Fortune and the Fate of the Twin Cities

In April, 1936, Fortune magazine hired Austria-Hungary-born American writer and illustrator, Ludwig Bemelmans for an exhaustive article profiling the rather bleak fortunes of Minneapolis and St. Paul. I can almost hear our local boosters howling across the years. Fortune painted thoroughly unflattering, gloomy picture of the metropolis at the center of the most radical state … Read more

A Substantially Built Edifice

“The building stands on the south-west corner of Hennepin Avenue and 10th Street, one of the broadest avenues and one of the widest streets in the city. A bend to the northwest in the avenue, beginning at 10th Street, and a bend to the northeast in Tenth Street, beginning just before the avenue is reached, … Read more

All Hail Columbia

Hail Columbia, happy land! Hail, ye heroes, heav’n-born band, Who fought and bled in freedom’s cause, Who fought and bled in freedom’s cause, And when the storm of war was gone Enjoy’d the peace your valor won. Let independence be our boast, Ever mindful what it cost; Ever grateful for the prize, Let its altar … Read more

Skyline Greetings

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA The skyline Of the city. Minneapolis is a beautiful city with its gleaming skyscrapers, its modern mills, its magnificent homes and its spacious parks. 1 . . Bambi Land. Nisswa  2 . . Headwaters of the Mississippi, Lake Itasca  3 . . Itasca State Park  4. . Runestone replica, Alexandria. Minn.  5 . … Read more

The Way of Paving

In 1893, Court Avenue in Bellefontaine, Ohio became the first American street paved with concrete. George Bartholemew is still celebrated for his “artificial stone” pavement. Bartholemew convinced the Bellefontaine City Council to try it around the Logan County Court House by posting a bond that guaranteed the pavement would last at least five years. The … Read more

Aqua City

The Aqua City Motel 5739 Lyndale Ave. So., U. S. Hwy. 65 MINNEAPOLIS 19, MINN. 10 Minutes to Downtown On the best Bus Line Phone: Taylor 3-5247 — 20 Units, Air-Conditioned, AAA Approved Carpeted, Fireproof Rooms — Ceramic Baths and Showers Free TV and Phone in every room.

The Sulphur Vapor-Bath Parlor Then and Now

“Why go to a health resort when you can obtain the same or better results in Minneapolis without loss of time or attention to business. Looking at these interiors views of the Sulphur Vapor-Bath Parlors at 2526 Hennepin Avenue demonstrate our standards of cleanliness. Our baths were awarded a gold medal and international diploma at … Read more

Up Where the Sun Shines

Have you seen my ofiice at Columbia Heights this year, with its beautiful park? If not, you ought to take a little trip and see what a wonderful place Columbia Heights is getting to be. I infer, from words dropped here and there, that the average person, in thinking of Columbia Heights, thinks of it … Read more

Gas Stations: Where have they gone?

Decades before Holiday Station Stores, Pump and Munch, Super America an British Petroleum came up over the horizon, South Minneapolis was littered with tiny independently owned service stations. Many of these little building are still standing. Some have been repurposed as law offices, flowers shops, permaculture cafes and acupuncture clinics. Their parking lots and driveways … Read more