Located in the ruins of what was once the largest flour mill in the world, the Mill City Museum commemorates the history of milling and the Riverfront. Exhibits present the history of the mill and the city's role as a center of flour production from the 19th century to the mid-20th century. The museum also preserves and interprets the history of the city and region with exhibits and programs that change throughout the year to make each visit unique and educational.
A National Historic Engineering Landmark, the Stone Arch Bridge features 23 arches and is made of native granite and limestone. The bridge spans 2,100 feet across the river below St. Anthony’s Falls and hosts a number of activities, including Segway tours, the Stone Arch Bridge Festival, and beautiful, scenic views of St. Anthony’s Falls. The bridge is the only one of its kind to span the Mississippi River.
The Milwaukee Road Depot and Freight House was built from 1897-99 to meet the growing demands of railroad expansion and the city’s industrial and commercial sectors. Architect Charles Frost designed the depot. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Today The Depot stands a reminder of the railroading days of the past as well as a mixed-used commercial space.
The 128,000-square-foot Flour Exchange Building was constructed in two phases. Construction of the first four floors occurred in 1892 followed by the last seven floors in 1909 The Flour Exchange Building enjoys a Chicago School design and was the first steel-and-concrete high-rise in Minneapolis. The building stands as a lasting reminder to its once flourishing flour milling industry, earning it the nickname: Mill City.
This majestic government building has also been known as Minneapolis City Hall. It also serves as the county courthouse. The Minneapolis architecture firm of Long and Kees designed the building. It was built at a cost of $3,500,000 between 1889 and 1905. The clock was added in 1916 and was said to be the largest timepiece in the world. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The twenty-six-story Rand Tower opened in 1929 as the tallest building in Minneapolis, only to be lose that title within a year. Before Rand Tower emerged, the city had restricted heights of buildings to no more than 125 feet since the 1880s, minus one building that challenged that in 1915. Second generation Chicago School architects designed the stepped skyscraper for Minneapolis at a time when the city's flour industry adapted to changing 1920s consumer culture that arose amidst a growing, robust economy.
The Farmers and Mechanics (F&M) Savings Bank began in the 1870s in Minneapolis as the only mutual savings institution west of the Mississippi. The bank catered to laborers and merchants rather than commercial operations. Once located in a historic 1891 building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the organization moved several times before completing this structure in 1942. When numerous businesses fled downtown for the suburbs during the 1950s and urban decay became prevalent around the F&M neighborhood, the bank decided to add to its 1942 structure rather than move, which started a movement of reinvestment in the city and helped it survive. Today, the building is home to the Westin Hotel.
One of the venues of the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts, the Goodale Theatre is an excellent example of historic theater design. The well-preserved building was constructed by the New York-based Shubert Theatrical Company, which built 60 theaters around the country between 1900-1920. Architect Will A. Swasey designed it in the Classical Revival style. He also designed it to be very fireproof and as such included wide stairways and many fire exits. The theatre became the home of the leading resident professional performing company in the city called the Bainbridge Players. Touring Broadway shows also performed here. The Goodale was moved to this location in 1996 to be part of the Cowles Center and was renovated at that time. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, a designation that helped save it from demolition.
The Hennepin Center for the Arts was originally built from 1888 to 1990 as a Masonic Temple. The building is a Richardsonian Romanesque style designed by long architects, Long and Kees. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1795. Today is part of The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts.
The Gluek Building was built in 1902. The architects were Christopher Boehme and Victor Cordella, who chose a Renaissance Revival style. Gluek Brewing Company was founded in 1857 by Gottlieb Gluek, before Minneapolis was a city. It grew quickly and the bar and restaurant was built in 1902 primarily to serve customers Gluek beer.
The Lincoln Bank Building (1921) is associated with Harry Pence, who formed the bank with partners during the early 20th century at roughly the same time he started his highly successful automobile business directly across the street. Pence grew into one of the most influential Buick and GM dealers in the world. The bank handled the increasingly popular trend of buying new automobiles for credit and grew as a result of the economic boom during the 1920s.
