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Idea Transcript


PROJECT BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY The Minneapolis Riverfront District has selected “Arts and Culture on the Riverfront” as its promotional theme for 2006, to coincide with the opening of the new downtown public library and Guthrie Theater. The Minnesota Historical Society, with funding from the Saint Anthony Falls Heritage Board, hired Hess Roise and Company to conduct historical research on: • • • • • • •

The first theaters, music halls, art galleries, and cultural events along the riverfront. Key events in the development of arts and culture on the riverfront. “Headlines of the day” and other memorable stories related to the art and cultural life of the riverfront area. Advertisements, handbills, and other promotional materials relating to riverfront art and culture. Key artists and other individuals prominent in the cultural life of the riverfront. Informal arts and culture, such as music in the home, folk art, and cuisine, of nineteenth-century residents, including immigrants. Public and educational institutions that have contributed to the cultural life of the area, such as the Pillsbury Library.

Because contemporary newspaper advertisements and accounts provide the primary documentation for most cultural events on the riverfront, the newspaper collections at the Minnesota Historical Society in Saint Paul were particularly helpful for this project. Research was also conducted at the Hennepin History Museum; Wilson Library and the Performing Arts Archives at Elmer Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota; and the Minneapolis Inspections Division. Penny Petersen, a researcher at Hess Roise, conducted the research and prepared this timeline. Charlene Roise, president of Hess Roise, was the principal investigator. For the purposes of this study, the Minneapolis riverfront is defined by the following geographic boundaries: • • •

All of Nicollet Island and Hennepin Island; On the East Bank: the railroad corridor just south of Sixth Avenue Northeast; Second Street Northeast; University Avenue Northeast/Southeast; and Sixth Avenue Southeast to the riverbank; and On the West Bank: Tenth Avenue South and its alignment to the riverbank; Washington Avenue South/North, including Bridge Square; and Fifth Avenue North.

Theaters, art galleries, libraries, and concert halls were ensconced in community life by the late nineteenth century, but they moved further from the city’s geographic origin as industry came to dominate the riverfront. As a result, the following timeline is weighted to the third quarter of the 1800s. The timeline is not an exhaustive listing of all artistic Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 1

and cultural events that have taken place on the Minneapolis riverfront, but provides a representative cross-section of these events.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 2

INTRODUCTION Cultural events have been associated with the Minneapolis riverfront since the beginning of recorded history. Father Hennepin, a Jesuit priest who visited the riverfront in 1680, noted that the Indians viewed Saint Anthony Falls as a sacred place. Father Hennepin had observed an Indian man, who with great emotion, left a valuable beaver robe decorated with porcupine quills as an offering to the god Oanktehi, who was said to dwell beneath the waterfall.1 When explorer Jonathan Carver traveled the area in 1766, he reported that the waterfall still inspired reverence. Carver was accompanied by a Winnebago man, whom he characterized as a “prince”: The prince had no sooner gained the point that overlooks this wonderful cascade, than he began with an audible voice to address the Great Spirit, one of whose places of residence he imagined this to be. He told him that he had come a long way to pay his adorations to him, and now would make him the best offerings in his power. He accordingly first threw his pipe into the stream; then the roll that contained his tobacco; after these, the bracelets he wore on his arms and wrists; next an ornament that encircled his neck, composed of beads and wires; and at last the ear-rings from his ears; in short, he presented to his god every part of his dress that was valuable: during this he frequently smote his breast with great violence, threw his arms about, and appeared to be much agitated . . . nor would he leave the place till we smoked together with my pipe in honour of the Great Spirit.2 Beginning in the 1840s, New Englanders settled along the riverfront, establishing both the waterpower industries at the falls and some of the arts and cultural institutions that survive to the present. The New Englanders, reflecting their Puritan heritage, valued education and provided schools from the time that the town of Saint Anthony was founded. The first public school in Saint Anthony opened in 1849. Two years later, Saint Anthony resident and territorial representative John W. North took the lead in establishing the University of Minnesota at Saint Anthony. The committee on schools headed by North declared the university’s “preparatory department may serve as an Academic Institution for the entire youth of the Territory.”3

1

Lucile M. Kane, The Falls of St. Anthony: The Waterfall that Built Minneapolis (Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1966; reprint 1987), 2. 2 Jonathan Carver, Travels Through the Interior Points of North America in the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768 (Dublin: printed for S. Price, 1779; reprint, Minneapolis: Ross and Haines, Inc., 1956), 67-68. 3 William W. Folwell, A History of Minnesota (Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1922, revised edition 1969), 1:260-261. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 3

