William Wakefield house, 963 Wakefield Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota
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William Wakefield house | |
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| Address: | 963 Wakefield Avenue E |
| Neighborhood/s: | Dayton's Bluff, Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| City/locality- State/province |
Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| County- State/province: |
Ramsey County, Minnesota |
| State/province: | Minnesota |
| Country: | United States |
| Year built: | 1859/1860 |
| Primary Style: | Italianate |
| Additions: | Kitchen and back additions |
| Historic Function: | House/single dwelling or duplex |
| Current Function: | House/single dwelling or duplex |
| Material of Exterior Wall Covering: | Wood |
| Material of Roof: | Asphalt Shingles |
| First Owner: | William Wakefield |
(50.884941,5.752885)
When William Wakefield built his home, called "What Cheer Lawn," in 1859/1860, he created a suburban estate in McLean Township of Ramsey County on a territorial road which ran to Hudson, Wisconsin. Later the city of St. Paul expanded to include the area of Dayton's Bluff where Wakefield's home was built and eventually a city street was laid in front of his property. First called Birch Street, the street name was changed in 1892 to Wakefield Avenue in honor of William Wakefield. When you look at the house today it sits at an angle to the street and is set way back on the lot in the middle of the block. The alleys on both ends of the block dead end at the property's edge.
Memories and stories
Memory
When our family moved into this house in 1980 it had lots of old wallpaper, including some large lilac wallpaper in the central bedroom upstairs. Many of the rooms and hallways were painted institutional green. The house had not been updated in many years. We did lots of wallpaper removal, patching, and painting and put on a new roof. Subsequent owners have done substantial work to open up the porch, remove the asbestos siding, and add a garage.
