Celebrating the life of Arliece Grant via her Spanish Revival

“Just once in my lifetime
I feel like a giant
And I soar like an eagle
As though I had wings
For this is my moment
My destiny calls me
And though it may be just once in a lifetime
I’m gonna do great things, gonna do great things!!”

— Aretha Franklin 1965

 The Arliece Grant of 1932

The elegance inside 1932 was so much the curation of Arliece’s entire life, never before was there this amount of pride-filled thought required for a torch pass to justify the legacy of the prior owner. Early Aretha Franklin pre 1967 sets the tone for what 1932 was truly about when we acquired her from Arliece’s family in 2018.

This was the first true collision with destiny following decades of preserving classic examples at Rare Form: performing correct restorations for the integrity of the architecture free of outside influence.

The listing broker knew our reputation for unyielding love of the encapsulated example of original architecture as we had secured many of her elder clients Bristol examples for younger purveyors on several occasions in years prior.  

She was contacted by the Grant family to spearhead the estate sale and the passing of their mother Arliece’s beloved spanish bungalow built in 1932 along Park Ave in South Minneapolis.

Our fate arrived well before we had a plan in the calendar or the funding accounts for it, when the reputation for tireless revivals precedes you, executing the revival that Arliece warranted was clear as day the moment we toured her interior.  

“Unassuming” is all that comes to mind when you enter her Spanish Mission chapel vaulted living room.  The scale inside this humble bungalow and detail of archways, plaster cove, millwork, birch doors and masonry formed firebox contained a certain mystique & prominence not often seen outside of Minneapolis’ blueprinted  lakeshore estates from the 30’s. 

Arliece’ interior was an immensely deep archive of rarities from American culture.  Observing the formality and the romance of the commons was striking:  an audiophile jazz collection, gilded // ornate glassware & china poised for socializing, the front hall closet was packed with furs & film photography equipment.  

Only 3-4 homes of thousands of tours have made me want to sit down for tea with the prior steward like Mrs Grant. Her depth of antiquities with a resounding aura of scarcity, & historical layering: each room captivated the viewer while making it acutely apparent that this was the result of a loving home filled with decades of memories & joy.

Arliece Grant fled the south during the civil rights movement of our country's checkered past.  Seeking the solitude & peace of Minneapolis, Grant was obsessed with Blue Note jazz, roaring 20’s barware, photography, artifacts dating back to the origins of the deco-nouveau art scene.  

I recall being taken back by her entry hall closet of actual furs, vintage film cameras & tailor made hats: basically every inch of Arliece’s Spanish Bungalow garnered a split emotion of desire to hear her stories, while instantly realizing the lack of depth of engagement our country has regressed to: the Grant’s bungalow was concise but grandiose mirroring their approach to social engagement:  playing cards, Ellington, & perhaps a Vieux Carre !

Escaping the overt racism & segregation of the south for Minneapolis, the Grants lived at 4320 Park for nearly 55 years, the narratives of their time in South Mpls were recited by her daughters who graciously shared many stories with us, from losing her tile roof to corrupt roofing contractors, to their rituals of weekend cocktails & jazz amidst a consistent social hosting calendar: the more I heard, the deeper the longing to meet the Grants in their stoic Spanish mission.

We offered to purchase the home over the Grants asking price as a gesture of our gratitude for the trust in becoming 1932’s next stewards, sans inspections and completely asis, two unwritten understandings followed in exchange:  (1) we would complete a revival to her interior that celebrated the originality and surviving details of the ‘32 bungalow.  (2) the family would allow us first pass and right of refusal to all the personal property before the estate sale.  

The Improvement Co. executed our end of the bargain, completing the longest renovation in Rare Form’s history, which took place over 13 months from start to finish.  Our passionate trades executed the millwork restoration of her birch doors, shaker kitchen cabinets & chapel beams.   Plaster texture was recreated in several areas where the roof had leaked and damaged the masonry.  Kitchen was designed by Deidre at Studio-Day (who pressed the open bold maneuver of the open-galley)  and executed by two cabinet shops & our internal restoration crews, mainly el-Capitan Perez!

The revival was completed with one of the best lighting specs we have ever installed from a standpoint of merging classic and modern, for this now reimagined ‘modern-classic’ example.  We finished with a new roof, stucco repairs, and landscaping cleanup and install by Walkabout Outdoor.   

Like many of our restorations that depict the depth of Mpls’ architecture, we consciously chose to keep Arliece as a future Purveyor leasehold to inspire classic homeownership in South Mpls. Our first tenants loved the space so much they ended up purchasing the exact same home behind Arliece, following years of seeking another home during the Covid years, the interior of Arliece became home for them and they decided to capture her Bungalow twin.

We are now turning this unicorn over to the next generation of future-classic home purists in waiting.   Special thanks to all our trades at the Improvement Co. this revival was truly not possible without your passion and enthusiasm for celebrating the after in the before.  

(2) above: we will never trust an estate sale operator after this one, as the man in charge held Grant’s objects for himself and also refused to allow the home owners first pass as the sale, that condition will be in writing next time (wink emoji )