Along with schools, the citizens of Saint Anthony and Minneapolis supported libraries, bookstores, public lectures, musical events, and theaters. All manner of performances and performers found audiences along the riverfront. Artists with international reputations, such as violinist Ole Bull and singer Adelina Patti, played to full houses, as did musicians who dressed as Druids and performed on ox horns, and costumed nonprofessionals who appeared as silent, motionless characters in tableaux vivants. Arts and culture—or, more broadly, entertainment—were important to most citizens of Minneapolis. Some people, however, passed moral judgments on the offerings. More than one writer publicly condemned circuses, minstrel shows, and the theater as not only a waste of money and time, but as evil. By contrast, public lectures and most musical performances were viewed as either harmless diversions or a positive influence on those attending. The Hutchinson Family singers, advocates of abolition, temperance, and human rights, were warmly welcomed, while the vandals who tore down their advertisements were condemned for their “freedom-hating” views. In the 1870s, the Pence Opera House advertised female minstrel shows suitable for viewing by women and children, while cancan dances were banned to avoid tainting local souls. The lumbermen and flour millers who drew their fortunes from the waterpower industries at Saint Anthony Falls were active promoters of arts and education. Lumberman Thomas Barlow Walker led the fight to expand the private Athenaeum into the public library of Minneapolis. In part, Walker was motivated by his own interest in reading; his private library was considered at one time to be the largest in the Northwest. Another factor was Walker’s belief, shared by many of his class, that successful businessmen had a civic duty to promote “a higher grade of character and citizenship.” An educated populace, it was supposed, would repay this largesse by working harder within the capitalist system, leading to a greater level of prosperity for all. At the very least, a free public library with extended evening hours gave people an alternative to saloons or other unwholesome entertainments.4 In addition to promoting the public library, T. B. Walker also collected art. He built a gallery onto his private residence where the public was invited to view his paintings, sculptures, and other acquisitions. Near the end of his life, Walker decided to construct a separate building at 1710 Lyndale Avenue South to house his art collection. Completed in 1927, the Walker Art Galley survives today as the Walker Art Center, although the original building and most of Walker’s art collection have been replaced. Other riverfront industrialists, such as Otis A. Pray, John Crosby, William Hood Dunwoody, and Clinton Morrison, were instrumental in founding and underwriting the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts in 1883, which built the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 1915. Although these patrons made their fortunes on the riverfront, the institutions they 4

Bruce Weir Benidt, The Library Book (Minneapolis: Minneapolis Public Library and Information Center, 1984), 30-34. Walker’s quote, from an article titled “Character as Related to Citizenship,” is reprinted The Library Book on page 33. The Athenaeum remained a separate organization, but was housed in the same building as the Minneapolis Public Library. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 4

funded were located well away from the river, reflecting a general trend. Through most of the twentieth century the riverfront was regarded as a place for industry and less-thandesirable housing, not arts and culture. By the late 1970s, artists were attracted to the underutilized warehouses and factories along the riverfront. In the early twenty-first century, they were joined by major institutions. With the opening of the new Guthrie Theater, the new Minneapolis Public Library, and the Mill City Museum, arts and culture are again ensconced where they started in Minneapolis: the riverfront.

THEMES Some noteworthy themes emerge from the historical information included in the timeline that follows. These themes include: • •

• •



The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: What might be art to one person was considered profane by another. Some of the “arts and culture” events drew stern moralistic judgments from clergy and others. Something for Everyone: Regardless of a person’s tastes, morals, age, or sex, the riverfront offered something that would appeal to just about everyone: from highbrow operas to freak shows, from circuses for children to adult-only burlesque reviews. Build It and They Will Come: Minnesota might have been on the edge of the frontier, but local theaters still managed to attract world-class talent, such as Ole Bull and Adelina Patti? Diversity, Nineteenth-century Style: Although sometimes in forms that make a twenty-first-century observer cringe, local artists and entertainment acknowledged populations other than Caucasian Christians. Native Americans were romanticized in paintings; minstrel shows were done by African Americans (or sometimes by whites in blackface); Jewish stereotypes were perpetuated. Riverfront Lost and Found: As industrial uses expanded along the Mississippi, Minneapolis’s growing population shifted away from the riverfront, and most theaters and other cultural venues joined the exodus. Artists were in the vanguard of the movement to return to the riverfront in the late twentieth century.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 5

ARTS AND CULTURE ON THE MINNEAPOLIS RIVERFRONT: A TIMELINE 1766

Jonathan Carver draws what is believed to be the first depiction of Saint Anthony Falls. Three years later, he publishes the sketch in Travels through the Interior Parts of North America, in the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768.5

1840s Artist Seth Eastman sketches Saint Anthony Falls in graphite.6 1848

Henry Lewis paints several views of Saint Anthony Falls in oil.7

1849

The first public school in Saint Anthony, a small frame building on the corner of Second Street and Second Avenue Southeast, opens on June 1. Mrs. Silas Farnham recalled Saint Anthony’s first Independence Day festivities: “I well remember the first Fourth of July celebration in 1849. The women found there was no flag so knew one must be made. They procured the materials from Fort Snelling and the flag was made in Mrs. [Ard] Godfrey’s house. Those working on it were Mrs. Caleb Dorr, Mrs. Lucien Parker, Misses Julia and Margaret Farnham, Mrs. Godfrey and myself. I cut all the stars.”8 In November, John and Ann North arrive in Saint Anthony and settle into their home on Nicollet Island. Among their household goods is Ann’s piano from Syracuse, New York, which is the first in Saint Anthony.

