Midcentury Edina home built for Maid of Scandinavia founder lists for $1.795 million

From Craftsman bungalows to Tudors, Parker Newcomb has sought out specific styles of homes.

When he was house-hunting four years ago, he came across a midcentury modern in Edina that took the cake, literally: It was built by the founder of Maid of Scandinavia, a cake decorating supply business.

The 6,000-square-foot home boasted an entryway with 22-foot ceilings and a terrazzo staircase with a curved brass railing. The house itself was concrete construction and had walls of glass and stone. The living room had glass on three sides.

"I love architecture," Newcomb said. "It was such a standout in so many ways."

He didn't know much about the luxury home, which was built in 1961, or the neighborhood it was in. But he gradually learned more, with help from family members of the original owners and others who knew them.

Newcomb met a neighbor who told him that the area had been the former Schaefer Farm and that Dee and Mark Dalquist were the first to build. Soon Mark's brother H. David Dalquist — founder of Nordic Ware, the St. Louis Park kitchenware company best known for its Bundt pan — built a house nearby.

"The neighbor really knew the history," Newcomb said.

"To get the story of the two families working together and living together in close proximity was very cool," Newcomb said. "The house was built for entertaining, which is why there's big open spaces. They entertained a lot and quite formally. They [had a pipe organ and] would bring in professional organ players to play at parties."

Newcomb also learned that Dee and Mark had wanted a home as close to fireproof as possible.

"That was the driver behind all the concrete construction. Every ceiling, every wall is concrete. It's built like a fortress, it truly is," Newcomb said. "The construction is meticulous. I just knew it had to have a story."

Updating and listing

During the time Newcomb has lived there, he's made a few updates.

While he's enjoyed living in the unique home, he's put the five-bedroom, five-bathroom home on the market.

"I'm going to start spending my winters on the West Coast. I'm downsizing here and getting a second place there," he said. "I'm going to miss living in this house. I have mixed feelings, for sure. But it's time."

Newcomb hopes that the next homeowner will enjoy the house's solid structure as well as the setting: on a nearly 1-acre lot overlooking a pond and located on a quiet cul de sac.

"The side yard here looks like it could be a soccer field, which is what the living room looks out to and this beautiful row of trees," he said. "The fact that you're so close to the city and have all of this natural beauty around is what really sold me."

Listing agent Gary Bennett praised the house for its design and livability.