CategoriesHistory JournalThe carved fireplace inside the Pillsbury Mansion today, dressed with a Christmas wreath — the sort of setting a family gathered around during the 1938 holidays.

Did the Pillsbury Mansion Get William Randolph Hearst’s $50,000 Fireplace by Mistake?

The strange tale of how a Minneapolis flour heir and newspaper titan William Randolph Hearst…

CategoriesHistory JournalThe Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion on East 22nd Street in Minneapolis photographed around 1990, its Gothic entry porch framed by old trees, during the decades it served as an institution rather than a home

Why Did a Training Center for the Blind Call the Pillsbury Mansion Home?

For three decades the Pillsbury Mansion was home to BLIND, Inc.—a training center where a…

CategoriesHistory JournalCarved stone gable and rooftop figure of the Pillsbury Club mansion, shown in black and white against a dark winter sky.

What Happened When an Advertising Agency Moved Into the Pillsbury Mansion?

After the Pillsburys, the Minneapolis agency Carmichael Lynch restored the mansion and built Harley-Davidson's legend…

CategoriesHistory JournalA painted glass roundel showing a long-haired man in armour with a gold sash, lettered CAROLUS GUSTAVUS A 1622 and 1660 around the rim, set in a leaded Pillsbury Mansion window.

Where Did the Pillsbury Mansion’s Centuries-Old Stained Glass Come From?

Scores of medieval stained-glass panels glow in the Pillsbury Mansion's windows. Here's how ancient cathedral…

CategoriesHistory JournalThe carved English oak Walrond marriage fireplace of 1592, brought from Bovey House in Devon and installed in the lounge of the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion in Minneapolis

Whose Marriage Is Carved Into the Pillsbury Club’s Lounge Fireplace?

The carved oak overmantel in the Pillsbury Club lounge began at Bovey House in Devon…

CategoriesHistory JournalA vintage Pillsbury flour sack, the packaging that carried the Minneapolis family name into kitchens across America.

How a Minneapolis Flour Empire Built the Pillsbury Mansion

The flour that made Minneapolis the Mill City built the Pillsbury Mansion on 22nd Street.…

CategoriesHistory Journal

Who Designed the Pillsbury Mansion? Meet Architect Edwin Hewitt

The Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion was designed by Beaux-Arts architect Edwin Hewitt of Hewitt &…

CategoriesHistory JournalMary Stinson Pillsbury in her wedding gown at the carved stone entrance of the Pillsbury Mansion, Minneapolis, on her wedding day in 1929 — an archival family photograph.

Who Was Mary Pillsbury Lord, the Mansion Daughter Who Took Eleanor Roosevelt’s UN Seat?

She was married at this mansion's front door, then succeeded Eleanor Roosevelt at the United…

CategoriesHistory JournalPeriod photograph of the oak-panelled dining room in the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion, with a long carved table, high-backed chairs and an ornamental plaster ceiling.

Who Were the Duveen Brothers, the Art Dealers Behind the Pillsbury Mansion?

Meet the Duveen brothers — the most powerful art dealers of the Gilded Age —…

CategoriesHistory Journal

What Happened When a Lutheran Seminary Moved Into the Pillsbury Mansion?

For nearly three decades the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion was a Lutheran seminary called Passavant…

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