Joe's Place at SGS

Home projects: 1979 - present

Il buono e il bello

My primary residence (left) was built in the 1870's (though it may have had an earlier history in "downtown" St. Paul) for Joseph and Frances Haag, who raised five children in his home. Joseph (1852-1915) was a German tinsmith and hardware dealer whose shop was located at 305-309 West Seventh Street in St. Paul. The house originally faced Leech Street to the west on the same lot, but in 1886 Haag built a much larger house for his growing family and moved this house to its current location farther east, facing Goodrich Street and the bluff. Haag's second and larger residence has since been demolished. Notably, Joseph Haag had been raised on the same block. His parents, Valentine and Annie Haag, built their first home in St. Paul at 88 Leech (then numbered 13 McBoal). Their original 1857 homestead still stands near the alley to the rear of 88 Leech, where it is currently used as a shed. Several other "alley houses" (some pre-dating the Civil War) can be found in Uppertown today, most having been converted to garages or storage sheds.

The picture at right was a "sales" photo when I bought the house. There were two layers of siding hiding the original wood trim, one asphalt, one asbestos. Each of those first years I removed, primed and painted.

Generally a neo-gothic, Victorian stick style home is constructed of wood; and is angular, asymmetrical, vertical and has a lot of detailing! This style originated with Andrew Jackson Downing (1815 –52) and house pattern books of the 1860s and 1870s. Downing also founded the magazine “Horticulturist” and was known for his garden and park design. A representative of the Victorian Stick Style, the Haag House features this typical gabled, steeply pitched roof with overhangs. Although the house has lost its original porch and southwest bay. Arguably the house could also represent the Eastlake Style--with its gable ends and porch posts covered with decorative cutout patterns, drilled holes, jigsaw and lathe work in wood.

The location of this home is at a unique point of the bluff of the Mississippi River. The gardens enhance this choice bluff site and its river valley character. The landscaping features beige granite traditional Japanese lanterns and stone path lighting. These complement natural and sculpted limestone retaining walls. The perennial gardens merge oriental and western design.

The interior of the first floor of the original house has lost its original woodwork except for the front stairwell and maple floors. The redesign of the front formal rooms now reflects Scandinavian and deco influences with a mix of maple, walnut, oak and wengee for flooring and trim. The kitchen features a circa 1930 stove and antique Dutch tiles. The music room and back stairwell is oak. Handrails are from the notorious Faust Theater (Dale and University Avenues; demolished 1995). The second floor bedrooms of the original house retain their window and door trim and maple flooring. One bedroom features a sweeping view of the urban river valley from its balcony, and its maple trim was recycled.

While I purchased the house in 1979, I missed the river view as the house is located on a bluff of the Mississippi River. In 1983 I built a room off the kitchen, looking east, as well as a deck. Loved it; loved it. In the corner I had a free-standing fireplace, and next to that the TV, and next to that the view out the windows. The room wasn't heated, which saved my life. When the house furnace spewed carbon monoxide, since there were no heating vents, I only got a sick and discovered the problem in time.

Here you note that I have taken off two layers of siding on the east walls and discovered the trim that lay beneath, actually well preserved! Eventually I made my way around the house, one side at a time, and replaced siding as necessary.

The second addition was added above the first in 1991. This addition gave the house its distinctive look with a balcony looking southeast. In preparation I created the Victorian wood trim and had the construction crew install it. I still had not decided on a color scheme, and the paint was basically white with dark green trim--soon to change. But first I needed to finish the interior: sheetrock, electrical, etc. I also gutted the second floor bathroom, put in a second shower, and generally had this incredible burst of energy in home creation.

The current look from the bluff.

The north timber frame addition is a Japanese-style timber frame addition begun in 2004 at the north side of the house. It unifies all the work of the past and remedies dry rot that has occurred over the past 135 years. Here it looks like I am adding a swimming pool. Marion drove the bobcat down the west side of the house, excavating excavating excavating
for 8-foot basement workshop ceilings. The posts at right held up the back stairwell.