Minneapolis Mansion's Mural Stolen
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | July 15, 2010
Minneapolis' 1905 Samuel J. Hewson House
Credit: City of Minneapolis
A vacant Arts and Crafts mansion in Minneapolis has been stripped of its $150,000 mural. The Samuel J. Hewson House, built in 1905, was robbed in April, its owner officially announced last week.
Mounted over the house's fireplace, the mural's five ceramic panels were removed on Apr. 21 or 22. The 59-by-33-inch mural depicting a path through the woods was designed by Hardesty Gillmore Maratta.
"The mural was a big portion of the beauty of the home," says Jason Korstange, spokesman for TCF Financial, the bank that foreclosed on the Hewson house last year and has put it up for sale. "We're not preservationists, unfortunately; it is our duty to our shareholders to get as much money as we can and get that [house] off our books."
Designed by Minneapolis architects Kees & Colburn, the Hewson House has been listed since last fall and is now under contract, according to Korstange. Yet preservationists remain concerned about the house's future.
"An item that's perhaps half the house's value has been stolen," says Erin Hanafin Berg, field representative for the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, which listed the Hewson House as one of the state's 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in May. "There are a handful of houses that are of this stature and architectural integrity in that neighborhood. … The more you know about it, the more reasons there are for it to be on our 10 Most list."
Last June, the Hewson House's owners, facing foreclosure, planned to strip and sell its architectural features, designed by John Bradstreet. TCF intervened, changing the locks on the house before anything was removed."Things were marked sold, but they were not removed, so that was at least a lucky break," says Marian Biehn, executive director of the local Whittier Alliance Neighborhood Association. "My hope is that a family would purchase the home and restore it to family usage. It's a generous home, so the family would have to have some means."
The city of Minneapolis also stepped in: the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission began the process of landmarking the Hewson House, temporarily providing protection while the nomination study is under way.
The 5,138-square-foot house's heating, air conditioning, and plumbing systems must be updated; its exterior terra-cotta tiles [ornaments] are cracked; and it likely needs a new roof. "Just to make the house habitable again would take a whole lot of investment," she says. "We still have not identified a worthwhile buyer for it."
TCF Financial is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the recovery of the mural; contact 612-718-9238.
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Comments
Submitted by mdougla at: July 19, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2f4846r This shorter link to a report about the house including a photo of the mural should work!
Submitted by mdougla at: July 17, 2010
For further information and to see a photo of the mural: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/cped/agendas/hpc/2010/docs/20100518_2008PillsburyA
Submitted by Brian at: July 16, 2010
Damn, that's a shame! A very beautiful looking house and yard.
Submitted by John at: July 15, 2010
The National Association of Realtors classifies a "mansion" as a home of more than 8,000 square feet. While beautiful and certainly large - this is no mansion. I hope the mural is recovered...