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On this date in 1884, the twelve year-old Temple Court building on the corner of Hennepin and Washington Avenues in Minneapolis is destroyed by fire. Flames broke out on the upper floors of the 1,400 seat Academy of Music. Temperatures were around 20 degrees below that day which made fighting the fire difficult. Water and hoses quickly froze while fighting the fire and by the time it was extinguished, the building and surrounding streets were coated in ice. The building was a total loss. Two years later, a new larger Temple Court building (later called the Gateway Building), designed by E. Townsend Mix was completed. Unfortunately, this structure was also heavily damaged by fire in 1947. The building never recovered from the fire and in 1953 it was razed.

Temple Court (Gateway) Building in Minneapolis circa 1943 (MHS)

Armour Gates

December 12, 2019 By htc

On an empty, overgrown lot located at the corner of Armour and Hardman Avenues in South St. Paul sits the only remaining vestige of what was once the largest livestock operation in the world. Developed on 260 acres along the Mississippi River, five miles south of downtown St. Paul, the stockyards employed over 6,000 people […]

Highland Park Water Tower

April 3, 2019 By htc

Sitting in the shadows of two modern, sky-blue water towers in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood is the most visible symbol of the city’s water utility. The Highland Park Water Tower has been a fixture in the neighborhood since 1928 when the city constructed the 134-foot structure to supply water to nearby residents. [Go to […]

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial

January 28, 2019 By htc

Shortly after news of Fort Sumter’s fall reached Washington D.C. on April 14, 1861, Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey, who had been visiting the nation’s capitol to address conflicts within the Minnesota Republican party, immediately offered 1000 men to the Secretary of War on behalf of the State of Minnesota. With this commitment, Ramsey became the […]

Hiawatha and Minnehaha

November 30, 2018 By htc

Just above the falls of Minnehaha Creek in Minneapolis, perched on the southwest side of its rushing waters, sits an unassuming symbol of the area’s original inhabitants. The sculpture of Hiawatha and Minnehaha has been a fixture in Minnehaha Park for over 106 years greeting visitors as they make their way to the falls. Its […]

New York Life Eagle

July 31, 2018 By htc

Perched atop the bluffs of the Summit Hill neighborhood overlooking the Mississippi River in St. Paul is an imposing bronze sculpture of an eagle clutching a rock with its wings spread as she watches over her young. One might imagine the sculpture was originally created and installed in this location to symbolize a guardian keeping […]

Witch’s Hat Water Tower

July 31, 2018 By htc

Rising above the treetops of the Prospect Park neighborhood in Minneapolis is a structure that one might expect to find in medieval times rather than in modern day Minneapolis. The Prospect Park Water Tower, also referred to as the Witch’s Hat, was designed by Norwegian born architect Frederick William Cappelen in 20th Century Revival style, […]

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