We recently witnessed the former Pillsbury estate being
demolished to allow multiple new homes to be built on the
gorgeous lakeshore property. While the historic Pillsbury
estate is one of the most notable examples of older homes
being razed to build new, we are seeing this trend throughout
the Lake Minnetonka area. This is part of the cycle of real
estate; sometimes the old makes way for the new.
In fact, we have seen this cycle before. In 1880, Sir Charles
Gibson opened the Hotel St. Louis on the shores of Lake
Minnetonka, complete with stunning views of what is now
known as Carson’s Bay and St. Louis Bay.*
The Hotel attracted visitors from all over the country,
drawn to the first-class service, electricity, and
bathrooms on each floor. Although many visited for
relaxation and leisure, others came for sailing and tennis.
The Minnetonka Yacht Club was founded in 1882 after the
increasing enthusiasm for sailing encouraged by hotel guests.
The Northwestern Lawn Tennis Tournaments in Chimo were
held on the grass courts, and local residents made names for
themselves by running and playing in these tournaments;
including members of the Burton family.
Tragically, the Hotel St. Louis burned down in 1897. By 1910,
Walter Donald Douglas, an heir to the Quaker Oats Company,
and his wife Mahala Dutton-Douglas, had completed the
building of their twenty-seven-room estate on the former
grounds of the Hotel St. Louis. They named it “Walden” and
the estate remains today. The surrounding hotel grounds,
including the famed grass tennis courts, have since been
repurposed with beautiful homes.
Sometimes properties can be saved, or are lucky enough to
avoid disaster, and sometimes properties must make way for
new projects. The dwelling may be gone, but the legacies will
live on in the hearts and minds of those of us that are lucky
enough to call the Lake Minnetonka area our home.
*Information obtained through the Deephaven Historical Society (www.cityofdeephaven.org) and Erik Dregni’s “By the Waters of Minnetonka.”
