Munger Terrace
Encyclopedia
Munger Terrace is a landmarked
apartment block in Duluth
, Minnesota
, USA. It was originally eight luxury townhouses.
The building, in brick with brownstone trim, was constructed in 1891-92 for Roger S. Munger, an important early Duluth entrepreneur, on a site next to his Victorian Gothic mansion; the houses were rentals, Munger's only such project. The architects were Oliver G. Traphagen
and Francis Fitzpatrick
; the style of the building is sometimes described as Richardsonian
Romanesque revival sometimes as "châteauesque." The National Register of Historic Places lists it as Renaissance. The townhouses were all different and had sixteen rooms, separate front and back stairs, central steam heat, running water on all floors, gas for cooking, and electric lighting. The site on the Central Hillside below North 5th Street between North 4th and North 5th Avenues West was three blocks above the tower of the Post Office downtown, and gardens with fountains and a gazebo were laid out on the slope in front of the building.
The project's original name was Piedmont Terrace, but Piedmont Avenue below was renamed Mesabi Avenue and is now Mesaba Avenue; a different Duluth street is now called Piedmont Avenue. The current address of the building is 405 Mesaba Avenue.
One of the original tenants was the Benedictine
Sisters, who rented the three westernmost units (6 through 8) and used two rooms on the second floor of unit 8 as a chapel. They started a school there that was a forerunner of the College of St. Scholastica. The nuns left after outgrowing the space.
Munger's house was demolished in 1955. Its carriage house, on 5th Street, has been retained as a caretaker's house but its trim has been removed. In 1915 the townhouses were divided into apartments. In the 1970s Mesaba Avenue was widened and much of the land in front of the building lost; what is left is a lawn, and that part of 4th Avenue is now a step street. Munger Terrace was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
on December 12, 1976. In 1978-79 the building was extensively rehabilitated by the non-profit Town View Improvement Corporation, with new windows, skylights, roof, heating, utilities, and kitchen equipment and the addition of sprinklers. It remains rental accommodation.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
apartment block in Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, USA. It was originally eight luxury townhouses.
The building, in brick with brownstone trim, was constructed in 1891-92 for Roger S. Munger, an important early Duluth entrepreneur, on a site next to his Victorian Gothic mansion; the houses were rentals, Munger's only such project. The architects were Oliver G. Traphagen
Oliver G. Traphagen
Oliver G. Traphagen was an American architect who designed many notable buildings in Duluth, Minnesota during the late 19th century and in the Territory of Hawaii during the early 20th century. Among his most famous landmarks are the Oliver G...
and Francis Fitzpatrick
Francis Fitzpatrick
Francis Fitzpatrick VC , born in Tullycorbet, County Monaghan was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Military Career:He was about 20 years old, and a Private...
; the style of the building is sometimes described as Richardsonian
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
Romanesque revival sometimes as "châteauesque." The National Register of Historic Places lists it as Renaissance. The townhouses were all different and had sixteen rooms, separate front and back stairs, central steam heat, running water on all floors, gas for cooking, and electric lighting. The site on the Central Hillside below North 5th Street between North 4th and North 5th Avenues West was three blocks above the tower of the Post Office downtown, and gardens with fountains and a gazebo were laid out on the slope in front of the building.
The project's original name was Piedmont Terrace, but Piedmont Avenue below was renamed Mesabi Avenue and is now Mesaba Avenue; a different Duluth street is now called Piedmont Avenue. The current address of the building is 405 Mesaba Avenue.
One of the original tenants was the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Sisters, who rented the three westernmost units (6 through 8) and used two rooms on the second floor of unit 8 as a chapel. They started a school there that was a forerunner of the College of St. Scholastica. The nuns left after outgrowing the space.
Munger's house was demolished in 1955. Its carriage house, on 5th Street, has been retained as a caretaker's house but its trim has been removed. In 1915 the townhouses were divided into apartments. In the 1970s Mesaba Avenue was widened and much of the land in front of the building lost; what is left is a lawn, and that part of 4th Avenue is now a step street. Munger Terrace was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on December 12, 1976. In 1978-79 the building was extensively rehabilitated by the non-profit Town View Improvement Corporation, with new windows, skylights, roof, heating, utilities, and kitchen equipment and the addition of sprinklers. It remains rental accommodation.