319 3rd Street Northwest
Faribault, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Frank A. Berry and Elizabeth House

Statement of Significance:

The Berry House is significant as part of the collection of Olof Hanson designed residences built between 1895-1901. The house displays high artistic merit as a fine example of transitional Ouccn Anne styling displaying an abundance of classical revival elements and Queen Anne decorative detailing rendered with flourish and professional confidence. The main (north) facade shows a profusion of balanced, weighted and counterweighted, elements. The projecting front porch gable, supported on limestone piers and classical columns, displays a gable end of hammered copper (now painted) with a motif that is repeated in the carved interior woodwork. The main facade also displays a "basket handle" window adjacent to the entry, a stepped back picture window with leaded transom, an oval window above the entry porch, a highly articulated three window composition in the roof gable and an eyebrow window on the north hip of the main roof. Wrapping the north and the northern part of the cast elevation were the entry porch, open terrace (now partially removed) and a one-story side porch. The Berry House retains its original footprint and massing and is substantially intact retaining the original exterior finishes, fenestration and roof profile.

The Berry house, in contrast to Hanson's simpler, more austere design for Jonathon Noyes, displays the exuberance and showiness associated with a successful, aggressive turn-of-the-century entrepreneurial owner.

The house was built for Frank A, Berry, a local banker and businessman who was involved in numerous business ventures in Faribault, Berry came to the Faribault area in 1866 and was soon established in the business community providing mortgages, selling insurance and investing in real estate. Mr. Berry's business interests included being an owner of the Smith and Berry lumber yard (1868), part owner of a real estate and insurance company (1876) part owner of the Walcott Creamery (l89l) the Incorporator of the Faribault Creamery, and being a limited partner in the F.W. Winter Company (1992), a foundry and manufacturer of windmills and the Humphrey Employees' Elevator. In 1903 Frank Berry was elected President of the Citizens National Bank of Faribault.

This structure and its architect are recognized for their importance to Faribault within the Quality of Life as developed in the 1986 Faribault's Historic Contexts Final Report, and further refined in 1988 in Phase II, Evaluation and Registration oi Faribault's preservation planning process. The Quality-of-Life context encompasses the community's aesthetic development as demonstrated through the built environment. The context describes the activities, institutions and structures which represented the community's aspirations for physical beauty and culture as expressed through craftsmanship, art and architecture.