1850

Permelia Atwater writes, “Although St. Anthony in 1850 was a dull little town, yet it had its incidents and diversions in which all citizens felt a common interest. Books, magazines and newspapers were not lacking. . . . A lyceum was instituted which helped much to relieve the monotony of the winter. It provided a course of lectures, all by home talent, that were quite as good as the average of like efforts in other places. . . . If material humanity had been half as well provided for as the intellectual, there would have been small cause for complaint.”9 In March, Ann North agrees to give piano lessons to Rebecca Marshall, charging ten dollars for twenty-four lessons. Although Ann complains that Rebecca

5

Carver, Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America, 70. Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, Saint Paul. See Figure 1. 7 Ibid. 8 Lucy Leavenworth Wilder Morris, ed., Old Rail Fence Corners (Austin, Minn.: F. H. McCulloch Printing Company, 1914; reprint, Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1976), 39-40. The Ard Godfrey House was then located close to Main Street, near the service entrance of the present-day Winslow House condominiums 9 Isaac Atwater, History of Minneapolis, Minnesota (New York: Munsell and Company, 1893), 65-66. 6

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 6

“preferred to attend the singing school, which now seems to occupy almost every evening,” Rebecca takes her first lesson by March 10.10 Mrs. Ard Godfrey hires Ann to provide piano lessons for one of her daughters, Harriet. Many years later, Harriet recalled crossing the east river channel to Nicollet Island to take piano lessons from Ann North: “It was not a very safe or easy trip for me to skip over on the logs, but I got to be quite an expert.”11 Another girl, Emma Tyler, also wants lessons. Later, Ann speculates in a letter to her brother that she will probably have more music students once the weather improves.12 Helen Godfrey recalled another Independence Day celebration: “I would not omit my recollection of our first Fourth of July. It was either ’49 or ’50 and carried out with all patriotism. I went early in the morning with my new friend Emma J. Tyler, to touch the Liberty pole set up on the hill not far from the mills and near where was afterward built the Winslow Hotel. It was a genuine celebration. In my mind, somehow, like dream of a birthday in spring, comes a faint picture of a number of pioneer mothers, in my mother’s partly furnished parlor. I rushed in after school and stood upon the threshold. I saw bright colors in stripes, and stars of blue that they seemed to be in a quandary how to place and how many to use. Was this the first flag made in St. Anthony? . . . Anyway, it was a real celebration that came after. The Declaration of Independence was read, I think by J. [John] W. North, a volunteer choir of our best singers—sang the patriotic hymns, Isaac Atwater, Capt. John Rollins and others sat upon the platform and my father was marshall of the day.”13 1851 In April, the Bakers, a family of singers from Salisbury, New Hampshire, are probably the first professional entertainers to appear in Saint Anthony. After two performances at Mazourka Hall in Saint Paul, the troupe advertises a concert in Saint Anthony.14 The Saint Anthony Falls Express reports on the Fourth of July celebration. “The exercises were held at a most beautiful spot on the green, near Third Street [present-day University Avenue Southeast] convenient of access and sufficiently distant from the falls to suffer no interruption from the roar. The order of exercise 10

Ann North to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Loomis, March 3, 1850; Ann North to brother, George Loomis, March 15, 1850; Ann North letters in the John W. North and Family Papers, Minnesota Historical Society. 11 Morris, ed., Old Rail Fence Corners, 224. 12 Ann North to Mr. and Mrs. George Loomis, March 6, 1850; and Ann North to George Loomis, March 15, 1850. 13 Morris, ed., Old Rail Fence Corners, 224. John North arrived in Saint Anthony in November of 1849, so Helen Godfrey must have been thinking of the 1850 Fourth of July event. 14 Advertisement for “Concert,” Saint Paul Minnesota Pioneer, April 24, 1851; Donald Z. Woods, “A History of the Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, From Its Beginning to 1883” (PhD thesis, University of Minnesota, 1950), 12. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 7

consisted of: singing by the choir, prayer by Rev. W. C. Brown, singing by the choir, reciting of the Declaration by Wm. H. Larned, Esq., oration by I. Atwater, singing by the choir, benediction. “After the benediction the procession was again formed, consisting of ladies and gentlemen[,] and marched to Hennepin Island. Here the company spent a most agreeable hour, enjoying the enchanting scenery, and the magnificent view of the Falls, now rendered most imposing by the unusual volume of water occasioned by the recent freshet. “At two o’clock, a company of about two hundred, including a large number of ladies, sat down to dinner. A delightful shady bower had been prepared, under which three long tables were spread. The dinner was prepared by A. Northrup, Esq. and did honor to the occasion. The tables were bountifully furnished with every delicacy of the season. The guests of ‘mine host’ could scarcely have imagined themselves in the ‘wilds of the west,’ while partaking of all the luxuries common to eastern cities. After the cloth was removed the following [sic] regular toasts were given, and duly honored.”15 Mr. N. Bennett, a music teacher from Ohio, starts a music school in Saint Anthony. A newspaper reports: “Musical Soiree—On Thursday evening last [August 21] our citizens were regaled with a musical entertainment, given by the School under the charge of Mr. Bennett, which was highly entertaining and gave entire satisfaction to a large audience.”16 In September, Bennett’s music class and the Saint Anthony Glee Club present a musical evening in the schoolhouse at the corner of Second Street and Second Avenue Southeast. It is described as “well worth any body’s quarter.”17 In November, the first building of the University of Minnesota opens on the present-day Chute Square. A newspaper notes, “We would respectfully inform the people of this Territory and all the friends of education generally, that there has been erected in St. Anthony, a large and beautiful Academy where youth of both sexes will be taught, at trifling expense, all the branches of learning necessary to fit them for the various employments of life.” Subjects offered include “Geography, Arithmetic, Ancient and Modern History, Rhetoric, Belles-Lettres, Mechanical Philosophy, Chemistry, Mineralogy, Botany, Architecture, French, Latin, and Greek.”18 15

