Once There Were Castles

Millett (Lost Twin Cities), no stranger to the architectural landscape of the Midwest, serves up a delectable love letter to the lost manors and estates of the greater Minneapolis area. Profiled in this well-illustrated survey are 90 grand and not-so-grand properties that failed to survive the depredations of time, taxes, and changing property values. What's special here is the spotlight on the lives of those who built and lived in these mostly mid- to late Victorian piles. Of the many trenchant tidbits Millett finds, one concerns a widow saddled with perhaps the grandest and most short-lived of manses in Minneapolis: "I did nothing but shop for food to feed [the staff]. My whole life seemed to be running that big house." Millett also showcases the Frank Lloyd Wright prairie houses that didn't survive and even includes a mod-style anomaly from the 1960s. Fans will love the more than 250 vintage photos.