In October 2015, David and nine other architects from Maine toured Minneapolis and the Marvin Windows and Doors factory in Warroad, Minnesota. Ron Conterio, AW Hastings, and Jeremy Bate, Eldridge Lumber, sponsored and hosted this tour. Minneapolis, and neighboring city St Paul, are full of interesting architecture.

We were able to walk the city and University of Minnesota, and were awarded private tours of the Christ Church Lutheran (Elliel and Eero Saarinen), The Malcolm Willey House (Frank Lloyd Wright), and the Purcell-Cutts House (William Gray Purcell and George Grant Elmslie)

A truly wonderful gift was a private tour of the Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum by the architect, Joan Soranno. She, along with her husband and business partner, John Cook, have received numerous awards for this inspiring building, including the 2014 AIA Honor Award for Architecture.

A private jet flew us within 6 miles of the Canadian border to Warroad, Minnesota, to visit and tour the Marvin Windows and Doors factory. This family-owned business has been in operation since 1904, and still makes many products by hand when needed.