“Celebration of the Fourth,” Saint Anthony Falls Express, July 5, 1851. The Express, the first newspaper to appear in Saint Anthony, had its office on Main Street, near the Hennepin Island sawmills. 16 “News Items, Etc.,” Saint Anthony Express, August 23, 1851. 17 “News Items, Etc.,” Saint Anthony Express, September 13, 1851. 18 “To the Friends of Education,” Saint Anthony Express, December 6, 1851. The school was under the direction of Professor E. W. Merrill, who disapproved of drama and some theater, but not public speaking in general. In an article on eloquence and elocution, he wrote: “Why have theatres been so long sustained, and crowded from pit to gallery? The answer is plain; there, true eloquence has been exhibited.” Theater had gone into decline, he claimed, because cultivated people deserted it for other virtuous and less coarse Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 8

In December, a series of public lectures are presented at the university’s building. Professor E. W. Merrill speaks on the “Progress of Science.” Jerome Fuller, chief justice of the Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court, gives a talk on the importance of early and wide-ranging education, and Dr. A. E. Ames speaks on “Anatomy and Physiology.”19 1852

In April, the Saint Anthony Book Store opens next door to John H. Stevens’s ferry terminal on Main Street. It offers school textbooks, maps, almanacs, Harper’s Magazine, and French dictionaries, among other items.20 An editorial in the Saint Anthony Express urges support for a library: “Among the institutions for the promotion of intelligence and morality, there is none more laudable and deserving than the public library. . . . When it is made accessible to all classes, it is one of the best means for dissemination of intelligence, and the building up of a sound morality and healthy tone of public sentiment. There is nothing, either, which more promotes the reputation of a town abroad or, in the estimation of substantial and valuable men, constitutes a town a desirable residence.” With the asset of a library, the newspaper opines, “St. Anthony will eventually outstrip all her neighbors in intelligence and morality of her people as she does in the classic beauty of her position and her natural resources for business.”21 A newspaper advertisement announces that Tallmadge Elwell, a photographer, will take daguerreotypes for another two weeks before leaving town. “Therefore those who wish to have themselves in miniature should call on him at once.”22 The ladies of the Methodist Church hold a fair and supper in the university building, with The Brass Band providing music.23 The Express announces: “There are now three singing schools in St. Anthony—all of them, we believe, large and prosperous. More than this, we have [a] band of instrumental music. There is music enough to have ransomed Euridyce.”24

entertainments. Still, “recitation is affording, or may afford all the amusement of the drama without its attendant immoralities” (“Elocution,” Saint Anthony Express, November 15, 1851). In 1854, the university regents purchased twenty-five acres and moved the campus to its present-day location at University and Thirteenth Avenues Southeast. 19 “Prof. Merrill’s Lecture,” Saint Anthony Express, December 13, 1851; “Judge Fuller’s Lecture,” Saint Anthony Express, December 20, 1851; “Lecture of Dr. A. E. Ames,” Saint Anthony Express, December 27, 1851. The lecture series continued into 1852. 20 Advertisement, Saint Anthony Express, April 23, 1852. Mr. LeDuc was the proprietor of the store. 21 “St. Anthony Library,” Saint Anthony Express, June 4, 1852. 22 Saint Anthony Express, October 29, 1852. 23 Ibid. 24 Saint Anthony Express, November 12, 1852. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 9

Mr. B. E. Messer, teacher of vocal music, organizes a singing school for children at the schoolhouse.25 Artist Adolf Hoeffler depicts Saint Anthony Falls in watercolor and graphite. His views appear to predate development of waterpower at the falls. Artist Julius R. Sloan paints the falls with two American Indians in the foreground, as well as the fledging town of Saint Anthony in the background.26 1853 Z. E. B. Nash, a stove merchant, and Mr. Mills, a grocer, build a three-story frame building on the corner of Main and Bay [present-day East Hennepin] Streets. Measuring forty by forty-four feet, the building houses stores and offices on the first and second levels, while the third floor is for community events. Later known as Central Hall, this is the first public hall in either Saint Anthony or Minneapolis.27 Photographer Elwell offers daguerreotypes with “splendid views of the falls” in frames or cases.28 A meeting is held at the schoolhouse for the purpose of adopting measures to improve church music, and vocalists are strongly urged to attend.29 “Johnson’s Panorama of Mexico will be exhibited on Friday and Saturday evening this week over the store occupied by Z. E. B. Nash [Central Hall]. It is a fine painting, and well worth the low price of admission.”30 “Winchell,” a comic and mimic, performs in Saint Anthony.31 An unknown artist depicts Saint Anthony Falls surrounded by an undeveloped wilderness in an engraving.32 1854

Newspaper editor Isaac Atwater promises, “As Boston has become the ‘Athens’ of New England, so, from present indications must St. Anthony become [that] of the West.”33

