This is NOT a Carriage House
A lot of people who visit the James J. Hill house on Summit Avenue have questions about this smaller building at the end of the driveway. Contrary to popular belief, this is NOT a carriage house. It’s a gatehouse (there IS a difference) and it served two purposes.
The first was security. Hill was SUPER rich (I mean, his dining room ceiling was covered in gold leaf) and he was at the center of some high profile controversies. As much as we enjoy looking at his home and being thankful for his cultural contributions, the fact is he was deeply disliked. Union strikes, bankruptcies, buyouts and more made him plenty of enemies. He had good reason to want his family protected. He installed complicated security systems on his doors and windows. The gatehouse was a security checkpoint for deliveries and visitors.
Second, it was like a very fancy valet stand. Nobody wanted their stables and carriage horses (and their smells) right by their house. Also, the Hills’ back yard was too steep. So when the Hills did want their carriage they would make a request to the gatehouse and a runner would go get it from the stables.
Where were the stables? Here. On Maiden Lane.
Hill actually built the stables using the brick from their previous house in Lowertown that he had torn down when they moved to Summit. Their old neighborhood was slowly becoming industrialized and he would rather tear it down himself and preserve the happy memories than watch as the home fell into disrepair.
In the 1980s, the Hill stables (long ago converted into a garage for their automobiles) were transformed into beautiful condos. The center courtyard where the horses used to be exercised, now provides light to the living spaces inside.