Harry Pence established Minneapolis's second auto dealership in 1903. By 1915, his company was one of the most influential auto dealers in the world, selling nearly 30% of all the Buicks that were manufactured. Pence's sales helped the company grow into one of the largest American automakers that later became part of General Motors, a company the grew into one of the largest corporations in the world. Pence later added two stories to his plan for this building before ground was broken. Today the eight-story building is a reminder of what was once Automobile Row in downtown Minneapolis.
Originally called the Hennepin Theatre when it opened in 1921, the Orpheum is one of the few remaining theaters from Minneapolis’s vaudeville era. When it was first built, its 2,928 seats briefly made it the largest vaudeville palace west of New York City. The theater was part of the famous Orpheum vaudeville circuit, and its first decade featured popular performers like the Marx Brothers, Jack Benny, and George Burns and Gracie Allen. As vaudeville declined in popularity, the theater transitioned to showing movies and concerts, primarily hosting big bands during the 1930s and ‘40s. The businessman Ted Mann bought the theater in 1959 and brought in touring Broadway productions like "My Fair Lady" and "Fiddler on the Roof." Business declined in the 1970s, and Minnesota native and singer-songwriter Bob Dylan purchased the property with his brother David Zimmerman in 1979. They eventually sold the theater to the City of Minneapolis in 1988, which renovated the building so it could accommodate large-scale Broadway musicals. Since it reopened at the end of 1993, the Orpheum has hosted a number of touring musicians and musicals, including the premiere of Disney’s stage adaptation of "The Lion King." Of all the Minneapolis theaters built in the first few decades of the 20th century, the Orpheum is the largest to survive.
Constructed in 1926, the Young-Quinlan Building was home to Young-Quinlan Department Store. The store originally began in 1894 as a small specialty women’s dress shop, the first ready to wear shop of its kind and was owned and operated by Elizabeth Quinlan and Fred D. Young. The building, which continues to a retail and office building, was designated a Minneapolis Landmark in 1988.
Completed in 1929, the 32-story Foshay Tower became Minnesota's first skyscraper and remained the tallest building in the city of Minneapolis until 1971. Visitors to the Tower can tour its museum and enjoy one of the best views of the city from its Observation Deck. It is named after Wilbur Foshay, an entrepreneur who operated the largest utility company in the city during the early 20th century. Unfortunately for Foshay, the onset of the Great Depression destroyed his business and he was unable to pay for all of the building's costs. Between 2006 and 2008, the building was converted into a hotel and is presently operated by W Hotel-a member of the Starwood Chain. Foshay Tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The museum explores the tower's history and Wilbur Foshay's life.
Minneapolis' Architects and Engineers Building was constructed in 1920, a time of rapid growth following the phase of urban planning influenced by European city building that came to be known as City Beautiful. The trend that heavily influenced the building's lauded architects, Edwin Hawley Hewitt and Edwin Brown, who built the building in an Italian Renaissance style as a place for architects to work, learn, and share ideas.
The Minneapolis Auditorium was an indoor arena/theater located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The arena was constructed in 1927 and could hold up to 10,000 people. The Minneapolis Lakers of the NBA played their home games at the auditorium until they moved in to the Minneapolis Armory in 1959. In 1989 it was demolished and the Minneapolis Convention Center was built in its place.
Although it is next to the enormous Minneapolis Convention Center, the former Wesley United Methodist Church—now the Historic Wesley Center—still retains its architectural grandeur and historical significance. It was built in 1891 and designed by architect Warren H. Hayes (1847–1899) in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, which typically includes arched window and several towers. The building's tower reaches a height of 120 feet. Hayes was one of the foremost designers of churches in the United States and Canada during the 19th century. He was a proponent of the "diagonal" layout for churches as opposed to the long design usually seen, for example, in Gothic-style churches. Wesley United was such a design. The interior features a ground floor and balcony level, as well as a stained glass dome. Pews are placed in a fan shape to follow with the diagonal design of the church. Today, the building is a non-profit event center; weddings are among the events allowed to take place here. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This walking tour begins at the Historic Wesley Center and includes some of the leading cultural icons of Minneapolis such as Goodale Theatre and Henepin Center for the Arts. The tour weaves its way through the downtown area before concluding at the Mill City Museum.
