February 16, 2017 On Valentine’s Day, secret admirers and sweethearts give one another heart-shaped boxes and lockets, red roses and bouquets, and candies with little love notes like “BE MINE.” Stores sell clothes and even lingerie with red hearts emblazoned across [...]
January 18, 2017 On a cold day in January 1876, Mahala Fisk Pillsbury of Minneapolis, a prominent community member and philanthropist, took on a new title: Minnesota’s First Lady. Her husband of twenty years, businessman John Sargent Pillsbury, had just been [...]
December 13, 2016 By Mara Taft, collections volunteer This chair was used by Franklin Steele (1813-1880), a founder of Minneapolis and prominent in the lumber industry. Stylistically, this a bentwood chair with a cane bottom. Manufactured by the Thonet company in [...]
December 6, 2016 By Heather Hoagland, HHM Collections Manager Bob Dylan's Chair In 1959, a 19-year-old University of Minnesota student finally got his first gigs playing his guitar and singing the tunes he wrote himself—and for which he would later win [...]
November 13, 2016 By Heather Hoagland, HHM Collections Manager This chair was made to suit the special needs of a disabled child who attended the Dowling School in Minneapolis. While we don't know what those needs were, the desk lifts on [...]
June 26, 2016 It's summer... and if you have a lawn in Hennepin County, you've probably spent plenty of time over the past month or two keeping the grass in check. In honor of this common summer task we've pulled out [...]
March 28, 2016 This street scene, photographed circa 1925, was taken on 6th Street looking towards Nicollet Avenue (now Nicollet Mall) in downtown Minneapolis. Visible at the intersection is the corner of the Donaldson's Department Store's famous Glass Block building. One [...]
March 23, 2016 This 1896 certificate, documenting the legal licensing of a black and white dog named Sport, gives us a glimpse into the lives of Hennepin County dogs 120 years ago. Highlights from the City's ordinance: All "dog or animal [...]
March 21, 2016 For today's Milling Monday post, we've pulled an inventory from our Archives. Labeled the Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company inventory of Palisade Mill, March 1893, the book is filled with page after page of data. It is a snapshot [...]
March 15, 2016 If you've lived in the Twin Cities for long - or even if you've just passed through the MSP airport frequently - you're likely aware of our local Humphrey connections. Those not originally from here are more likely [...]
