Harry and Clementine Robinson were one of a handful of Black families who owned homes more than a century ago in what is now the whitest part of Minneapolis. When Star Tribune reporter Eric Roper moved into the same house where the Robinsons lived, he became determined to find out who they were and what happened to them. He spent nearly five years piecing together the Robinsons’ lives through genealogy records, old public documents, and fascinating tidbits from articles in local Black newspapers from the 1900s. He, with a team of other staff members and community members, wrote a series of articles published as a special insert in the Star Tribune. In addition, they created a six-episode podcast that takes listeners on an intimate journey into Minnesota’s past through the experiences of this one trailblazing couple.
Local puppeteer and historian, Jennings Mergenthal, has just completed an extensive research project focused on the history of puppetry in the Twin Cities, exploring where puppetry came from and why it has been so enduring. The local puppetry guild, the Twin Cities Puppeteers, will display historically significant puppets as well as photos and ephemera.
Minneapolis became a hotbed of modernist religious architecture in the years after World War II. With illustrated slides, Bobak Ha’Eri will explain the rise of modernism, its arrival in Minnesota, and how it expressed itself through places of worship across the city. Mr. Ha’Eri is a board member of Docomomo US/MN where he created and researches the award-winning Minnesota Modern Registry, and is an expert on the history of Modernism in Minnesota.
We will explore the evolution of this corner of the Fulton neighborhood from its beginning as a rural lake resort through the rapid extension south of Linden Hills. From the opening of Robert Fulton School in 1911 and the Xerxes Avenue streetcar line extension that soon followed, Fulton spread across both hills and former marshland. We will learn of early residents preceding 1911, including Black families, trace how public-school needs have been met in the Lake Harriet district, pass by the original building of Lake Harriet Methodist Church, moved in 1916 to 49th and York, and view the ongoing change in character of Fulton due to recently built houses replacing earlier ones.
The tours will begin at 6:30 p.m. from the corner of Thomas Avenue S. and W. Lake Harriet Parkway. The tour will be held rain or shine, except if an electrical storm is forecasted for the day of the event. Those wishing to attend should RSVP below.
RESCHEDULED from July 23 due to inclement weather.
We will explore the evolution of this corner of the Fulton neighborhood from its beginning as a rural lake resort through the rapid extension south of Linden Hills. From the opening of Robert Fulton School in 1911 and the Xerxes Avenue streetcar line extension that soon followed, Fulton spread across both hills and former marshland. We will learn of early residents preceding 1911, including Black families, trace how public-school needs have been met in the Lake Harriet district, pass by the original building of Lake Harriet Methodist Church, moved in 1916 to 49th and York, and view the ongoing change in character of Fulton due to recently built houses replacing earlier ones.
The tours will begin at 6:30 p.m. from the corner of Thomas Avenue S. and W. Lake Harriet Parkway. The tour will be held rain or shine, except if an electrical storm is forecasted for the day of the event. Those wishing to attend should RSVP below.