25

Saint Anthony Express, November 19, 1852. Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. 27 Saint Anthony Express, April 29, July 1, and October 22, 1853. Central Hall was moved in 1872, but continued to function as a public gathering place until at least 1878, according to Donald Woods (“History of Theater,” 29). Whenever possible the exact street address for buildings is given, but city directories often identified the location of early theaters by the cross streets only. 28 Saint Anthony Express, April 29, 1853. 29 “Musical,” Saint Anthony Express, May 13, 1853. 30 Saint Anthony Express, May 27, 1853. 31 Saint Anthony Express, July 9, 1853. 32 Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. 33 “Society in St. Anthony,” Saint Anthony Express, April 15, 1854. 26

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 10

A concert at the Congregational Church, employing “the entire musical talent of our town,” is held in March.34 Mr. Messer’s singing school pupils hold “Flora’s Festival” with vocal performances on May Day in the Congregational Church.35 Spooner’s Cataract Hall on Main Street, Saint Anthony’s second public hall, is completed in June. The first and second levels house stores, while the third floor is called “the largest hall in town.” The Grand Panoramic Exhibition, featuring views of the Crystal Palace in London and of New York City, is the first event at Cataract Hall.36 Daguerreotypist Tallmadge Elwell builds a shop for his business on Main Street “overlooking the Falls.”37 In July, the Fassett Troupe of singers performs at Saint Anthony. The following month, the Riley Family singers give several concerts.38 Meanwhile across the river, the Barber Block is built near Washington Avenue and Helen Street (present-day Second Avenue South). McGhee’s grocery store is on the ground level, with the first public hall in Minneapolis on the floor above.39 Artist Seth Eastman depicts Saint Anthony Falls in an engraving as it might have appeared prior to development. Henry Lewis also portrays the undeveloped falls in a lithograph.40 1855

On January 23, to mark the completion of the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, the citizens of Saint Anthony and Minneapolis turn out for a grand celebration. “The order of exercises at the celebration was as follows: First, citizens and the mechanics of the work with invited guests convened at the St. Charles Hotel at 1 o’clock, when a procession of over a mile in length was formed, and moved from the hotel, headed by a band of music, all under the direction of Dr. J. H. Murphy, marshall of the day, and Z. E. B. Nash, assistant, and Captain John Martin, standard bearer; and passed down Main Street and crossed over to Nicollet Island, where a cannon was stationed to boom forth the peculiar joy of the occasion. From the island the procession passed over the bridge into Minneapolis, passed down Washington Avenue, up Second Street to the bridge, recrossed, passed down Main Street, St. Anthony [present-day Eighth Avenue Northeast],

34

“Concert,” Saint Anthony Express, March 4, 1854. “Flora’s Festival,” Saint Anthony Express, May 6, 1854. 36 “Col. Spooner’s New Building” and advertisement for Grand Panoramic Exhibition, Saint Anthony Express, June 17, 1854. 37 “Reader Do You See . . .” Saint Anthony Express, June 17, 1854. An advertisement for Elwell’s Sky-light Daguerrean Gallery appeared frequently in the Saint Anthony Express in 1854. 38 “The Fassett Troupe,” Saint Anthony Express, July 29, 1854; Saint Anthony Express, August 19, 1854. 39 Woods, “History of Theater,” 31-32. 40 Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. 35

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 11

and up Second Street to the St. Charles, where six long tables were spread with dinner.”41 In the summer, William W. Wales opens a bookstore in the Spooner building, which also houses Cataract Hall. The store sells schoolbooks, bibles, magazines, and children’s books. In November, Wale opens another bookstore on Main Street in “Upper Town” (present-day Northeast Minneapolis) for the convenience of his customers. Wales also offers a circulating library for a fee of three dollars per year.42 The Hutchinsons, a family of singers, appear in Saint Anthony and Minneapolis on November 26 and 27.43 Minneapolis apparently gets another public hall located on the second floor of the Chambers and Hedderly Store.44 Edwin Whitefield, a native of England who has established himself as a landscape painter in New York and Boston, visits Saint Anthony Falls. The following year, he paints several views of the falls in watercolor.45 1856

Merchant David Edwards builds the three-story Edwards’ Hall on the site of the present-day Pillsbury “A” Mill complex. The first and second stories are devoted to commercial enterprises, while a public hall occupies nearly the entire third floor. A newspaper reports the hall has a “splendid view which is afforded from the balcony in front of it. It is arranged so that visitors can also go to the top of the building. We have found no place in either St. Anthony or Minneapolis where the Falls and surrounding country can be seen to so good advantage as from the top of Edward’s block.”46 In July, Norwegian violinist Ole Bull and his touring company, including the singer Adelina Patti, play to a large audience at Edwards’ Hall. Bull also performs

