East Isles is a neighborhood within the larger Calhoun-Isles community in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The neighborhood was originally a part of the more historically affluent neighborhoods around Lake of the Isles: Kenwood and Lowry Hill. However, since the 1940s, it has become more urbanized than the rest of the community, since numerous apartment buildings have been built in the area. But, old mansions still can be found hidden in the neighborhood.
Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. Horizontal lines were thought to evoke and relate to the wide, flat, treeless expanses of America's native prairie landscape.
William Gray Purcell was a Prairie School architect in the Midwestern United States. He partnered with George Grant Elmslie, and briefly with George Feick. The firm of Purcell & Elmslie produced designs for buildings in twenty-two states, Australia, and China. The firm had offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Portland, Oregon.
The Malcolm Willey House is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It was designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and built in 1934. Wright named the house "Gardenwall".
The Edna S. Purcell house was designed by the firm of Purcell, Feick and Elmslie for architect William Purcell and his family in 1913. It is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The James J. Hill House in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, was built by railroad magnate James J. Hill. The house, completed in 1891, is near the eastern end of Summit Avenue near the Cathedral of Saint Paul. The house, for its time, was very large and was the "showcase of St. Paul" until James J. Hill's death in 1916. It is listed as a U.S. National Historic Landmark, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society. It is also a contributing property to the Historic Hill District.
Purcell & Elmslie (P&E) was the most widely know iteration of a progressive American architectural practice. P&E was the second most commissioned firm of the Prairie School, after Frank Lloyd Wright. The firm in all iterations was active from 1907 to 1921, with their most famous work being done between 1913 and 1921.
The F. Scott Fitzgerald House, also known as Summit Terrace, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, is part of a group of rowhouses designed by William H. Willcox and Clarence H. Johnston Sr. The house, at 599 Summit Avenue, is listed as a National Historic Landmark for its association with author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The design of the houses was described as the "New York Style" in which unit was given a distinctive character found in some rowhouses in eastern cities. Architecture critic Larry Millett describes it as "A brownstone row house that leaves no Victorian style unaccounted for, although the general flavor is Romanesque Revival." The Fitzgerald house is faced with brownstone and is two bays wide with a polygonal two-story window bay on the right, and the entrance, recessed under a round arch that is flush with the bay front, on the left. The mansard roof has a cross-gable with two round-arch windows and decorative finials.
Summit Avenue is a street in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, known for being the longest avenue of Victorian homes in the country, having a number of historic houses, churches, synagogues, and schools. The street starts just west of downtown St. Paul and continues four and a half miles west to the Mississippi River where Saint Paul meets Minneapolis. Other cities have similar streets, such as Prairie Avenue in Chicago, Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, and Fifth Avenue in New York City. Summit Avenue is notable for having preserved its historic character and mix of buildings, as compared to these other examples. Historian Ernest R. Sandeen described Summit Avenue as "the best preserved example of the Victorian monumental residential boulevard."
The First National Bank of Mankato, also known as the Old First National Bank of Mankato and located at 229 South Front Street in Mankato, Minnesota, United States, is a fine example of Prairie School architecture in a commercial building, relating rural life to the development of downtown Mankato as a regional center of commerce and finance. The recently restored exterior is now part of the Mankato Civic Center, the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
Harold C. Bradley House, also known as Mrs. Josephine Crane Bradley Residence, is a Prairie School home designed by Louis H. Sullivan and George Grant Elmslie. It is located in the University Heights Historic District of Madison, Wisconsin, United States. A National Historic Landmark, it is one of just a few residential designs by Sullivan, and one of only two Sullivan designs in Wisconsin.
The Emil J. Oberhoffer House is a historic house in Lakeville, Minnesota, United States, overlooking Orchard Lake. Emil Oberhoffer was the founder and first conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. The home was designed by Paul Haugen, who worked for Purcell and Elmslie, an architectural firm known for its renditions of Prairie School architecture. Later the home belonged to the parents of golfer Patty Berg.
The Dr. Oscar Owre House is a historic house located at 2625 Newton Venue South just north of Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was designed by notable local architects Purcell, Feick & Elmslie in the Prairie School style.
The Charles and Grace Parker House is a house in the Lynnhurst neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota southeast of Lake Harriet. It was designed by notable local architects Purcell, Feick & Elmslie in the Prairie School style. Architecture critic Larry Millett calls it one of Purcell and Elmslie's greatest houses, citing the broad gabled roof, the groupings of windows, the side porch, and the detail surrounding the entry. The entrance includes a fretsawn arch and a frieze above the door, with beams and a pair of pendants on either side. George Grant Elmslie designed the leaded glass windows. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Stewart Memorial Presbyterian Church, now Redeemer Missionary Baptist Church, is a Prairie School church in the Lyndale neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Prairie School architecture was uncommon for use in churches. This church, which has a flat roof and broad eaves but lacks a bell tower and other traditional church features, was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois. It was designed by the firm of Purcell & Feick before George Grant Elmslie became a partner of the firm. The congregation was an offshoot of First Presbyterian Church and was named after the Reverend David Stewart.
The Lawrence A. and Mary Fournier House is a historic bungalow in the Cleveland neighborhood of Minneapolis, built in 1910. It was designed by architect Lawrence Fournier as a home for himself and his family. It blends early Prairie School-style elements with American Craftsman architecture. It was also one of the first houses built in North Minneapolis.
The E.S. Hoyt House is a historic house in Red Wing, Minnesota, United States, designed by the firm of Purcell & Elmslie and built in 1913. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also a contributing property to the Red Wing Residential Historic District.
The Merton S. Goodnow House at 446 S. Main St. in Hutchinson, Minnesota was built in 1913. It was designed by Purcell, Feick & Elmslie. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The Dr. J. W. S. Gallagher House is a 1913 Prairie School house in Winona, Minnesota, United States, designed by the architectural firm of Purcell & Elmslie. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 for having local significance in the theme of architecture.
The McKinley Town Hall is a historic Prairie School building located in Jump River, Wisconsin. Built in 1915, it was designed by the noted Prairie School architects Purcell & Elmslie, and is significant as the smallest public building they designed. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
