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Don Trueman / Paramount Pixels
The AG Thomson House, 2617 E. 3rd St. in Duluth, features five fully decorated trees.
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Don Trueman
AG Thomson House
2617 E. 3rd St. Owners/hosts Tim & Angie Allen. 1909: Dutch Colonial Revival home built from a design by Minneapolis architect Edwin Hewitt for William Ryerson, general manager of Great Northern Power Company, at a cost of $17,000. Duluth grain merchant Adam G. Thomson bought the house in 1918. The inn sits on a 2-acre wooded lot with views of Lake Superior. 4 rooms in the main house; 2 rooms and 1 suite in the carriage house. (218) 724-3464, www.thomsonhouse.biz
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Don Trueman
The Ellery House
28 S. 21st Ave. E. Owners/hosts Jim & Joan Halquist. 1890: Queen Anne Victorian built as a family home on the hillside of Duluth overlooking Lake Superior. The first owners were Ellery C. and Lilla Holliday. Ellery was a real estate developer. Many families enjoyed this home over the years since then. 2 suites and 2 rooms. (218) 724-7639, www.elleryhouse.com
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Don Trueman
The Cotton Mansion
2309 E. 1st St. Owners/hosts Ken & Kimberly Aparicio. 1906-08: Italian Renaissance, 16,000-square-foot home built for Joseph and Louise Cotton. Joseph was an attorney for U.S. Steel Corporation, working with John D. Rockefeller. During his term as U.S. president from 1923-1929, Calvin Coolidge would frequently visit the home as a guest. 5 suites and 2 rooms. (218) 724-6405, www.cottonmansion.com
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Don Trueman
The Olcott House
2316 E. 1st St. Owners/hosts David Vipond & Jerry. 1904: Georgian Colonial Revival mansion was designed by William T. Bray of Bray and Nystrom as a home for William and Fannie Olcott. William was president of the Oliver Mining Company, now U.S. Steel, and was the first president of the Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Railroad. 6 suites. (218) 728-1339, www.olcotthouse.com
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Jeff Frey
Mathew S. Burrows 1890 Inn
1632 E. 1st St. Owners/hosts Alan & Kathy Fink. 1890: Victorian home built for Mathew Burrows, owner of the Great Eastern Clothes Store in downtown Duluth. Local architects, MacMillan and Radcliff, designed the home to his specifications, including a third-floor ballroom. Burrows sold the house in 1905 and it was divided into 12 apartments as a boarding house. Later, other owners would save and restore the building. 3 suites and 2 rooms. (218) 724-4991, www.1890inn.com
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Brian Grover
Solglimt, Jewel on the Water
828 Lake Ave. S. Owners/hosts Brian & Mary Grover. 1910: This home was built by Oscar Frederick Nelson, a machinist with the Duluth District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1906, Oscar received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, for “extraordinary heroism” while he was in the U.S. Navy during a boiler explosion on the USS Bennington in San Diego, California in July 1905. 4 suites and 1 loft room. (218) 727-0596, www.solglimt.com
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Courtesy Firelight Inn
The Firelight Inn on Oregon Creek
2211 E. 3rd St. Owners/hosts Jim & Joy Fischer. 1910: The nearly 9,000-square-foot home was built by Bray and Nystrom for George G. Barnum. George was the first paymaster for the Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad. The town of Barnum is named for him. Among his accomplishments, George organized the Barnum Grain Company in Duluth and became one of the first incorporators of the Duluth Board of Trade. His company merged with General Mills. 5 suites. (218) 724-0272, www.firelightinn.com
All dressed up and waiting to show.
That philosophy will motivate seven Duluth bed-and-breakfast inns to open their doors for the sixth time to the general public as part of a self-guided holiday tour.
Historic Bed & Breakfast Inns of Duluth Holiday Tour
Sunday, December 9, 2012. Tickets $25 in advance or $30. 218-341-0140. www.duluthbandb.com.
Inn owners get to show off the beautiful seasonal decorations, introduce local residents to hospitality options for their out-of-town-guests (or for their own in-town overnight getaways) and raise a little money for a local charity to boot.
“We have these wonderful homes and they’re all decked out for the holidays,” says Tim Allen, owner with his wife, Angie, of the AG Thomson House. “The thought was to have other people enjoy it and look at it and we’re raising money for the food shelf. From the business aspect, you hope that someone will see your place and they’ll refer friends and family.”
The tour was created under the non-profit association, Historic Bed and Breakfast Inns of Duluth. Ticket holders can visit any or all of the seven inns during a four-hour stretch starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday, December 9.
Besides opening the doors to let people browse the common areas, the owners also put out beverages, sweets and savory treats to sample, putting hours into food preparation and, of course, decorating.
“I have all my Christmas dishes and I love using that,” says Mary Grover, president of the historic inns association and co-owner of Solglimt.
“We put out a spread,” Tim says. “The food takes a lot, but … we’re trying to raise money for a good cause.”
Last year the tour sold 400 tickets and was able to give $2,000 to the Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank after expenses.
The donation comes at a time of great need, says Amy Kinney, marketing and communications coordinator for Second Harvest.
“It’s also helping to get our name out there, especially at the holidays, when our need is so high,” she says, adding that more people visit the food bank in the winter and at the holidays. “People’s budget are overextended,” she says, pointing to heating and other costs that increase in winter.
Those on the tour do appreciate the donations to the food bank and also use the tour as a kick-start for their own holiday activities.
Some of the inns feature a few orchestral musicians – string instrumentalists and pianists. At others, you’ll find the owners in formal attire.
About a third of those who take the tour do so every year, Tim says. “We’ve had people say that’s what puts them in the Christmas spirit.”
There are also a number of local residents unfamiliar with these historic homes, Tim says, some of whom are seeing the houses and the neighborhoods for the first time.
Mary also sees repeats at Solglimt. “It’s just fun to see all the people smiling, coming through. Sometimes we get the same people every year.”
Solglimt has definitely gotten business from the tours, and not just as reference for out-of-town guests.
“I call it ‘stay-cations,’” Mary says of the Duluthians who come to the inn for an overnight stay. “That happens a lot – a couple or three times a year – when guests say, ‘We were on the Christmas tour.’”
When she overhears this – “I know where I’m staying on my birthday” – during the holiday tour, she knows she’ll be booking another local guest later in the year.
Most of inns are within a 1-mile area in the east end of the city, while Solglimt, the most modern of the inns, is nestled on Park Point along the beach and near the Aerial Lift Bridge. A detailed map is available to show where the inns are located.
Mary says that many of the inns add a few extra decorations knowing they will be showcased during the tour.
“The decorating, we all have way upped it because of the tour,” she says.
Tim says it’s a great way to join in the local celebrations.
“We’re part of the community, and you should do some positive things for the community,” Tim says, admitting, “and it is fun. … We like showing off our house.”
Tour Tips
Bring a plastic bag, maybe slippers, too: Shoes are not allowed beyond entryways. Seasoned tour takers carry a plastic bag to hold shoes and slippers to put on in the homes.
Bring someone: It’s nice to take the tour with at least one other person, so you can admire aloud the decorations, gorgeous houses and tasty snacks.
Go later, but not too late: Crowds thin by the end of the day – but leave enough time to visit all the inns and get treats. Start or end with Solglimt; it’s farthest from the others.