St. Paul Summit Hill homeowners give glimpses inside their distinctive homes

Longtime lovers of St. Paul’s many historic and distinctive homes — and owners of several Capital City homes since the early 1990s — Amy and Eric Peterson had never before participated in the long-running Summit Hill and Ramsey Hill house tours.

Until last year.

“And it was fantastic,” Amy Peterson said. “We are in love with St Paul; we’re in love with old homes, where we have walked the streets for many years, just in awe with the homes and what might they be like inside. [Being on the tour] was just so exciting for us.”

So much so that the Petersons, now Summit Hill homeowners themselves, decided to put their own home on the tour list for 2024. While still putting the finishing touches on repairs and renovations after a house fire a year ago, the Petersons nonetheless agreed to be part of the tour — coming up Sunday — after their friend and real estate agent Marcy Wengler asked.

“When you live in Cathedral Hill, you do see people walking around. They’re curious about the neighborhoods,” Eric Peterson said. “You know, I think the Summit Hill and Ramsey Hill associations are so proud of this neighborhood. And the people that volunteer and do things are advocates of the neighborhood, which make it a nice place to live. So I guess my answer is, I felt like a way to give back to those groups.”

Wengler, a Summit Hill resident and chairwoman of its house tour, said the neighborhoods weren’t always so pristine and desirable. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of the area’s grand old rowhouses, mansions and brownstones were just shells of their former selves. Divided into boarding houses and cheap apartments, much of the neighborhoods’ distinctive history had been papered and painted over, she said.

The house tours started in 1972 as a way to rally support for those homeowners committed to renovating — rather than razing — the area’s faded old homes, Wengler said. The money raised also helps the associations pay for beautification projects and neighborhood cleanups.

Jason Patalonis, who calls himself a chairman emeritus of the tour, said the point back then was to help associations be a voice for restoration. When he first bought on Portland Avenue, he said, the house next to his had been turned into a nine-room boarding house.

“And after people started renovating, they just thought, ‘You know what, let’s just do a house tour and show off what we accomplished,’” he said. “It wasn’t bragging. It was showing what we accomplished.”

He admits, though, a little bit of the tours’ popularity over the years can be attributed to home voyeurism.

In the more than 50 years since the tours started, organizers say they’ve become the most popular historic tours in the nation. They also serve as a major fundraiser for the Summit Hill and Ramsey Hill associations. For the first time, the groups are teaming up to offer a single program. Previously, they alternated hosting the tour each year.

There’s a $200 pretour event Saturday evening at a Summit Avenue mansion. Sunday’s self-guided tour, which goes from noon to 6 p.m., costs $45, with shuttle buses ferrying folks to the sites. Volunteers will be stationed at each home to act as guides and answer questions.

A new VIP experience offers a brunch Sunday at Summit Manor and one-hour early access to the tour, as well as a swag bag. VIP tickets cost $165 for brunch at Summit Manor and $135 for brunch at the new Kenton House on Grand Avenue. There’s a post-tour reception at the University Club for another $45.

Tickets are purchased ahead of time and picked up at a Summit Hill Association tent at Victoria Street and Summit Avenue the day of the tour. Owners of homes on the tour are not compensated, Wengler said. Visitors should plan on removing their shoes and wearing provided footwear while inside the homes. Tickets are nonrefundable. Rain or shine, the tour will go on. For more information and to register, go to summithilltours.org.

Amy Peterson said they love their neighborhood and their 1885 three-story, side-by-side home. On Sunday mornings, the ringing bells from the nearby Cathedral of St. Paul fill the air. After years of not having enough room to gather family together for holidays, the Petersons say they found the perfect venue in their home in the 200 block of Laurel Avenue.

“What makes me proud that I live here?” she asked. “I mean, I feel like I would say that we have worked really hard to live in a neighborhood that we love being in. I think for me, I appreciate all the old character that this house brings. And it allows us to do a lot of cool things.”