Hennepin Avenue Bridge: Crossing the Mississippi River

Bridge construction may not seem like a celebratory moment these days, but when the first bridge opened in January 1855 it was a big event. If you attended on opening day,

• You would have seen a parade of sleighs, heard a marching band, and felt a cannon blast in celebration as the group went across the Suspension Bridge. After the parade went through Minneapolis and back into St. Anthony, you could have enjoyed eating a celebratory dinner.

On an ordinary day, you had to pay a toll to cross. You were also required to keep only a moderate walking pace due to safety concerns (no running!).To cross, pedestrians paid three cents (five cents for a round trip); horses and mules cost fifteen cents each; single-horse carriages cost twenty-five cents; cows and oxen cost ten cents each; and pigs and sheep cost two cents each. 

In 1872 Minneapolis and St. Anthony merged and began work on a larger, sturdier bridge. By 1890 a steel arch bridge carried the streetcars and automobiles of a growing city and lasted 100 years.

Hage, Christopher and Rushika. Nicollet Island: History and Architecture. Minneapolis: Nodin Press, LLC, 2010.

Pennefeather, Shannon M. Mill City: A Visual History of the Minneapolis Mill District. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2003.

Reicher, Matt. Father Louis Hennepin Suspension Bridge, MNopedia. May 5th 2014. Accessed August 13th 2020. https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/father-louis-hennepin-suspension-bridge.