Learn about the streetcars that connected Lake Harriet with Lake Minnetonka and more. At the turn of the century, mammoth steamboats and tourism began to leave Lake Minnetonka, and Excelsior township and the village began to dissolve into five communities. Joanie Holst, of the Lake Minnetonka Historical Society, will share Excelsior’s rich history as Excelsior became the “downtown” of the south shore. Served by the streetcar from the Twin Cities, and home to the popular Excelsior Amusement Park for almost fifty years, tiny Excelsior’s history is still evident today.