326 Ferndale Road W, Wayzata
Listing courtesy of Compass.
(952) 473-1000
Real Estate Company
Where the shoreline meets great design—and every home tells a story.
Welcome to Lake Minnetonka, where architecture isn’t just shelter—it’s a signature. Across the sweeping bays, wooded points, and winding roads, some of America’s most celebrated architects have left their mark. From turn-of-the-century estates to midcentury modern marvels and contemporary masterpieces, this lake has always been a haven for visionaries.
As someone who has walked through, represented, and admired hundreds of homes across Wayzata and the greater Lake Minnetonka area, I invite you to explore the legacy that defines our lake—not just in bricks and beams, but in bold ideas and enduring style.
Known for elegant revival styles, Whitney brought refinement to the early lake estates. His 1894 Greek Revival masterpiece “BonSyde” in Wayzata and the 1908 Mediterranean-inspired “Belford” set the tone for opulent summer living.
A favorite of the region’s country clubs and civic projects, Hewitt designed Woodhill Country Club and the historic Lafayette Club in Minnetonka Beach—classic structures that still frame the social fabric of the lake.
Bartlett’s 1906 Wayzata Depot, with its Tudor gables and half-timbering, ushered in travelers to the lake’s Golden Era. Today, it’s home to the Lake Minnetonka Historical Society—a fitting symbol of architectural preservation.
Perhaps the most storied name in American architecture, Wright’s 1912 Francis and Mary Little House in Deephaven was a Prairie School triumph—stretching 200 feet along Robinson’s Bay, nestled between two hills, and designed to live with the land.
Their 1913 Edward Decker House on Bushaway Road was a statement of horizontality, natural materials, and American idealism. Though partially lost to time, it remains one of the earliest modernist footprints around the lake.
A Viennese émigré and modernist pioneer, Close brought clean lines and bold thinking to the shoreline. Her designs for the Duff House (Woodland) and Wallace Dayton House (West Ferndale) embodied Scandinavian simplicity long before it became trendy.
Minnesota’s own modernist rockstar, Rapson's work included “Dunbarton” for the Pillsbury family—his largest residential project in the state. Its bold massing and expressive voids made it a modernist icon on Ferndale Road.
Richard Hammel was a pioneering modernist architect who co-founded HGA and shaped Minnesota’s built environment with a human-centered, enduring approach to design that blended function, clarity, and context. His wife, Bette Hammel, was a celebrated architectural journalist and author of Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka, whose final paid series of articles before her passing was written in collaboration with LakeMinnetonkaRealEstate.com—an enduring tribute to the lake she loved and chronicled so beautifully.
The Glass House designer left his mark on Shoreline Drive in Orono, where he built a courtyard-centric retreat for MIA director Richard Davis in 1954—evocative of Mies van der Rohe, with Minnesota soul.
His family home in Minnetonka, complete with barrel-vaulted ceilings, was featured in LIFE Magazine as a model for modern American living.
Better known for brutalist campuses, Colburn designed “Dragon’s Peak” in Orono—part fantasy, part fortress. Featured in House & Garden and meticulously restored, it's among the lake’s most eccentric treasures.
The future architect of Australia’s Parliament designed the Dayton Burnett House in 1970, a stunning asymmetrical white form built to house art, memory, and modern ideals.
Before Bilbao, before L.A., Gehry built the Winton Guest House on Lake Minnetonka. With a cluster of sculptural forms bursting from a central hub, it was pure Gehry—playful, provocative, unforgettable.
The legacy continues with modern talents who honor this tradition:
Julie Snow and her firm, Snow Kreilich, design lake homes that float between Northern Modernism and minimalist serenity.
Charles Stinson, a Rapson protégé, brings poetic geometry to every line he draws—from his own home on Shady Island to residences around Browns Bay and Ferndale.
David Salmela, rooted in Finnish design philosophy, brings humility and nature into harmony—his forms always rooted, always pure.
Architecture here is never accidental. It reflects the people, the lake, the legacy—and whether you're drawn to a lakeside lodge with handcrafted details or a glass-and-steel statement on a hidden bluff, you're participating in something greater than real estate.
If you're looking to buy, sell, or create a legendary home on Lake Minnetonka, understand that properties of this caliber are often sold quietly—through relationships, not listings. Many of the lake’s most iconic homes never reach the open market, changing hands discreetly within a trusted circle. With deep local roots, a refined network, and a long history of serving high net worth individuals, I specialize in navigating these private opportunities with the utmost discretion, insight, and care.
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