Ray House (J.D. & C.)

James D. & Caroline Ray House. (Image: Duluth Public Library)

403 East 2nd Street | Architect: McMillen & Stebbins | Built: 1887 | Lost: 1944

Another example of the Ashtabula Heights neighborhood’s many homes designed in the Queen Anne style, the Ray House stood three stories high and featured gables, ornamental wood panels, a six-sided corner tower, and patterned brick chimneys, with one of the chimneys protruding through the tower’s roof. Construction of the house cost the Rays $20,000 in 1887, which is over $470,000 in today’s dollars. James D. Ray died in 1894. Caroline Ray lived in the house until 1900; by 1930 it had been converted to a boarding house. Demolished in 1944, its site is now occupied by Essentia Health, the former St. Mary’s Duluth Clinic.

From Lost Duluth: Landmarks, Industries, Buildings, Homes and the Neighborhoods in Which They Stood by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton (Zenith City Press, 2012), featuring over 400 historic photos, illustrations, and lithographs. Click on the cover to preview the book.