Glensheen Flood Cleanup Nears Completion

Built in 1908 by lawyer and mining industry magnate Chester Congdon, the 7-acre Glensheen estate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The estate is owned and operated by the University of Minnesota Duluth and is open for public tours and private events.

The Glensheen mansion in Duluth has withstood its share of upheaval over more than a century: rugged winters, Lake Superior gales, a sensational murder, reputed ghosts, motion picture production crews and approximately 60,000 guests each year as Minnesota’s most visited historic home. But nothing threatened the estate like the record rains and flooding of June 2012.

While the flood spared the mansion itself, it inflicted severe damage on the grounds and historic landscape. It toppled masonry, destroyed embankments along two creeks, and sent debris and building materials hundreds of feet away, including some into Lake Superior. Without intervention, continued erosion from the damaged embankments could have threatened the house foundations.

Kraus-Anderson served as construction manager for the Glensheen flood damage restoration project, the largest restoration project undertaken at the site at that time.

Restoring a Historic Estate After Flood Damage

The project presented an unusual combination of challenges. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provided a significant portion of the restoration funding in conjunction with Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Because of the historic nature of the estate and its two waterways connected to Lake Superior, several agencies had jurisdiction over the site. They included the State Historic Preservation Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Transportation and the City of Duluth.

“It’s a very intense accounting and distribution matrix that goes to several sources for approval,” said Jim Litsheim, senior architect for the University of Minnesota, which owns and operates Glensheen as a historic site and event venue.

Restoration was completed in two phases over two consecutive summers. Phase I took place from September through December 2013.

Protecting Tischer Creek and the Historic Landscape

Much of the restoration work focused on Tischer Creek, which runs through the property.

“The tricky part is doing work in a nationally designated trout stream on a historically designed landscape without causing further damage with construction,” Litsheim said.

To avoid disrupting creek habitat during spawning season, crews could work in Tischer Creek only between July 1 and September 15, said Kraus-Anderson Project Superintendent Wade Engebretson.

“Every effort is being made to leave specific trees, branches, etc. to allow for future cover and forage for the fish and wildlife,” Engebretson said.

Given the site’s environmental and historic sensitivities, much of the salvage and cleanup work was completed by hand. Instead of bringing in heavy logging equipment to remove fallen trees and large amounts of brush and branches, the team cut the material into smaller pieces and burned it on-site in coordination with fire and emergency services.

To prevent false fire alarms, the construction team alerted the 911 call center daily about its activity.

Rebuilding the London Road Retaining Wall

Phase I included salvage and restoration work on the 180-foot London Road brick retaining wall, which was almost completely toppled by the flood.

In addition to the bricks, approximately a dozen granite capstones, each weighing 350 to 400 pounds, had to be moved 20 to 100 feet using an excavator, winches, come-alongs and an extendable-reach, all-terrain forklift. Each capstone was retrieved, cleaned and carefully returned to its original location using historic photographs of the wall as a reference.

The rebuilt wall included a modern reinforced concrete masonry unit interior with an exterior façade of historic brick. It also included high-water flow-through openings intended to reduce stress on the structure during future flood events.

Glensheen had endured three or four “500-year floods” during its existence.

Phase I also included cleanup and repairs to Bent Brook, a concrete-and-stone historic landscape feature that was crumbling and filled with silt. The work included restoration of the brick courtyard and two deteriorated ornamental iron gates. The gates were restored and reanchored with a modern mechanism structurally compatible with the historic hardware.

Kraus-Anderson also cleaned and repaired the filtration pond that collects runoff from the parking lot and began salvage and repair of the brick serpentine wall adjacent to the main driveway.

“Harbor City Masonry’s ongoing attention to detail, and their desire to really do things the correct and historical way, has been very gratifying,” Engebretson said.

Preserving Historic Features While Improving Durability

At the time of this writing, Phase II was under way. Work focused on restoring the historic peninsula overlook in Tischer Creek and the stone walls along its banks.

The serpentine wall was rebuilt for added durability while remaining consistent with permitted historic preservation treatments. To protect against groundwater, the existing wall foundation was reinforced with helical anchors, a cementitious parge coating, heated drain tile and a waterproofing product.

Historic restoration projects require careful attention to original materials, site conditions and long-term performance. Explore more about historic projects and iconic comebacks and special projects.

Keeping Glensheen Open During Construction

Glensheen remained in full operation throughout construction. The Kraus-Anderson team took a proactive role in keeping visitors safe and informed through fencing, barricades and informational signage describing the work taking place.

“Ulland Brothers and Kraus-Anderson have worked extensively with Minnesota Department of Transportation and police and public works in rerouting the road traffic to have enough room to do the construction,” Litsheim said. “They have provided great circulation diversion barriers and also informational signage saying we’re still open.”

Regular progress meetings helped keep everyone informed about updates, progress and next steps.

“We all have traded personal cell phone numbers, everyone knows they can call at any time,” Litsheim said.

The construction team also kept up with Glensheen’s active social calendar.

“We’re mindful of putting away and closing up early on those Fridays so the weddings can move in and set up,” Engebretson said.

“The whole team is a blessing to have,” Litsheim said. “Wade just has a way with people and they do a spectacular job for him. Working on a historic property is unique in itself and then to do it with such great sensitivity, they’ve done a stellar job.”

Completion was scheduled for September 2014.

In this article, Kraus-Anderson explored the Glensheen flood damage restoration project, including historic landscape repair, creek habitat protections, flood-damaged masonry restoration, public safety measures and work performed while the Duluth landmark remained open. Learn more about the Glensheen Mansion Estate water damage repair project, Glensheen flood cleanup and Kraus-Anderson’s Duluth office.