Summit Hill tour highlights

A Summit Avenue house built in 1906 has been described as a "mini Glensheen." Architect Clarence Johnston Sr. designed it in a similar style and at the same time he was designing Chester Congdon's iconic Duluth mansion. The St. Paul version originally was a wedding gift from Jacob Dittenhofer, a partner in the Golden Rule Department Store, to his son and new bride. In 1966, the family donated the house to the Christian Brothers Provinciate, which used it for housing and offices until 1999, when it was sold to the present owners. Many of the home's original features remain in place, including different patterns of stained glass in each room, original light fixtures from Austria and a carved fireplace mantel featuring birds, squirrels, leaves, grape bunches and human faces.

The William B. and Mary Dean House was built in 1882 as a Queen Anne Victorian for the Dean family and their eight children. William Dean came to St. Paul in 1856 and became bookkeeper for a wholesale iron and hardware firm, Nicols and Berkey. In 1860, he succeeded Berkey in the partnership, and the firm became Nicols and Dean. The home features eight original fireplaces, each mantel carved differently and featuring different tiles. Over the years, the home's exterior has gone through dramatic changes. During the 1940s, it was covered with stucco in an attempt at an English Tudor look. But a makeover in the early 2000s restored much of its Queen Anne ambience.

The oldest house still standing on Summit Avenue was built in 1858 in the Italian villa style for wealthy lumber dealer David Stuart. A major remodeling took place in 1887, the year President Grover Cleveland had lunch in the dining room during his tour of Midwestern states. That room still boasts its original hand-cut flooring, paneled walls and 30-inch coving. Elsewhere in the house, visitors can see Austrian stained-glass lanterns, an Italian marble fireplace, mahogany wainscoting, silver sconces and a chandelier with Steuben glass globes.

KIM PALMER