Summit Ave in St. Paul, MN,  is one of the most impressive stretches of residential homes in the state. It’s about a 4-square mile area of incredibly beautiful homes, churches, and other historic structures leading form the western edge of downtown St. Paul, up a nearby bluff, and over to the Mississippi River.  It’s impossible to drive down just once; the houses on Summit and the surrounding side streets (known as the Historic Hills District, the Woodland Hills District, and the West Summit Avenue Historic District) are just too amazing to pass by without appreciating each one individually. This week we take a photo tour of some of the highlights. Enjoy!

“These are great, but how could you miss so many other ones??”, you may be wondering.  Well, there is only so much time in the day, and as you can tell, most of these were shot in winter months (versus summer where trees usually obscure the view), when the sun sets early and it was also freezing out.

Seeing the elaborate and diverse architecture is a fun way to spend a little time in the Twin Cities, usually resulting in enviously ruminating on what it would be like to be part of the upper echelon of society who get to call these incredible mansions home. There’s even an awesome book written about them which shows the intricate details of the dazzling interiors as well. See Also:  Coolest Buildings in the Twin Cities, Most Beautiful Churches of the Twin Cities,  30 Photos that Prove Minnesota is Incredible and Unique.