Among the architects for which Minnesota is known around the world—from Ralph Rapson to Julie Snow to David Salmela—Edwin Hugh Lundie remains a towering figure. The Iowa-born, South Dakota-raised architect who designed homes, cabins and country estates from his office in downtown St. Paul also had strong ties to the state’s North Shore, where he designed Lutsen Resort and a number of cabins. His classical designs with muscular features and intricate detailing “drew from the vernacular forms that connected him to his clients’ tastes,” wrote architect Dale Mulfinger in his book The Architecture of Edwin Lundie.
For several years now, the Schroeder Area Historical Society has celebrated Lundie’s architecture with an annual daylong tour that encompasses several of his buildings. This year’s tour on July 9 focuses on the Schroeder/Tofte area, and includes six sites, five on the North Shore of Lake Superior. A highlight: Two homes designed in the 1950s on opposite sides of a river gorge on the shore, one formerly owned by Judge Magney (of the state park fame).
The restored Lundie cabin where the post-tour picnic will be held.
The tour begins with participants free to tour Lundie’s own cabin at their leisure. Then people meet at the Cross River Heritage Center where they buses for the Dragonfly Cabin; the Ellingson, Mullin and Magney homes on the Caribou River; and the Stone House and Cottage on Blue Moon Cove.
The Dragon Fly cabin
The day concludes with a “Picnic on the Ledgerock,” a charming restored Lundie cabin. Wine and beer are provided. A fundraiser for the Schroeder Area Historical Society and Cross River Heritage Center—which includes a Lundie Room, a timber-frame space constructed to represent a cabin designed by the renowned Minnesota architect—tickets for the tour are $150. For more information or to RSVP, call Cross River Heritage Center at 218-663-7706.
By Camille LeFevre
