A maroon and gold flag flies outside an immense white house on the east bank of the Mississippi River âÄî just a couple miles from the University of Minnesota. ThatâÄôs Eastcliff.
In addition to his current $610,000 salary, Eric KalerâÄôs contract requires him, as president, to live there.
âÄúIt was donated to the University specifically to be the resident of the president,âÄù said Lyndell King, who chairs the Eastcliff Technical Advisory Committee.
But Eastcliff is more than that, she said.
The basement, the main floor and the grounds are public and function mostly as a place to display the UniversityâÄôs art collections and entertain students, faculty and special guests âÄî like when the Dalai Lama visited in the spring. On average, Eastcliff hosts 5,000 guests annually, King said.
But Eastcliff doesnâÄôt give out open invitations; a studentâÄôs best bet to gain entry is high achievement, awards or other presidential recognitions. Some years, graduation receptions are also held at the mansion.
A curving staircase in the bright foyer leads to the second-floor apartment with bedrooms and a galley kitchen: the home of the presidentâÄôs family.
History
Eastcliff was built in 1922 by Edward Brooks, a prominent Minnesota lumberman. For its design, Brooks commissioned C.H. Johnston, Sr., who also designed nearly all of the buildings built on the University campus from 1904 to 1936.
The 10,000-square-foot mansion was the home of Brooks, his wife, Markell, and their four children, according to a report by the Marbrook Foundation, which the family started as a charitable organization in 1948.
The family donated Eastcliff to the University in 1958 âÄî four years after Edward BrooksâÄô death. Ever since, it has been home to the families of presidents James Morrill, O. Meredith Wilson, Malcom Moos, C. Peter Magrath, Kenneth Keller, Nils Hasselmo, Mark Yudof, Bob Bruininks and now Eric Kaler.
Because it is University property, Facilities Management carries out most of EastcliffâÄôs maintenance âÄî its lawn work and basic upkeep. Money for renovations usually comes from a combination of private funds, but University funds sometimes kick in on big projects.
Amid talks of tuition hikes, wage freezes and layoffs over the summer, a $550,000 renovation to the summerhouse and family kitchen used $215,000 in University funds. The timing was unfortunate, King said, but the renovation had been on the books for seven years and the advisory committee tries to stage renovations during presidential transitions.
In 2000, Eastcliff was added to the National Register of Historic Places. As a condition of that status, historic review processes now dictate its renovations, though the advisory committee asks for input from presidentsâÄô families when itâÄôs appropriate.
âÄúWe try to bring it back to what it could have looked like when it was built in the 1920s,âÄù King said. In the past, thatâÄôs meant tearing out orange shag carpeting and staining the dining room floors dark.
The dog graveyard
Eastcliff is a dog-friendly mansion. The KalersâÄô Spanish water dogs, Mo and Lida, arenâÄôt the first to run amuck on the grounds.
âÄúThe Brooks family dogsâÄô graves are out here,âÄù King said, gesturing toward three unassuming wooden headstones on the edge of a garden bed. âÄúIt was a condition of the donation that they not be disturbed.âÄù
A fuzzy green dog toy sat abandoned in the backyard.
The historic summerhouse
Pool parties are not unheard-of at the home of University presidents.
Behind Eastcliff is a matching summerhouse âÄî replete with changing rooms, showers and a small entertaining area âÄî and a pool.
âÄúSome presidents actually used the pool for exercise and have swum here a lot,âÄù King said, noting that the Kellers and the Hasselmos were avid swimmers.
The art of Eastcliff
Eastcliff also hosts paintings, sculptures and photographs from the Weisman Art MuseumâÄôs collection.
The art changes with the presidents, King said. Where the Bruininks were fans of 1920s-era pieces, the Kalers favor eclectic artwork, she said. Many of the works they selected have engineering, design and architectural themes.
âÄúMost of the rest of the art thatâÄôs here from the Weisman has not been at Eastcliff before. The Kalers wanted a new look.âÄù
But one piece thatâÄôs been a staple in the house is âÄúNellyâÄù âÄî a portrait of a portly lady.
âÄúSomehow, she seems to have found her place at Eastcliff in the dining room,âÄù she said. âÄúEvery president seems to love Nelly. Mrs. Kaler said she looked like her grandmother, so she was especially eager to keep Nelly here.âÄù
The first-floor breakfast nook is decked with the KalersâÄô personal rooster collection. Before coming to the University, Kaler served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Stony Brook University in New York, where the mascot is a rooster.
Recreation room
Down a small staircase is an entertainment room, decked in rich woods and red hues. It feels like a family TV room, but is part of the public function of Eastcliff.
âÄúThe Yudofs had a historic pool table here,âÄù King said. The Kalers opted for a TV.
âÄúThey imagine they will be inviting possibly donors or others here to watch sports events on the TV,âÄù King said.
The garden room
Originally a screen porch, the garden room now has four walls of glass windows looking out on the estateâÄôs two-acre grounds.
An enormous glass-encased Eastcliff dollhouse filled with tiny, ornate furnishings sits against one wall.
âÄúI think itâÄôs supposed to be the furnishings the way they were when the Brooks family was here,âÄù King said.
The Peacock Bar
The Peacock Bar is what King called one of the âÄúfunny little spacesâÄù on EastcliffâÄôs first floor.
What appears to be a closet door off the dining room opens to a tiny peacock-themed room. Inside, mirrored walls outlined with orange peacocks reveal a liquor cabinet.
Karen Kaler has suggested that the unsuspecting bar might have something to do with the houseâÄôs Prohibition-era construction, but King couldnâÄôt confirm the idea.
Either way, itâÄôs a nod to the âÄô20s, with its plume-shaped light fixture and peacock tail door interior. It still serves as the bar for some Eastcliff functions.
âÄúAt the turn of the 20th century, the peacock theme was very popular,âÄù King said. âÄúThe dining room was once peacock-themed [too].âÄù
The telephone room
In an entryway under the curving staircase that leads to the KalersâÄô private quarters is a tiny telephone room.
âÄúIt was considered to be absolutely the most up-to-date thing in 1922 when this house was built, because telephones were not all that common in every house,âÄù King said.
The tiny room still houses a phone, but itâÄôs modern, with buttons and a pigtail cord. According to King, it doesnâÄôt get much use.