ST. CLOUD — In the early hours of June 17, 2002, a fire started in the basement of a century-old home near St. Cloud State University. The fire quickly spread to the rafters, destroying most of the house and its contents.
It would take more than two decades for the house to be fully restored.
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Now owned by Allen and Carmen Arvig of Arvig Communications, the Foley Mansion has been transformed into an elegant small event center that honors the house’s history.
The family invested more than $7 million restoring the three-story brick home, including about $1 million in recreating the original woodwork alone.
St. Cloud LIVE took a tour of the home at 385 Third Ave. S in St. Cloud in mid-January.
The concept
Originally built in 1889 for one of Foley’s founders and lumber magnate Timothy Foley, the mansion has been home to other prominent St. Cloud residents over the years. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was largely destroyed by the 2002 fire. The new owners bought the house, intending to restore it.
“My husband actually bought the house unbeknownst to me and came home and said I have a project for you,” Carmen said.
The restoration has been a collaboration with interior designer Carter Averbeck from Minneapolis, whose specialty is historic renovations.
“I'm a geek with historical interior design and the social norms of the day and why people chose what they chose,” Averbeck said.
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Originally, the plan was just to restore the house and keep it as a private residence or sell it, but that changed.
“I just think the house should be enjoyed. … I would enjoy having a party here, and I would think other people would as well … be in the setting and in the elegance of the Victorian era,” Carmen said. “I just think it would be selfish not to do it, really.”
When he saw the house, Averbeck knew what to do.
“I had a pretty clear vision right from the get-go, actually,” Averbeck said. “It was a combination of literally respecting the architecture that was going to be brought back, but also bringing in some touches to make the place relatable to 21st century people. I didn’t want the house to be a mausoleum.”
The space can hold up to 100 people for smaller events, such as foundation or board dinners, Carmen said. Events would be on the main floor, basement and outdoors.
The Victorian look adds something special, Carmen said.
“When people come into a place like this … the way they act, it's elevated,” Carmen said. “Just by the look on your face … when they come through the door, it's like they're entering something very special, very unique.”
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The house has some modern updates, like an elevator and sprinklers. The kitchen has a modern layout and appliances, useful for events. But Averbeck worked in Victorian touches, like the blue color of the cabinets and the tile floor. Carmen has collected many sets of antique china silverware for event planners to use, keeping with the Victorian theme and feel.
In the future, Carmen is considering renting out the renovated bedroom suites on the second and third floors, using sites such as Airbnb. With that aim, the bathrooms are outfitted for modern use but with a historic flair.
The restoration
To plan the restoration, the team did a lot of research, gathering historical documents and about 150 images, including any family photos they could get — anything to show them what the house looked like before the fire.
“For some reason, people would take a photo of the floor, which was insanely helpful so that we could understand what used to be here and recreate it,” Averbeck said.
Because of the house’s historical status, the team was limited to changes to the exterior. For instance, they wanted to replace a porch that was original to the house but later torn down.
From the black and white photos, they can’t tell what color the original porch was, so Averbeck had to go from what colors were popular at the time — and would have been available locally.
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“Sherwin Williams existed back then, but they didn't have distribution centers across the country,” Averbeck said. “So whatever you've dug up out of the earth … that's what you used as your paint color.”
The interior
The main floor is the most historically accurate. The 2002 fire was so devastating that the only woodwork to survive was in the dining room. It had to be stripped and restored.
“We didn't use any modern finishes like polyurethane or whatever. So that's why it has the look that it has throughout the house,” Averbeck said. “We paid attention to those kinds of details.”
In the foyer, library and living room, the walls and ceilings were painted with lime wash, the original style and technique from the time it was built — meaning no latex paint or paint rollers. The result is a gradient, very textured look.
“The paint will patina beautifully over time. So you don't really have to do anything to it,” Averbeck said. “It doesn't fade, and it doesn't get dusty. It just turns into something more precious.”
In the dining room and the basement, Averbeck chose bold wallpaper based on the designs of William Morris, who was in his heyday at the turn of the 20th century.
When the house was built, each room would use different kinds of wood to display the owner’s wealth. Averbeck stuck to this pattern, using white oak in the foyer and sycamore in the living room.
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They had to completely redo the staircase, which was intricately made, originally by only one Italian man, Averbeck. Today, it took an entire team of skilled craftsmen.
“This is one of the more extravagant staircase staircases in the Midwest because we don't just have spindles. We have dropped spindles. So we have spindles within spindles,” Averbeck explained.
The staircase was made in a couple hundred different pieces that had to be fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, Averbeck said.
The original newel post, which anchored the stairway, was badly damaged by the fire. But between what remained and old photos, the team recreated the original gargoyle image on it, Averbeck said.
The magic is in the details
There are lots of little details, so much so that it’s hard to take it all in.
“I think I see something different every time I go on my own tour. Isn't that crazy?” Carmen said.
A statue of St. Francis of Assisi above the fireplace in the foyer declares Foley’s faith as an Irish Catholic to visitors immediately. The basement wine cellar has elaborate door hinges, “another detail that lets let everybody know you were rich,” Averbeck said.
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The floor woodwork in the foyer is incredibly detailed, and every room has unique, antique light fixtures. A few of the bathrooms have decorative sinks that survived the fire.
Another feature is the stained glass, some of which is original to the house. The team discovered it was made by John La Farge, who Averbeck called the godfather of modern stained glass. Four different windows are together are worth nearly half a million dollars, including the large window in the dining room featuring a food scene.
A modern stained glass team created a few other pieces. Over the front door, a window features a candlestick telephone, a nod to owner Allen Arvig and his communications company. Another near the stairs features a rose, a nod to Carmen, who loves flowers.
For many people, the basement is their favorite, Averbeck said. It has the original, bare yellow-brick walls paired with more modern, comfortable furniture. It includes an elaborate, temperature-controlled wine cellar with spaces for hundreds and hundreds of bottles of wine.
Also in the basement, the team plans to create a mini-museum, nodding to the house’s history, using items that survived the fire but could not be restored, like the original stairway newel post.
The furnishings
Architecturally, the team tried to stay true to the original look of the house.
“When it comes to the furnishings, I started mixing and matching different eras so that it wouldn't look sort of staid,” Averbeck said. “You want it to look like it's evolved.”
Often, restorations stick to one era, but Averbeck didn’t want the house to feel like a museum.
“You want people to sit down and spill coffee or something, you know what I mean? You don't want it to be so formal that people don't feel comfortable,” Averbeck said.
For instance, in the living room, Averbeck combined a 1920s rug and a 1950s Hollywood Regency Table. The library has 1940s furniture with a 1980s coffee table.
“That eclecticism keeps things a little casual,” Averbeck said. “This is sort of my playground … making sure that nothing stands out, but that it all works in conjunction with each other — sort of like a finely tuned car.”
The future
There’s still work to do — a light fixture here or a piece of furniture there. There’s landscaping to do, and Carmen is working with the city of St. Cloud to fill in a ravine north of the house, which would extend the yard. The team plans to install a Victorian orangery in the yard.
Why take all the care and planning in redoing the house?
“To bring the house back to life,” Carmen said. “I think from a historical perspective if we didn't do it, I don't know who would have done it. … I'd like it to be here for future generations.”
For more information
For more information about the Foley Mansion Event Center, visit foleymansion.com , call 218-849-4650 or email carmen.arvig@arvig.com.
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