Until the 1970s, large swaths of Minneapolis were devoted to railroad use -- depots, switching yards, freight houses, and shop facilities. Much of that has disappeared, along with the industry that depended on the railroads. Historian Aaron Isaacs takes us on a tour of the city showing what was here before and what has replaced […]
We have received notice that Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is suspending all in-person church activities as of March 14. The building will be closed and all activities suspended through March 27. Thus, this program has been postponed. We will look at rescheduling when things have settled down. In 1905, Wonderland Park on East Lake Street […]
We are in a new era in which any property in the neighborhood is a potential site for new construction, up to three units per lot. We will view recently-built examples alongside houses from the late 19th century through what was presumed to be the full “build-out” of Linden Hills in the 20th century. What […]
In 1919, the Minnesota Legislature recognized women's right to vote in presidential elections. And in 1920, after the U.S. Legislature passed the 19th Amendment and two-thirds of the states ratified the amendment, women gained the right to vote. This right to vote took decades of discussion, protest, and persuasion. Historian Linda Lounsbury will examine the […]
Authors and historians, Andy Sturdevant and Bill Lindeke, will take us on an entertaining journey into the highs, lows, bright spots, and dark corners of the Twin Cities' most famous and infamous drinking establishments —- history viewed from the barstool. This is a virtual event and will be hosted on Google Meet. For the link […]
Minneapolis Jews, like their African-American and Japanese-American fellow residents, faced serious discrimination and social exclusion in employment, housing, and some public accommodations. Indeed, one of the leading investigative journalists and essayists of the era, Carey McWilliams, noted in his Common Ground article “Minneapolis: The Curious Twin” (Autumn 1946), “One might even say, with a measure of justification, […]
Join the Linden Hills History Study Group to hear Richard Kronick tell the story of George Elmslie, chief draftsman from 1895 to 1909 for Louis Sullivan, Chicago's leading architect. Sullivan was dubbed "Prophet of Modernism," but Richard will show that, for eight well-known buildings that came out of Sullivan’s office, most of the credit belongs […]
Approximately 25,000 residents were displaced by the construction of I-35W that went between Crosstown, 2nd Ave and Stevens Ave in South Minneapolis. The public works construction project began in 1956 and was completed in 1967. Greg Donofrio, director of the U of MN Heritage Studies and Public History Program, and U of MN public historian […]
Dr. William Green, professor of history at Augsburg University, will present the story of Nellie Francis, a black woman who helped lead the women's suffrage campaign in 1919 and successfully lobbied the legislature of 1920 to enact Minnesota's anti-lynching law. Dr. Green’s book on Nellie Francis will be published by the University of Minnesota Press […]
In 1905, Wonderland Park on East Lake Street was a popular amusement park where the people of Minneapolis could ride one of the world’s finest carousels, witness amazing, death- defying acts, and even tour a display of local premature infants being treated in the new scientific marvel, an electric incubator. Susan Hunter Weir, Director of […]
