Wyer--Pearce House - Excelsior, MN
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FSU*Noles
N 44° 54.103 W 093° 33.763
15T E 455573 N 4972186
This is the Wyer/Pearce house in historic Excelsior, MN - listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Building #77000735.
Waymark Code: WM3P7Z
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 04/28/2008
Views: 58
This magnificent Victorian house dates back to 1887, built in an ornate style that has been described as Steamboat Gothic. It originally had twelve rooms, six fireplaces, two enormous porches, gas lighting, a vegetable garden, orchard, and vineyard.
James I. Wyer II traded his home in Minneapolis for this home on Excelsior Bay in 1895. He had various occupations after serving in the Civil War, including a clerk in New York and a banker/merchant in Red Lake Falls, Minneapolis, and Excelsior.
Since 1925 the history of this house has been tied to the Excelsior Amusement Park. Fred Pearce, Sr. had built a roller coaster for the park, and in 1930 he acquired the entire park and this house from the Streetcar Company. The last streetcar ran to Excelsior in August of 1932, and the house was converted into a duplex for Mr. Pearce and his two park managers, Fred Clapp and Joe Colihan.
The Amusement Park was eventually closed and removed in 1973-1976, and after the house was named to the Register in 1977, new owners transformed the house into the Christopher Inn Bed & Breakfast in 1985.
Street address:
201 Mill Streeet
Excelsior, MN USA
55331
County / Borough / Parish: Hennepin
Year listed: 1977
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1875-1899
Historic function: Domestic
Current function: Domestic
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 1: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.