By Phillip Ross
Beutiful view of the garden side façade of Glensheen
Glensheen is one of the most recognizable homes in Minnesota with its beautiful red brick exterior and stunning views of Lake Superior. Situated in Duluth Minnesota, Glensheen has seen over 100 years of history with consturction beginning in 1905 and ending in 1908. Glensheens patrons were Chester and Clara Congdon who were a wealthy couple that helped the Duluth community to grow immensly economically as well as in population. Chester Congdon got his fortune by becoming a successful laywer who most notably worked for the Oliver Mining Company and made a lot of money working for them. Clara Congdon was equally as influential in the design of Glensheen as she wrote her thesis on architecture. To assist them with building Glensheen was Clarence H. Johnston who was the state architect at the time and had an amazing understanding of how to build a structurally sound yet beautiful home that is capable of surviving the type of winters that Minnesota gets.
Blueprints of the Glensheen mansion during it's construction.
Glensheen was built in the Jacobean revival style and has 39 rooms and 27,000 square feet of living space. The mansion has a baroque feel as well as there are a couple of sections of the house that stick out a little bit to break up the house and allow our eyes to be able to comprehend the exterior better. With that many rooms and that big a house, some might wonder: how they were able to heat up the house to be inhabitable with the harsh Minnesota winters? There are two answers: fireplaces and a central heating system. It may sound strange to have both, but the Congdons liked their fireplaces so much so that they have 15 different fireplaces all throughout the house each with into own unique design and significance. Now I won't be going through all 15 of the fireplaces but I will be going through five of my favorite fireplaces that are at Glensheen.
The married couple's guest room is located on the third room and has a nice neutral white color to it with some green square accents that break up our eyes from just seeing the white tiles. On the green tiles there are images of pomegranates which were Clara's symbol which to me always looked like corn, but that might just by the Midwesterner in me. The same image can be found on the master bedroom's fireplace but instead of being green are golden yellow. This fireplace fits so well with the rest of the room which has a white and light blue theme to it and instantly catches your attention when you walk into the room.
Fireplace in the married couples guest room on the third floor of Glensheen.
Edward was the second oldest son of Chester and Clara Congdon and his room was also located on the third floor which is the boy's floor. This fireplace has a dark green tile with nice wood around to ascent it. In the middle they have a bronze-colored shield to protect from stray embers from the fire. An interesting detail that is not in the picture is the side cabinet on the left side of the fireplace that housed Edwards gun and gunpowder which lucky never came into contact with any flames. I really like this fireplace the green contrasts really well with the rest of the wood in the room. It also gives the room a more outdoors vibe similar to Henry the VIII's hunting lodge.
Fireplace in Edward Congdons room on the third floor of Glensheen.
The infirmary was were the sick residents and servants could recover without getting everybody else sick since disease spread like wildfire in those days. The infirmary is located on the third floor and to me has the most unique fireplace design in Glensheen. This fireplace is rectangular rather than square like the others have been and has yellow brick with a strange, shaped firebox. Above the firebox are a set of Grueby tiles which were popular during the Arts and Crafts movement and were tiles that were matte green glazed and came together to form a image. The image that these Grueby tiles make is a group of pine trees and was made by the chief designer for the Grueby Faience Company. I find this fireplace so interesting and unique to the rest of the fireplaces that i had to put this on in.
Fireplace in the infirmary located on the third floor of Glensheen.
Helen is the middle child daughter of Chester and Clara. Her room is located on the second floor which is the girl's floor and to me she has the best fireplace. The fireplace itself is pretty small but has pink mosaic flowers on all sides of the fireplace with green lines encompassing the flowers. the background is a nice grey color that allows the pink and green to really pop. This fireplace fits well with the rest of the room as the bright colors help make the room feel brighter. The colors are a nod to Vassar college which is where Helen attended school while Glensheen was being built.
Fireplace in Helen Congdon's room located on the second floor of Glensheen.
The dining room is located on the first floor and includes a large rug, beautiful chandelier, and a great fireplace. The fireplace is made from marble and has a nice splash of light brown. When I see this fireplace it always looked like someone had thrown caramel all over it. Not only is this one of my favorite fireplaces the dining room itself is one of my favorite rooms of the house. The golden colored wallpaper fits so well with the marble fireplace and it definitely would be nice to sit down and have a meal in this room.
Fireplace in the dining room located on the first floor of Glensheen.
From the very beginning of the mansion's contruction, Glensheen had a central heating system. It consisted of a bunch of pipes that would be in between two walls in the house to heat up the rooms. It all starts in the basement where the boiler is located which is where the heat comes from. On average it took about 70 tons of coal per year to heat up the entire mansion. In case you're wondering if it works well, I can attest it does as when I was there last it was winter, and the rooms where nice and warm.
Blueprints of the central heating system of Glensheen.
Conclusion
In conclusion Glensheen is one of the most recognizable homes in Minnesota with a gorgeous Jacobean exterior created by Clarence H. Johnston. The mansion itself is 27,000 square feet and has 39 rooms which are full of magnificence and splendor. With a house that big it's important to be able to keep the mansion warm during the harsh Minnesota winters, and they did that with two things. Those two things were fireplaces and a central heating system. In total there are 15 fireplaces in Glensheen I just touched upon five of my favorite fireplaces in Glensheen talking about where they are and why they are my favorite. I also talked about the central heating system that is in the house and how it distributed the heat to the house.
Works Cited
Glensheen. 2025. "About." Our unique story. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://glensheen.org/about/.
Glensheen. 2019. "Explore the third floor." Accessed Decemeber 8 Dec. 2025. https://glensheen.org/go-beyond-the-ropes-but-please-dont-step-on-the-rugs/.
Glensheen. 2020. "From Greenhouse to Table." Accessed December 9, 2025. https://glensheen.org/blog/from-greenhouse-to-table/.
"Inventory of pictures of blueprints for the construction of Glensheen between 1905 and 1908," n.d., U6192, Box 16, Folder 43, University of Minnesota Duluth Library Archive.
"Inventory of pictures of blueprints for the construction of Glensheen between 1905 and 1908," n.d., U6192, Box 16, Folder 43, University of Minnesota Duluth Library Archive.
National Museum of American History. n.d., "Grueby Tile." Accessed December 9 Dec. 2025. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_591680.
"Still photo of the garden side façade of Glensheen." Glensheen, accessed 9 Dec. 2025. https://glensheen.org/blog/women-of-glensheen/.
Webb, Jennifer D. "Golden Age collecting in America's Middle West." Journal of the History of Collections, 14 August. 2009.