National Register of Historic Places

Thompson Summer House

Minnetonka Beach, Hennepin County, Minnesota
Listed
January 15, 1998
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
97001652

About this property

The Thompson Summer House is a house in Minnetonka Beach, Minnesota, United States, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located on Hennepin County Road 15, across from Lafayette Bay on Lake Minnetonka. The house was built in 1887 for Charles Telford Thompson, an attorney and civil leader, and his wife. It was listed on the National Register as a typical example of the types of Queen Anne summer homes that middle and upper-class Minneapolis residents owned on Lake Minnetonka during the end of the 19th century. An identical house owned by Samuel A. Harris, Charles Thompson's brother-in-law, once sat adjacent to the Thompson Summer House, but was demolished in 1968. In the 1990s, the house faced deterioration from erosion and rot. In an effort to stabilize the foundation and rebuild the wraparound porch while preserving the character of the house, the owners undertook a major restoration project. The project, conducted by Wes Foss, the husband of Thompson's great-great-granddaughter Debbie, was featured on a three-part episode of Hometime on PBS and won an award from the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota in 2005. The house is currently one of the oldest extant summer houses on Lake Minnetonka and is in excellent condition. It is still used strictly as a summer home (as it has always been) and frequently hosts family gatherings.

Location

3012 Shoreline Dr.
Minnetonka Beach, Hennepin County, Minnesota
44.93895, -93.59997

Categories

ENTERTAINMENT/RECREATIONARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Minnetonka Beach Water Tower
Industrial
0.8 mi
Noerenberg Estate Barn
Industrial
1.1 mi
Gideon, Peter, Farmhouse
Industrial
2.4 mi
MINNEHAHA (steamboat)
Industrial
2.8 mi
Excelsior Public School
Industrial
3.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Thompson Summer House listed on the National Register?

Thompson Summer House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 15, 1998.

What type of historic resource is Thompson Summer House?

Thompson Summer House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Thompson Summer House?

The period of significance for Thompson Summer House is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Thompson Summer House?

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