41

Atwater, History of Minneapolis, 350. The Saint Charles Hotel was located at the corner of present-day Marshall and Sixth Avenue Northeast. 42 Advertisements, Saint Anthony Express, July 14 and November 4, 1855; “Wales Circulating Library,” Minnesota Republican, August 9, 1855. 43 “The Hutchinsons,” Saint Anthony Express, November 4, 1855. The Hutchinson family, singers and musicians from New Hampshire, reflected a strong commitment to abolitionism. Asa Hutchinson was the founder of Hutchinson, Minnesota. 44 “Ho! For the Pioneer Store” (advertisement), Saint Anthony Express, January 13, 1855. The location of the store is not clear. The address given in the first Minneapolis city directory, issued in 1859, is “the corner of Main and Chambers at the end of the Suspension Bridge.” This is puzzling as Main Street is on the east side of the river, then the town of Saint Anthony, not Minneapolis, and there was no Chambers Street on either side of the river. Woods (“History of Theater,” 32-33) calls it a Minneapolis hall. 45 Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. 46 “Edward’s Hall,” Saint Anthony Express, May 17, 1856. Edwards’ Hall was built of Platteville limestone. One newspaper claimed it was the first stone building in the city (“The Story of the Nesmith Cave,” Minneapolis Tribune, July 29, 1900). Edwards’ Hall was razed in 1883 for an expansion of the Pillsbury “A” Mill complex. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 12

in the Barber Block in Minneapolis. The Express pronounces Ole Bull the first musical “genius that has ever given us a taste of his quality. Those concerts were rich treats—we have lived ever since on the memory of them.”47 On February 21, the Ladies Union of the First Universalist Society of Saint Anthony held a supper in the new boarding house on Hennepin Island. There was music from the Glee Club and after-dinner theatricals in the form of tableaux vivants. Scenes such as “The First Scrape,” “Fashions of 1880,” and “Bachelor Habits” were performed with rapid costume changes.48 Ivory (other sources call him J. F.) Woodman builds a three-story brick hall at the corner of Washington and Helen (Second) Avenues. According to the Express, “A fine hall will be done off the whole size of the building in the upper story. A large hall is an item of which the citizens of Minneapolis are greatly in need.” Within a few years, it becomes the Masons’ Hennepin Lodge No. 4 and is rarely used as a public hall. 49 In October, the Druid Family appears at Edwards’ Hall. They are described as “traveling musicians dressed in the garb of ancient Druids, discoursing rich vocal music and performing wonders on ox-horns, . . . to the entertainment and delight of the people.”50 Two more public halls, Elfeldts’ and Fletchers’, are built in Minneapolis.51 In December, the Minneapolis Lyceum meets at Woodman’s Hall for a lecture and discussion on making the sale of liquor a crime, and Mr. N. P. Ingalls of Saint Paul gives a concert in the hall.52

47

“Home Items,” Saint Anthony Express, July 19, 1856; and “Home Items,” Saint Anthony Express, July 26, 1856. Both Ole Bull (1810-1880) and Adelina Patti (1843-1919) were internationally recognized artists. Bull had performed in several European venues before his first American tour in 1843. Patti, the daughter of Italian musicians, was born in Spain and brought to the United States in 1846. At age eight, Patti began her professional music career, performing in cities across America from 1852 to 1857. In 1859, she made her adult debut in a Donizetti opera at the New York Academy of Music; two years later, she made her first appearance at Covent Garden in London. She performed in opera and concerts in Europe, South America, Mexico, and the United States. (Russell C. Nelson, “Ole Bull,” American National Biography (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 3:896-898; and Karen Ahlquist, “Adelina Patti,” American National Biography (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 17:145-146.) 48 “Ladies Union Levee,” Minnesota Republican, March 6, 1856. The event raised more than $400 for the new church (present-day Our Lady of Loudres Catholic Church) built the following year. 49 “Minneapolis Improvements,” Minnesota Democrat, August 2, 1856; “Home Items,” Saint Anthony Express, August 23, 1856; “New Masonic Hall,” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, February 2, 1858. The hall was sixty-six feet by forty-two feet and had a fourteen-foot ceiling. 50 “Ox Horn Music,” Saint Anthony Express, October 25, 1856; “A Novelty,” Minnesota Republican, October 30, 1856. 51 Woods, “History of Theater,” 33. 52 “Minneapolis Lyceum” and “Concert,” Minnesota Democrat, December 31, 1856. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 13

1857

In August, Sallie Saint Clair’s Varieties plays several evenings at Woodman’s Hall. This is the first professional theatrical troupe to appear in Minneapolis. They perform two plays, The Lady of Lyons and Camille. The next appearance of professional actors in Minneapolis will not be until 1866.53 On August 3, Major Brown’s Colosseum [sic] and American Circus, the “first wagon circus in Minnesota,” appears in Minneapolis. Prior to the arrival of Brown’s circus, a very long letter to the editor of the Minnesota Republican condemns circuses and theater: “A ‘useless money catcher.’ Pollock said of the theatre was from the very first, ‘the favorite haunt of sin.’ As with the theatre so it is with the circus. It is an evil place from first to last—a place in which such things are said and done as will make the devil blush.” The letter added: “The walls of our buildings are rendered disrespectful with obscene pictures, advertising one of these performances which is soon to take place in our city at the expenses of our citizens.”54 Despite the writer’s warnings, circuses are apparently popular. Antonio’s and Carrol’s Great World’s Circus appears at Saint Anthony on August 31 and September 1, and in Minneapolis on September 2.55 In September, Chester Heath opens a singing school in the vestry of the Universalist Church (present-day Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church).56 In October, B. E. Messer, an associate of the Hutchinson singers, returns to town and gives a music class at Woodman’s Hall. The Hutchinsons, advocates of women’s rights, temperance, and abolition, appear in concert at the Universalist Church and Woodman’s Hall. An editorial denounces the vandals who tore down the posters announcing the Hutchinson performances. “Such high-handed manoeuvers no doubt lend a transient satisfaction to the malice of these winebibbing, freedom-hating, Union-saving champions of mock railroads and ruffianism, who would jump at the chance if it were offered to them, of buying their carpenters and bootblacks as they now do their rot-gut rum and bad brandy, but we can tell these gentlemen that the liberty-loving Hutchinsons will have an audience in spite of their impotent revenge, and that the victims of their petty spleen to-day, will be the victors of to-morrow. We do not believe that the citizens of St. Anthony will forget the concert because some grown-up ruffians have torn

