2309 E. 1st St.

The restrained elegance of the Renaissance Revival style—based on palaces built in northern Italy during the Italian Renaissance—is apparent in this home’s yellow brick façade adorned with classical brackets, dentils, and balustrades. A corporate law attorney specializing in iron mining and railroads, Cotton represented John D. Rockefeller against the Merritt family in the Merritt’s infamous and unsuccessful attempt to maintain ownership of their mining lands on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range.