St. Paul's Historic Summit Avenue

Book excerpt: Well known as the most prestigious and beautiful street in the Twin Cities and one of the longest urban boulevards in the United States, Summit Avenue runs past the opulent mansion of railroad tycoon James J. Hill, an early home of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and residences designed by renowned architect Cass Gilbert. St. Paul's Historic Summit Avenue highlights the fascinating story of this boulevard from its pre-Civil War origins to its height at the turn of the century. Ernest R. Sandeen takes readers on a walking tour of the grandest mile of the street, beginning with the Cathedral of St. Paul. A second walking tour gives the reader Fitzgerald's Summit Avenue, including Fitzgerald's own descriptions of the area. The book concludes with a comprehensive index of Summit Avenue houses built through the 1970s.