53

Frank M. Whiting, Minnesota Theatre: From Old Fort Snelling to the Guthrie ([Saint Paul]: Pogo Press, 1988), 13-14; “Sallie St. Clair’s Varieties,” Minnesota Democrat, August 15, 1857. A 1907 article claims that the play Uncle Tom’s Cabin was performed by Saint Clair’s Varieties, although this play is not listed in the 1857 article (“Minneapolis Theaters in the Early Days,” Minneapolis Tribune, November 24, 1907). Minneapolis and Saint Anthony were separate towns until 1872 and each experienced its own “first” professional theatrical performance in 1857. 54 “Maj. Brown’s Colosseum,” Minnesota Democrat, August 1, 1857; and “Itinerant Circuses,” Minnesota Republican, July 30, 1857. 55 “Antonio’s and Carrol’s Great World’s Circus” (advertisement), Saint Anthony Express, August 29, 1857. 56 “Vocal Music,” Saint Anthony Evening News, September 28, 1857. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 14

to tatters the hand-bills which should announce it, nor that the Hutchinsons will be welcomed by a smaller audience because they dare to preach of Temperance and Human Rights in songs that move the soul!”57 In June, Mrs. Macready, a dramatic reader, appears at Woodman’s Hall and the Saint Anthony Universalist Church. She reads selections from Hiawatha, The Indian Wife’s Lament, and The Polish Boy. A review observed that perhaps Macready exhibited “too much action for naturalness, and this is said to be generally true of theatricians. But for impassioned expression, for vocal power and control, we doubt if this lady has many equals.”58 Apparently, the very first professional theatrical performance in the town of Saint Anthony occurs in October when Foster and Ryan’s Dramatic Troupe of “seventeen efficient actors, [who] promise a rare programme to lovers of the Drama,” appears at Edwards’ Hall.59 The public hall in the newly built Winslow House Hotel near Main Street and the Turners’ Hall are declared the two largest halls in Minnesota: “Winslow Hall measures 90 x 40 feet and 20 feet to the ceiling, and the Turner’s Hall, 60 x 35 feet, and 18 feet high.” The Turners’ Hall is dedicated in November and a number of Saint Paul Turners and singers attend the event.60 In December, the Express publishes a sermon by Rev. Charles Seccombe on the evil of theaters. He thunders, “The greatest objection, perhaps[,] to the theatre is the fact that it does violence to the moral feelings and virtue of the audience. Nothing is more common than indecent expressions and allusions in the plays there presented. Indeed these often constitute the principal attraction—attraction! did I say?—of such plays. . . . The men and women who appear upon the stage,

57

“Music,” Saint Anthony Evening News, October 14, 1857; “Disgraceful,” Saint Anthony Evening News, October 24, 1857. 58 “Entertainment,” Minnesota Republican, July 2, 1857. 59 “Amusements,” Saint Anthony Evening News, October 9, 1857. Woods (“History of Theater,” 55) speculates that Foster and Ryan may have been a temporary offshoot of the Van Liew Company, which was then appearing in Saint Paul and included a “W. W. Foster.” 60 “Dedication,” Saint Anthony Evening News, December 1, 1857. The Winslow House Hotel was begun in 1856 and completed in 1857. The Turners’ Hall was dedicated November 2, 1857. Its original location is not clear. In 1870 it was moved from “uptown Saint Anthony” to the vicinity of Marshall and Todd Avenue (present-day Fourth Avenue Notheast), and a large stage and dressing room were added. The hall was destroyed by fire on February 28, 1874. See Hermann E. Rothfuss, “The German Theater in Minnesota” (PhD thesis, University of Minnesota, 1949), 250-252. Subsequently, another Turners’ Hall was built at 518 Marshall Northeast, which survived until 1941 (Minneapolis wrecking permit I5077). Rothfuss notes that the Saint Anthony Turners were “faithful to the principles of the movement [and] interested in not only physical education, but also in improving the mind, for according to the meager information available from the first years of the society, it commemorated the birthday of Thomas Paine, ‘this great apostle of liberty,’ on January 29th, 1859. J. Steinert, who gave the birthday address, pictured Paine’s life ‘as a constant struggle against religious and political tyranny’” (250-251). Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 15

are usually persons of bad character, and the tendency upon the audience is to render it like minded.”61 Ivory Woodman builds a second hall, kitty-corner from his first hall at Helen (Second) and Washington Avenues. One writer describes it as a large, three-story brick building, forty-three feet across the front and sixty-six feet deep.62 Artist Ferdinand Reichardt depicts the east face of the falls and a view of the Saint Anthony buildings.63 1858

