• INDEX
• ORIGIN STORY OF W7
• RESIDENCE
• GARDENS
• CV
• AWARDS
• MEDIA
• FAMILY
• TRAVEL
• POETRY & QUOTES

Residence

Goodrich Avenue:
I bought the house in 1989 (below left). Generally a neo-gothic, Victorian stick style home is constructed of wood; and is angular, asymmetrical, vertical and has a lot of detailing! This style originated with Andrew Jackson Downing (1815 –52) and house pattern books of the 1860s and 1870s. Downing also founded the magazine “Horticulturist” and was known for his garden and park design. It was covered with both asbestos and asphat siding that I took off to reveal the amazing trim. then added four additions copying the detail (see below right). Not seen is the garage and garden house with duplicaated trim.

When I bought the house, for more than forty years I added on to its 1880 Stick Style Victorian with four additions faithfully reproducing the exterior trim and having a lot of fun with the compromised interior. More than a decade ago my partner Steve moved in, my next door neighbor Lorraine died and I bought her modest 1948 one-story rambler and vacant lot from her estate.

Goodrich history:

"Goodrich" was built before the 1880's (it may have been moved from "downtown" Saint Paul in a building boom in the 1870's) for Joseph and Frances Haag, who raised five children in their home. Joseph (1852-1915) was a German tinsmith and hardware dealer whose shop was located at 305-309 West Seventh Street in St. Paul.

The house originally faced Leech Street to the west, but in 1886 Haag moved this house to its current location farther east, facing Goodrich Street and the bluff, and built a much larger house on Leech Street for his growing family. Haag's second and larger residence was eventually demolished to make way for the yellow house below--where I would build anew.

Notably, Joseph Haag had been raised on the same block. His parents, Valentine and Annie Haag, built their first home in St. Paul at 88 Leech (then numbered 13 McBoal). Their original 1857 homestead still stands near the alley to the rear of 88 Leech, where it is currently used as a shed. Several other "alley houses" (some pre-dating the Civil War) can be found in my neighborhood of "Uppertown", most having been converted to garages or storage sheds.

Leech Street, next door:
In 2012 I bought the lot and yellow house next door to Goodrich with the passing of my neighbor, Lorraine. While renting out the house I began to develop the lot, about 90 X 50 feet, into a Zen-inspired landscape. With marginally hardy plantings, it grew to include an 18-foot traditional gate (torii), a moon-viewing pavilion, natural Kasota stone installations, two granite lanterns, seven-foot vintage fencing from the local Schmidt Brewery (1860/1900), and a bench fashioned from its keg cradles (also from Schmidt).

In 2017, through the COVID years, my partner and I began rebuilt the cottage—three floors! The exterior ground level has Shou Sugi Ban, traditional Japanese fire-preserved cypress. The upper floors board and batten siding painted red, and custom balconies that look out to the Mississippi River valley. The interior incorporates reclaimed cast iron, hard woods, and built-in accessibility including three-stop elevator. The ground floor includes a conservatory-gallery, office and utilities; first floor: kitchen, dining/living rooms, and sitting-bed-bath suite; second floor: bedroom/office, bath suite and guest room. Arguably the house could also represent the Eastlake Style--with its gable ends and porch posts covered with decorative cutout patterns, drilled holes, jigsaw and lathe work in wood. We moved in 2022 and sold Goodrich that became an airBB.