It started as a one-room school house before Warren Burger's grandfather expanded it into a humble residence. The future chief justice of the United States Supreme Court lived there from the time he was seven years old, sleeping on the porch. Now the house on the East Side of St. Paul stands vacant, but there's an effort afoot to give it its due, the
St. Paul Pioneer Press reports:
"Local preservationists hope someone steps forward to buy it and prevent further deterioration.
"'I kind of thought some attorney might want to live in the home that Warren Burger was in,' Trimble said.
"'Someone from such a simple house on the East Side of St. Paul rose to such prestige and power,' said Matt Mazanec, a member of the St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission. 'It is such an important structure. We want to make sure it's available for future generations.'
"But at least some people in the area don't see it as much of a landmark.
"'Who's Warren Burger?' said Cindy Rowan, who lives across the street from the house.
"Things turned out differently for the Minnesota childhood homes of Judy Garland, Charles Lindbergh, Sinclair Lewis, Wanda Gag and Maud Hart Lovelace. They're all museum sites.
"Typically, that has happened because local fans decided the place where their hero carved his initials in the woodwork deserved to be enshrined and they found a way to raise the money to do it."
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