On this date in 1927, the Intercity Bridge opens. Better known as the Ford Parkway Bridge, it spans the Mississippi River between St. Paul and Minneapolis. The structure is a reinforced concrete arch bridge connecting 46th Street in Minneapolis with Ford Parkway in Saint Paul. It is historically significant as one of the largest reinforced […]
Architecture
1931-07-01
On this date in 1931, the Interstate Bridge (Lift Bridge) in Stillwater opens replacing the wooden Stillwater-Houlton bridge built in 1876. The Lift Bridge featured a counter-weighted, tower-and-cable lift span, and included nine steel trusses, in all spanning 1,050 feet. The dedication ceremony for the bridge was presided over by then Minnesota Governor Floyd B. […]
1866-06-30
On this date in 1866, the Jefferson School House in St. Paul’s Fourth Ward was destroyed by fire. Flames were initially seen in the windows of the building’s fourth story, but by the time engines arrived on the scene, the fire was too advanced to save the structure. The St. Paul Daily Press the following […]
1857-06-27
On this date in 1857, the “People’s Theater” of St. Paul is completed. Although it was a temporary structure of wood and canvas, it had the distinction of of being the only building in St. Paul constructed primarily for theatrical purposes before the completion of the Opera House in 1867. The building eventually burned down […]
1867-06-21
On this date in 1867, the first real theater in Minneapolis, the Pence Opera House, designed by architect Abraham M. Radcliffe, is dedicated. The opening performance was a joint concert by the Minneapolis Musical Union and the St. Paul Musical Society. The Pence was an upstairs theater that seated 700 and was located at Second Street […]
