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Highlights, Lowlights and Unsolved Mysteries: 130 Years of Parks in Minneapolis
Celebrate the 130th birthday of the Minneapolis park system with me and the Linden Hills History Study Group, April 4, 7 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 4201 Sheridan Avenue South. A $3 donation...
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Theodore Wirth, Francis Gross and Me: A Friday Photo and a Re-assessment
The dedication of Heffelfinger Fountain in Lyndale Park, 1947. This is the only photo I’ve seen of Theodore Wirth and Francis Gross together. They are joined by an even better-known Minneapolitan. From...
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Sisters of Chuckie: Powderhorn Park 1926
How did the cherished toys of one generation become scary to their great-grandchildren? This photo raises the question. Doll buggy parades were big events at parks decades ago, especially in the 1930s....
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Friday Photo: West Riverbank from the Stone Arch Bridge
I don’t want to overdo the Stone Arch Bridge, but will run that risk with this photo found by Andrew Caddock at the park board. I showed the picture recently to a group of local history buffs and asked...
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Friday Photo: Before the Mills Were Ruins
Let’s go down to the river one more time. I have many favorite pictures of the riverfront when it was the economic engine of Minneapolis, but this is probably at the top of my list. The west bank of...
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Mississippi River West Side Tail Races and Spirit Island
Given several comments and questions about last Friday’s photos of the Mississippi River and the tail races from the west side mills, I’ll post several more photos that I was saving for an article...
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More Spirit Island
Since posting a few Spirit Island photos, I pulled two more from the website of the Minnesota Historical Society. For any research on Minnesota history, the MHS collection is always a great place to...
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Lofty Words, Lofty Ground: Portius C. Deming
One of the lesser-known park heroes in Minneapolis history left us with inspiring advice — for both citizens and park commissioners. His most memorable words come from his writing in park board annual...
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Friday Photos: Thousands of Historical Aerial Views
The closest thing to time travel. That’s what today’s photo recommendation gives you through more than 100,000 photos that allow you to track the growth of Minneapolis — and the rest of the state —...
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Friday Photo: Forgotten Field on Nicollet Island
Funny that in all the debate a few years ago about the football “stadium” for DeLaSalle High School on Nicollet Island, I don’t recall seeing the photo below of the island in 1947. I discovered this...
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The Stadium the Pillsburys Built: Northrop Field at the U of M Where Ticket...
Alfred Fisk Pillsbury is probably best known for three things in Minnesota other than his “Best XXXX” flour-making name. One, he was a major contributor to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The renown...
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Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is 25
Happy 25th Birthday Minneapolis Sculpture Garden! Sorry, I forgot to inform you of the original air date of tpt’s history of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. It premiered last Sunday evening on...
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A Missed Opportunity: The Witch’s Hat Is Closed for Another Year!
The view from Tower Hill — at the base of the Witch’s Hat. Imagine the view from the observation deck above. (Talia Smith) For years my “To Do in Minneapolis” list has included a climb that I have...
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Cheever’s Tower
Several people have pointed out my error in the location of Cheever’s Tower in yesterday’s post. No one has yet come up with an explanation of the tower that caused Tower Hill to be given that name. I...
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Approaching Lake Calhoun
Two photos from the 1950s, and two that are much older, show how people got to Lake Calhoun once upon a time. Both photos are from the Minnesota Historical Society’s online collection. I haven’t...
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Approaching Lake Calhoun — A Couple Years Later
Julieann Swanson, Assistant Curator of Digital Collections and Archives at the University of Minnesota’s College of Design just sent a fabulous photo of the Lake Street, Dean Parkway, and West Calhoun...
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Frederick Law Olmsted and Minneapolis Parks: Part 2
One question is answered, but more are raised. One of my first posts on this blog nearly three years ago examined the likelihood that Frederick Law Olmsted, the most prominent landscape architect in...
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Frederick Law Olmsted and Minneapolis Parks: Part 3, The Smoking Gun?
I have more circumstantial evidence that Frederick Law Olmsted didn’t design the grounds around Fair Oaks, the mansion of William D. Washburn in Minneapolis — and that H. W. S. Cleveland did. I found...
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Perkins Hill Park Was Not Named for Frances Perkins
A few days ago Wendy Hajicek commented on an earlier post, mentioning her memories of Perkins Hill. Wendy asked if Perkins Hill was named for Frances Perkins the Secretary of Labor in the Cabinet of...
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Did You Know They Were Related?
Minneapolis parks are home to few statues, but two of the people or characters memorialized by statues in parks were related in real life. Well, sort of. Maybe “connected” is a better word. Can you...
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