Queen Anne house with stained glass, historic woodwork lists in St. Paul for $775K

The night Mike and Becky Aistrup closed on their Queen Anne-style home in St. Paul near Mitchell Hamline School of Law, someone shot law student Russell Sherer in the head at the end of their block.

“We laid there in the backyard under a tent thinking ‘Oh my god, what have we done?’” said Mike Aistrup, 71.

It was August 26, 1985, around 9:45 p.m., a little more than an hour after the same perpetrator fatally shot Raymond Gibberd, 32, a computer consultant at Control Data on Dale Street. Sherer, 43, survived, but authorities never found the assailant, and there was no clear motivation for the violence, according to the St. Paul homicide unit.

But that tragic evening is now but a memory. The neighborhood was in transition then, and as Becky Aistrup, 70, said: “It could’ve gone either way.” It ended up being all uphill from there, she added.

Multiple neighboring homes value at $700,000 or more. Famous novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald’s birthplace and the historic homes of the rich Summit Hill neighborhood are about a mile away.

The Aistrups bought their 1891 Victorian home at 957 Ashland Av. in St. Paul’s Summit-University neighborhood for $118,000 more than 40 years ago, according to Zillow. That’s the equivalent of $353,060 today.

Today, the five-bedroom, 2½-bathroom home with a three-season, screened-in back porch, garden and detached garage is a beautifully preserved historic gem. The Aistrups maintained its original woodwork and trim, stained glass windows, hardwood floors and three functional fireplaces.

Queen Anne homes typically have asymmetrical facades, steep and complex rooflines with intersecting gables, a round or polygonal tower, wrap-around porch and large windows featuring stained glass in the upper sash. The house’s exterior is usually three or more contrasting colors, highlighting the style’s different textures and details.

The style originated in England in 1868 and became popular in the U.S. in the late 1870s. History lovers will find the majority of the Twin Cities’ Queen Anne houses in the Hill District from Summit to Lexington.

Queen Annes became popular in the area in the mid-1880s but started to decline in popularity by 1890, St. Paul-based architectural historian Larry Millett said. However, outstate Queen Annes continued into the early 20th century. He called the Queen Anne a “catch-all” style.

“[They’d] pack everything they could into the house: textures, materials, ornamental details, scroll work, gingerbread,” Millett said. “That’s what we associate with Queen Anne, a busy house with an irregular shape, a busy roof line.”

Every seven to 10 years, the Aistrups repainted the house’s facade different colors. When they moved in, it was brown and yellow. Then they painted it a different terracotta color. Then green.

“We sent him a picture of the house, and he said: ‘Never paint a Victorian house blue,’” she said.

Part of this house’s charm for the Aistrups and, they hope, the future owner, is being a steward of history.

“There’s a lot of people that walk in, and they love the detail of the woodwork,” listing agent Lisa Hawthorne said.

Fellow listing agent James Hawthorne (the married couple works as a realtor team) added “it’s made to grab your eyes and give you something visual to experience.”

There’s a museum-like quality to the house. But unlike a pristine, spotless place filled with objects you can’t touch, the property feels inviting and homey.

“The idea of a Victorian home is that your walls are covered with artwork,” Mike Aistrup said. “A lot of people think of a Victorian home as being very cluttered, and so we tried to do that a little bit. Planned clutter.”

In the house, the couple raised two kids, 39-year-old E.B. and 35-year-old Anthony, plus 15 cats. At one point, they had four cats at the same time.

“You have three cats in front of the fireplace, and you have to move a cat to get to the fireplace,” Mike Aistrup said.

The Aistrups remodeled the second-floor primary bathroom, adding a historic-looking soaking tub and large walk-in shower.

The high-ceilinged third-floor attic could be an artist or music studio or a third and fourth bedroom.

The home stands as a historic testament to the neighborhood.

The house design might be from a pattern book or “kit,” similar to the work of late 19th century St. Paul-based architectural partnership Omeyer & Thori, two immigrants from Norway.

Real estate investor Henry Brown built the house in 1891 for its first owner Frank H. Keith, and the project cost $5,000. Its “sister” house is across the street. But it wasn’t maintained like this one and is currently undergoing a gutting and renovation.

Keith, was a foreman for a printing and engraving company. He lived in the house with his wife, Sarah, and seven children. Keith died in 1925.

Several generations of the Anderberg family owned it through the 1970s. In the 1930s, it had converted into four apartments for multi-generation living and then for rental income from the 40s-70s. At some point, it was a boarding house, too.

There are three old photos hanging in the entry way of the house. Sometime in the 1990s, Keith’s adopted son dropped in for a visit.

“Mike goes to the door, and there’s this elderly gentleman standing on the front porch,” Becky said. “He said: ‘You know, my parents built this house.’”