Stand in front of the Eugene J. Carpenter Mansion in Loring Park, then drive a few minutes to the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion on East 22nd Street, and you could be forgiven for thinking two different architects were at work. They were not, at least not entirely. Edwin H. Hewitt remodeled the Carpenter house in 1906 and later designed the Pillsbury mansion with his partner in the firm Hewitt & Brown. Putting the two side by side is one of the best ways to understand how Minneapolis’s Gilded Age fortunes chose to look.
What is the Carpenter Mansion, and what makes it Georgian?
300 Clifton began life in 1887 as a Victorian house. In 1906 the Carpenters hired Hewitt to convert it into a Georgian Revival home, with interiors by John S. Bradstreet. The result is a symmetrical, classically proportioned house that has been described as some of the finest Georgian architecture in Minnesota. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and designated a Minneapolis landmark in 1978. The estate covers roughly 20,000 square feet, and you can read more in the house’s own history.
There is an arts story here too. Eugene Carpenter chaired the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts from 1911 to 1922, the organization that became the Minneapolis Institute of Art, which is why the house is often called the birthplace of the arts in Minneapolis. It is also the only mansion in Minneapolis you can tour and sleep in.
What is the Pillsbury Mansion, and why is it so different?
Built between 1912 and 1914 for Charles S. Pillsbury, the house at 100 East 22nd Street is English Gothic Revival in gray Bedford limestone, designed by Hewitt & Brown. Where the Carpenter house is about balance and restraint, the Pillsbury mansion is about stone, shadow and drama, which is why it has become known as the mansion flour built. It is now the Pillsbury Club, a members-style club open to guests with a reservation, and the departure point for Minneapolis Trolley Tours.
How do you tour both mansions?
The Gilded Age mansion tour from Minneapolis Trolley Tours features the Carpenter Mansion and the Pillsbury mansion among the historic houses it highlights, and it runs year-round. Check the tour page for current dates and call (612) 900-3220 with questions. If you would like to go deeper first, our guide to touring a historic mansion in Minneapolis compares your options, and this post explains how the seasons change the experience.
What about a Christmas mansion tour?
December adds another layer. The same architecture that reads as stately in summer looks storybook under snow, and the holiday season is when many visitors pair a mansion visit with the lights. The Holiday Light Ride boards inside the Pillsbury Club, so you can see that limestone mansion lit for the season before you climb on a heated trolley. For ideas on putting it together, see our Christmas mansion tour guide.
Why does the history matter for your visit?
Knowing that one architect shaped both houses changes how you see them. You start noticing proportion, window shapes and materials, and the way each family used architecture to say something about itself. For deeper background on the era, the Minnesota Historical Society is a good place to continue.
Ready to see it in person? Book the Gilded Age mansion tour, then stay the night at 300 Clifton.