroom retreat large enough for a king size poster bed (remember the 9' ceilings up), two dressers, and a walk-in closet next to a nook for a makeup vanity sink. Remember this front room is part of the tower with fantastic views of the lake and French doors that walk out onto the porch deck.  I have another bedroom that is large enough for another king size bed & furniture with a spacious closet.  The smallest bedroom held a 3/4 bed, a large dresser, a wardrobe for a closet, a trunk, rocker and spinning wheel.  The back office space has a second floor laundry.  The downstairs has a tower room with a reclaimed slate/marble mantle from the first White Bear Lake doctor's house, fabulous views of the lake and a great spot for the Christmas tree.  The dining room has a bay window with a transom, a fabulous chandelier and an oak built-in from Chicago.  The back parlor is being used as a family room.  The large eat-in kitchen has a wood-burning stove and opens up into a media extension porch/room.  The attic staircase has a separate entrance from the garage/workshop that allows it to become a master bedroom suite/mother-in-law apartment with a walkout veranda. There is so much more to tell that I might just have to write a book about this 27-year odyssey.  I am truly a "work in progress" - I'm almost done except for some finish trim-out, hardwood floors that need refinishing, and miscellaneous features finished like built-ins, & cabinetry.  The final kitchen layout was completed last year with floor to ceiling cherry cabinetry, hickory strip flooring, solid surface counters, a prep sink work station, dual microwaves, a stainless steel double oven, exhaust hood, and double oven range.  Both upstairs bathes were completed – one features a whirlpool tub/shower and the other a walk in tiled shower.  Meanwhile, my current owners are continuing to install the items they have saved and/or collected to make me the Queen Anne Painted Lady of White Bear Lake. 

Now that you know some of my most important upgrades, you'll probably want one final detail - at what price can you buy this historically significant structure on White Bear Lake?  My current owners are reasonably negotiable on price, materials, and artifacts depending upon the degree that the finishing touches have been completed but their listing price is $999,900...not a bad deal for a 3360+ sq ft dwelling with a fully usable 1000 sq ft 18" thick quarry-stone walled basement and a ~1000 sq ft studio/workshop!  Plus as you may recall, I have an attached heated 4-car garage and two more enclosed parking spaces in my 1920's storage shed!  You'd be hard pressed to find another home on the lake in this price range with my size, style & features. 

If you'd like a walk-through to see for yourself, please contact Dave Colglazier at 651.429.2272 or 651.429.2222.  In the mean time, they'll just keep working on me until someone really wants me enough to take their place as my steward.  I hope you had a great time viewing my changes throughout the years and I hope you can appreciate what I've had to endure to be here today.  Don't tell my current owners, but the last 25 years or so of my updating have been the best since I was built!

 http://www.originalwoodworks.com