HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
+ 1 further entry on record
1887 Queen Anne mansion remodeled in 1906 by architect Edwin H. Hewitt for lumber tycoon and Minneapolis Institute of Art co-founder Eugene Carpenter, now operating as a Loring Park bed and breakfast with on-site ghost tours.
300 Clifton Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Themed B&B rooms vary by season; candlelight ghost trolley tours ticketed separately.
Access
Limited Access
Historic mansion with multiple staircases; no elevator.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1887 · Built 1887 by coal merchant C.M. Douglas in Queen Anne style · Purchased 1905 by Eugene and Merrette Carpenter; remodeled 1906 by Edwin H. Hewitt with interiors by John S. Bradstreet · Eugene Carpenter chaired the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts 1911-1922, helping found the Minneapolis Institute of Art · Briefly home to Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn during the Guthrie Theater's 1963 inaugural season · Designated Minneapolis Heritage Landmark
The mansion at 300 Clifton Avenue was built in 1887 by C.M. Douglas, who owned a coal-delivery business, in the Queen Anne style — with prominent porches and a southeast turret. Harvey Brown, a successful businessman and banker, bought the house in 1890 and lived there until his death in 1904.
In 1905 the property was purchased by Eugene Jasper Carpenter and his wife Merrette Lamb Carpenter, both of whom came from lumber-milling families and jointly owned the Carpenter-Lamb Lumber Company of Minneapolis. In 1906 they hired Minneapolis architect Edwin H. Hewitt to substantially remodel and expand the house, and engaged the prominent Minneapolis designer John S. Bradstreet for the interiors. Bradstreet, Hewitt, and Carpenter collaborated to bring the Arts and Crafts movement into the home — visible today in the carved woodwork, leaded windows, and the integrated decorative scheme.
Eugene Carpenter became one of the most significant arts patrons in Minneapolis. He served as chairman of the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts from 1911 to 1922, the body that established the Minneapolis Institute of Art (now Mia). Carpenter's financial backing was foundational to Mia's early survival and growth, and he is widely credited as a co-founder of the institution. Eugene and Merrette were also active in civic affairs throughout the Loring Park district.
The Carpenter family owned the house from 1905 to 1948, when it was sold following Merrette's death in 1946. The Mack family then subdivided the house into smaller living units. The Oscar-winning actress Jessica Tandy and her husband Hume Cronyn lived in the house during the inaugural 1963 season of the Guthrie Theater. The property has since been restored to a single residence and operates as 300 Clifton Bed & Breakfast, with themed guest rooms and the basement-level Gertrude's Cistern lounge. The Eugene J. Carpenter House is a designated Minneapolis Heritage Landmark.
Sources
According to Meet Minneapolis, the 300 Clifton B&B itself, and the candlelight ghost-tour narration run by Minneapolis Trolley Tours, the mansion's most-recounted spirit is named Gertrude. The legend holds that she served as a lady's maid to Merrette Carpenter and died by drowning in the basement cistern during a household fire in 1911, while attempting to save valuables from the upper floors. We could not independently corroborate Gertrude as a documented historical employee in archival census records, and the legend appears to originate primarily with the B&B's operators and the ghost-tour partnership; we frame it accordingly.
Guests and innkeepers describe a friendly rather than threatening presence. Reported phenomena include the soft tread of footsteps ascending the servant staircase late at night, humming heard in what tour narrators identify as Gertrude's former maid's room, and an original rocking chair that is said to move on its own. According to a Minnesota Daily feature, B&B manager Norman Kulba described experiencing 'a dark presence in the dining room pantry area,' hearing a noise and then sounds of shuffling and clinking silverware and glasses from the next room, but finding it empty when he looked. Guests have also reported seeing a family in the carriage house and a chambermaid with long blonde hair. Past owners credit Gertrude with steering the mansion through several brushes with demolition during the 20th-century subdivision era.
The B&B leans into the legend openly: a basement bar called Gertrude's Cistern and a connected Video Lounge are the most popular spaces in the lower level, and the property runs candlelight ghost tours in partnership with Minneapolis Trolley Tours, including a 'Ghost Box Radio' tour in October. The verifiable underlying anchors — the 1887 construction, the 1905 Carpenter purchase, and Eugene Carpenter's role with Mia — are independently documented; the Gertrude lore is treated here as B&B legend rather than independently verified paranormal history.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Overnight stay in one of the mansion's themed rooms (Forge, Crystal Mansion, Georgian, and others), with breakfast and access to Gertrude's Cistern lounge in the basement.
Seasonal candlelight ghost tour operated in partnership with Minneapolis Trolley Tours, covering the Gertrude legend and other Loring Park ghost stories.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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