January 9, 2018 This section of ornamental ironwork was harvested from the wreckage of the demolished Metropolitan Building, 3rd Street and 2nd Avenue South, in downtown Minneapolis. It was created by August Malmsten and Andrew Nelson who, in 1878, began a [...]
January 2, 2018 This monumental coffee pot shaped coffee grinder is crafted of cast iron and aluminum. It was manufactured by the American Duplex Company of Louisville Kentucky. The grinder offers several features or settings for achieving the desired grind, and [...]
November 19, 2017 By Jack Kabrud, Hennepin History Museum curator Demetrios Giorgos Villas was born in Niata Greece in 1883. He immigrated to the United States, alone, at the age of twelve, arriving at Ellis Island in the winter of 1895. [...]
October 25, 2017 The history and demise of the West Hotel and the Tiffany urn that was created to honor the founders The West Hotel was known to be a destination of luxury in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. [...]
September 18, 2017 By Evan Walker This desk was made by students in the industrial arts class at South High School for the 1892 Republican National Convention. The chairman of the Republican Party, James S. Clarkson, sat behind it during the [...]
August 4, 2017 This appetizing assortment of biscuits sits in a frame that was once a display “window” on the outside of the Burch Pharmacy at Hennepin and Franklin Avenues in Minneapolis. It contains 22 different products, all made by Huntley [...]
July 1, 2017 In the summer of 1955, the life of a "summertime shop girl from Uptown" was changed forever. Judy Penney, a 19-year old language student at the University of Minnesota and a retail clerk at the Purple Door gift [...]
May 4, 2017 Are you thirsty for history? How about for beer history? This week's featured photograph depicts the local distributor for the La Crosse, Wisconsin-based John Gund Brewing Company. John Gund was a German immigrant who began his brewing career [...]
April 18, 2017 This rocking chair, in the Hennepin History Museum Collection, was allegedly removed from the rooms of Harry Hayward after he was arrested for Kitty Ging’s murder Above: this rocking chair, in the Hennepin History Museum Collection, [...]
March 13, 2017 Robert “Fish” Jones, with his signature beard and moustache In 1876, a man named Robert Jones moved from New York to look for opportunities out west, and settled in Minneapolis. Missing the fresh fish so easily found on [...]
