![\"Griggs](\"https:\/\/smartalicewebdesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/BW6943.jpg\")
<\/a>The Lady in White Copyright 2013 Alice Gebura All Rights Reserved<\/p><\/div>\n
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The Griggs house is the second oldest house on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. Summit Avenue is a stretch of Victorian era homes that begins at the St. Paul Cathedral and ends four and a half miles away at the Mississippi River.<\/p>\n
The house was originally built for the Burbank family in 1862 and ended up in the Livingston\/Griggs family from 1888 to 1968. In the early 1900s Mary Livingston Griggs went architecture shopping in Europe. Entire rooms were brought over and installed in the house. When Mrs. Griggs died in 1967 she bequeathed the house to the Minnesota Historical Society who rented it to the Minnesota Arts Board until they sold it in 1998 to John Rupp. He converted it into three apartments while preserving the architecture.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago my neighbor told me the following story about the Griggs house. I couldn\u2019t find any archival corroboration on the internet, but I think it\u2019s a great story in any case. And, I swear I didn’t know about it until after<\/em> I made the ghost collage.<\/p>\n Mrs. Griggs standing in front of the library fireplace.<\/p><\/div>\n The story occurs during the time the house was rented by the Minnesota Arts Board. One night a couple of thieves broke into the house. This set off motion detectors which alerted the police. When the police arrived they apprehended the frightened thieves just as they were exiting the house as fast as they could. They told the police a \u201clady in white\u201d had appeared on the staircase, but when the police went in they didn\u2019t find anyone. Was it Mrs. Griggs defending her beloved home, or some other spirit from the past?<\/p>\n Here are some more photos of the house:<\/p>\n The front of the Italianate-style house. Photo: Alice Gebura<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n The cupola. You can see the Mississippi River in the distance while standing in the cupola. Photo: Alice Gebura<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Architectural detailing on the cupola. Photo: Alice Gebura<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Looking into the cupola. Photo: Alice Gebura<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Standing in the foyer, looking at the grand staircase designed by Clarence Johnson. The music room is in the background. Photo: Alice Gebura<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Standing in the foyer, looking into the dining room that was imported from Italy. Photo: Alice Gebura<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Standing in the foyer, looking into the library. Photo: Alice Gebura<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n The lion in the library fireplace mantel. Photo: Alice Gebura<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>