On this date in 1940, Francis Scott Key (F. Scott) Fitzgerald dies of a massive heart-attack in Hollywood, California. Regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, his novels include This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, The Great Gatsby, and Tender Is the Night. Fitzgerald was born in his […]
Architecture
1856-12-01
On this date in 1856, the first issue of Ignatius Donnelly’s newspaper the Emigrant Aid Journal was published in Philadelphia. The publication encouraged immigration to the small town of Nininger, Minnesota in what is today Dakota County. The town, which Donnelly himself helped establish, was located on the Mississippi River twenty-five miles south of St. […]
1956-12-23
On this date in 1956, fire engulfs a portion of the Eitel (Doctors Memorial) Hospital in Minneapolis killing eight people. The fire was caused by a decorated Christmas tree that ignited, setting off a flash fire lasting only 10 minutes. The Eitel Hospital, located across from Loring Park, was founded in 1912 by Dr. George […]
1878-05-02
On this date in 1878, the seven-story Washburn A Mill in Minneapolis is destroyed in a series of three explosions killing fourteen workers inside the mill. The massive A Mill had been built only four years earlier by Cadwallader Washburn, a businessman from LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The mill was located in the heart of Minneapolis on […]
1913-10-03
On this date in 1913, the second St. Paul Union Depot building was destroyed in a fire that started in the kitchen of the depot’s restaurant on the second floor. The building was destroyed in 30 minutes and the loss was estimated at $100,000.
