Lewis House (1973)
Thanks to the Baby Boomers coming of age, the St. Cloud State campus grew rapidly and Lewis House would be one of the final pieces of property acquired. It was built in 1926 by Claude Lewis, an older brother of Nobel Prize winner Sinclair Lewis.
Lewis House, 1973
Claude Lewis and Family
Claude Lewis was born on September 17, 1878 in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1900 and moved to Chicago to attend the Rush Medical College. Claude graduated in 1903 and moved to St. Cloud in 1905. A medical doctor like his father Edwin, Claude opened a private practice. By 1921, he was the St. Raphael’s Hospital chief of staff in St. Cloud, a role he held until 1923. Claude was instrumental in planning a new hospital building to replace St. Raphael’s, now the current St. Cloud Hospital. Claude also helped establish a nurses training school at the hospital. He served as chief of staff at the St. Cloud Hospital twice more (1932-1933 and 1938-1939).
Claude married Mary (Whilmelmenia) Freeman in 1907 and had four children: Freeman (1908-1976), Phillip (1910-1911), Virginia (1912-1986), and Isabel (1916-2000). Claude died on April 20, 1957, in St. Cloud and buried in the city's North Star Cemetery.
Acquisition and Construction
In August 1913, Mary purchased lots 10-12 of block 27 of the Curtiss Addition, just across the street from today’s Barden Park. The home was built on lots 11 and 12. Lot 10 was sold to St. Cloud State faculty member Dudley Brainard in 1929. Brainard would build a home here.
Designed by local architect Louis Pinault (who designed Stewart Hall and Kiehle), construction began in fall 1925 and completed in the summer of 1926 by builder Hubert J. Hansen at a cost of $30,000. A St. Cloud Daily Journal Press article from December 30, 1926, profiled the newly opened Tudor Revival style home. Heated by hot water using an oil burner, the stone and stucco house contained eight rooms, including five second floor bedrooms. The basement included a large rec room with a fireplace. All floors were quarter-sawed white oak and the trim was stained oak and birch. The detached garage alone cost $2,000 and was heated. Leaded stain glass windows adorned the front entrance.
Claude’s famous brother Sinclair often visited and stayed here.
Claude Lewis, 1930
Sale to Ferne Atwood
In August 1964, Claude’s second wife Helen, whom he married in 1950 (first wife Mary died in May 1949), sold the home to L. Ferne Atwood. Atwood, who was married to the late Allen Atwood, had to move when St. Cloud State purchased their home at 414 2nd Avenue South for the new Atwood Memorial Center student union. Atwood redecorated the home and enclosed the screen porch on the building’s southside.
Acquisition by the State of Minnesota
In late 1972, the state acquired the former Lewis home and other homes on the block for campus physical expansion (especially for the future site of the Administrative Services building). Mrs. Atwood moved out in August 1973 and the university took possession shortly after – and Atwood was unhappy to move again. Purchased for $100,000, the building was to be demolished, but it was decided to retain it for campus purposes. All other homes on the block were razed. After spending a year in Carol Hall (today’s Ervin House), Alumni Services moved into the home’s first floor in September 1973. The redecorated upstairs bedrooms were then rented for a minimal cost by St. Cloud State guests and alumni.
Names
In early September 1973, Learning Resources Services dean Luther Brown suggested the home be named in honor of Claude Lewis. Instead, Auxiliary Services director Tom Braun suggested the name “Alumni House.” Braun felt that Mrs. Atwood would become even more unhappy if the house was named to honor its original owners. In September 8, 2011, press release, St. Cloud State University renamed Alumni House to Lewis House to honor the Claude Lewis family.
Lewis House, September 1973
Uses and Further Renovation
In time for fall 1988, the St. Cloud State Development / Foundation offices moved to Alumni House, joining Alumni Affairs, but ended the ability to rent rooms.
During the summer of 2012, the Lewis House underwent a $238,000 exterior renovation. Work included a new roof, stucco repairs, and drainage system improvements. In 2013, the empty detached garage was renovated as office space.
The building’s architecture is Tudor Revival, a style reminiscent of 16th century England and a popular style of home in 1920s St. Cloud. The exterior was an attempt to make the surface look as if the plaster had worn away, leaving a stone surface beneath. The home is divided into three sections of varying widths, making the façade less symmetrical and more picturesque. The home was built with high craftmanship and materials.
The blueprints for Lewis House, as completed in 1926, are available on the University Archives’ Search portal.
Claude B. Lewis family, 1930s
Architect's rendering, 1925?