Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home

Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home

The Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home from the south
Location 812 Sinclair Lewis Avenue, Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Coordinates 45°44′13.7″N 94°57′25.1″W / 45.737139°N 94.956972°W / 45.737139; -94.956972Coordinates: 45°44′13.7″N 94°57′25.1″W / 45.737139°N 94.956972°W / 45.737139; -94.956972
Area less than one acre
Built 1885[1]
Architectural style Wood Frame; cedar roof
NRHP Reference #

68000027[2]

[3][4]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP May 23, 1968[2]
Designated NHL May 23, 1968

The Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home is a historic house museum and National Historic Landmark located at 812 Sinclair Lewis Avenue, formerly South 3rd Street, in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, United States. The house was the childhood home of Nobel prize-winning author Sinclair Lewis, who was born February 7, 1885, in a house directly across the street. His most famous book, Main Street was inspired by his home town of Sauk Centre as he perceived it from this home.[4] The house is open for tours between Memorial Day and Labor Day, or by appointment.

Description and history

The Lewis House is located on the north side of Sinclair Lewis Avenue (County Road 17), between Walnut and Maple Streets. It is an L-shaped wood frame structure, 1-1/2 stories in height, with clapboard siding. An open porch extends across the front, supported by slender square paneled posts, with decorative brackets and entablature. During part of the 20th century the house had been converted to a duplex, partitioning the interior, and the exterior had been finished in stucco and had other alterations. The house was acquired in 1956 by the Sinclair Lewis Foundation and carefully restored to its appearance during the time of Lewis's residence, with reproductions of period wallpaper and restoration of its original interior configuration. A period carriage barn stands behind the house.[4]

Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951) was born across the street, and the family moved here when he was a few months old. His father, Edwin J. Lewis, was a physician and conducted his medical practice out of this house, as was common in that time. Lewis began to write here as a young man, and his experiences growing up in Sauk Centre were the inspiration for Main Street, the 1920 novel that brought him fame. He was the first American awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, given in 1930.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historic American Buildings Survey". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  2. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places". unofficial site. 2007-11-05.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Stephen Lissandrello (August 5, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying 3 images from 1975. (876 KB)
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