This year’s Docomomo fall MCM tour included one of my favorite parts of Saint Paul… the steep, wooded slope between Mt. Curve Boulevard and Stonebridge Boulevard on the east end of the former Stonebridge Estate.
What is Stonebridge, you ask? It was the grand estate of Oliver Crosby, inventor and founder of the successful manufacturing company, American Hoist and Derrick. Built in 1907 the estate included 28 acres, a 20,000 square foot mansion, two artificial lakes, waterfalls, a city-block-long mall extending to the river bluffs, an arboretum, a greenhouse, astonishing gardens… and more!
Crosby died just six years after his family moved in, and once the rest of his family passed it fell into disrepair and the land between what is now St. Clair and Jefferson Avenues from Mt Curve Boulevard to the river was slowly portioned off and sold. The site plan below shows current streets superimposed on the estate, where 70 custom-designed home were eventually built.
The homes along Stonebridge Boulevard were the last to be built because the heavily wooded steep slope was considered unbuildable… until modern architecture brought the perfect solutions.
The Docomomo tour featured four homes along Stonebridge Boulevard… the flat map below doesn’t show how steep is the slope up to Mount Curve Boulevard, but it does show the impressive estate plan… the grounds and mansion cost the equivalent of $20 million in 2005 money, and it was the expansive gardens
The houses were built mid-way between on the lots, with steep slopes from the street up to the house…
…and the steep slope continuing from the house up to the garage. When the current owners cleared away the weeds, brush and trees after they purchased it in 2011 as only the third owners, they discovered a cascading waterfall and stream bed from the Stonebridge estate… at about location #1 on the site map above.
According to architectural critic Larry Millett, Stonebridge was “without a doubt, the greatest private estate ever built” in the Twin Cities. It was designed by architect Clarence Johnson (who also designed Glensheen Mansion in Duluth) and was built during World War I. Its elaborate grounds hosted lavish, glamorous galas. It may have been a source of inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in its glory days... it was considered and rejected as a governor’s residence near the end of its days… and was demolished in 1953.
Check out this short YouTube video on Stonebridge from TPT …
The south side of the house included a large sunken garden with fountains, wading pools and statues, plus a 100-foot-long pergola. Brick-lined walkways guided visitors throughout the property.
The stone bridge that gave the estate its name can still be found at location #12 on the map.
Two remnants from the estate can be found at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory: (1) a large granite frog from the gardens can be found near the entrance to the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory and (2) the Stonebridge original brick entry gate (#11 on the map and in the photo below) was donated to Como Park and re-erected by the WPA in 1937 at the west entrance at Hamline Avenue and Midway Parkway.
Learn more about Stonebridge and Oliver Crosby at Ramsey County History.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
