Summit Hill

Summit Hill is Saint Paul at its most architecturally grand, a district of stately turn-of-the-century homes along and around Summit Avenue's celebrated row of Victorian and revival mansions. Buying here means buying a piece of the city's history, and these homes reward an inspector who understands period construction.

The housing stock in Summit Hill skews large and old, with rubble-stone and early poured foundations, original or upgraded electrical service, and the steam and hot-water boilers that heated homes of this era. The foundation can be read for a century of settlement, the wiring history deserves a close look, and mechanical systems may be original to the home. Grand old homes have almost always been remodeled, and not every change was permitted or finished well. Additions, finished attics, and carriage-house conversions are worth attention, as are the moisture and structural clues at the seams between old and new work. Tall, complex roofs and under-insulated attics make ice dams a real concern here in a Minnesota winter. Remaining roof life, insulation and ventilation, and the staining that reveals past water intrusion are the things to watch.