The Burbank-Livingston-Griggs house, the second-oldest on Summit Avenue, was designed for a wealthy transportation entrepreneur by Chicago architect Otis L. Wheelock in 1862. Later, four significant local architects left their mark on the landmark structure.

From the time of statehood into the early 1900s, Minnesota's climate discouraged the growing of corn. Many immigrants from Northern Europe disbelieved the skeptics and set out to prove them wrong by developing special varieties of seed capable of growing corn in cold conditions. They were successful, and by the late 1930s, Minnesota had become one of the leading corn-producing states.

Adolf Dehn was a lithographer and watercolorist best known for his work in the American regionalist, modernist, and social-realist movements. An important American printmaker, Dehn demonstrated great skill in his works and, often, an irreverent sense of social commentary.

Designed to hug the bluff, the University Club of St. Paul has offered one of the best views in the city since 1913. With one story descending below 420 Summit Avenue, the L-shaped clubhouse overlooks the downtown and the Mississippi River gorge from the highest hill in the area.

Minnesota farmers were active in building the National Farmers Organization (NFO), a populist farm group dedicated to strengthening family farmers’ economic well-being. Unlike other farm groups on both the right (the Farm Bureau) and the left (the Farmers’ Union), the NFO during the 1960s focused on direct economic action.

Elsa Laubach Jemne was a Minnesota artist active from the 1910s to the 1960s. Though skilled as an easel painter, she is better known for the murals she created for public buildings, including post offices and courthouses.