In January, over three hundred people listen to speakers in the Saint Anthony Universalist Church vestry. Miss H. C. Stanton reads a paper on American policies toward foreigners and a debate follows. That same month, the Quintette Club performs a concert at the church.64 In May, the Quintette Club and the Amateur Band perform at Woodman’s Hall.65 Work on Samuel Stanchfield’s three-story stone block at the corner of Main and Todd (present-day Fourth Avenue and Main Northeast), which had begun in the fall of 1857, recommences in the spring of 1858. When completed, the building houses stores and offices on the first two levels, and a public hall on the third. The structure, designed by architects Alden, Cutter, and Hull, measures seventy feet across the front and is seventy-five feet deep. “The front of the block will be supported by fluted iron columns, and the whole will be a most valuable as well as ornamental addition to the city.”66 In the spring, work begins on the three-story Martin and Morrison Blocks, still standing at 123-125 Main Street Southeast. William Wales’s bookstore is one of the first tenants.67

61

Quoted in Woods, “History of Theater,” 22. Woods cites the December 16, 1857 issue of the Saint Anthony Falls Evening News as his source, but this issue does not exist in the Minnesota Historical Society microfilm version, although the December 15 and December 17 issues appear there. In the same article, Seccombe also condemned intemperance, gambling, and reading novels. 62 “Local and Minnesota Intelligence,” Minnesota Democrat, February 7, 1857. Other sources describe the building as wood frame. 63 Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. 64 “Last Night” and “Go to the Concert of the Quintette Club in the Universalist Vestry To-night,” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, January 12, 1858. 65 “Amateur Band,” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, May 4, 1858. 66 “Upper Town,” Saint Anthony Evening News, May 4, 1858. After Stanchfield’s Hall burned down in 1869, a newspaper noted that it had hosted many lectures, concerts, and balls, as well as meetings of the Saint Anthony city council: “Here Signor Hazazar held his dancing school and it was here also that those brilliant firemen’s parties and old fashioned balls took place—and it was in this building that that famous body, the St. Anthony city council, used to meet, from week to week, passing laws one week and repealing them the next” (“Fire in St. Anthony,” Minneapolis Tribune, November 20, 1869). 67 ”Breaking Ground,” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, April 8, 1858; “Another Stone Building,” Saint Anthony Evening News, May 4, 1858. More than 120 years later, the Gringolet bookstore will occupy this space. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 16

In July, the Melodeon Troupe of minstrels appears at the first Woodman’s Hall. Dan Emmett, who would write the song Dixie in 1859, is a member of the company. One review notes that “the phrase ‘Ethiopian minstrels’ has been too often (and too justly) associated with noise, vulgarity, and low mime and it is but simple justice to say that this Troupe is just the opposite from all this; that its members are uniformly not only charming and accomplished singers but real gentlemen in all their deportment.”68 On September 13, Mr. Springer shows magic lantern views of astronomy, animals, and comic pictures at the Universalist Church in Saint Anthony.69 In December, the Baker Family singers return for three concerts in Saint Anthony and Minneapolis. A review names George Baker one of the best bass singers in America.70 1859

In March the first amateur theatricals, other than tableaux vivants, are performed in Saint Anthony by the “German Theatre,” probably at the Turners’ Hall. The first play is Der reisende Student. More plays including a comedy, Paris in Pomerania (or A Strange Way of Making a Will), and Eulenspiegel (or Roguish Tricks and Vexations in Love Affairs) are presented in the ensuing months. A temperance play, The Satanic License, is performed in English by the Lodge of the Good Templars at Woodman’s Hall on October 25. A newspaper review calls it an original drama and says that “the plot evinced considerable ingenuity” but does not name the author.71 The first meeting for the purpose of organizing a library is held on May 16. On May 24, American poet Bayard Taylor lectures on “Moscow” to an audience of five hundred at Stanchfield’s Hall. The next day he speaks on the topic of “Life in the North” at the Methodist Church in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Library Association, later known as the Minneapolis Athenaeum, sponsors this event and manages to make a profit of $76. Thomas Hale Williams, the first librarian, keeps the library books in his bookstore by Bridge Square.72

68

“The Melodeon Troupe,” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, July 3, 1858. Emmett was the brother of Lafayette Emmett, chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. 69 Woods, “History of Theater,” page 13 in the Chronology section, which has a separate paging system; hereafter cited as “C” with page number, e.g., C13. 70 “The Bakers,” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, December 9, 1858. 71 “German Theatre” (advertisement), Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, April 16 and June 7, 1859; “The Templar Festival,” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, October 29, 1859; and Rothfuss, “German Theater,” 518. Woods (“History of Theater,” 66) points out that the German amateur theatricals did not receive much attention in the local newspapers, probably because the plays were usually in German, not English. 72 “Bayard Taylor,” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, May 26, and June 10, 1859; Benidt, Library Book, 18. An advertisement in the Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, December 17, 1857, places Williams’s bookstore on Minnetonka (present-day Marquette) “next south of the Suspension Bridge.” The 1866 city directory lists Williams’s store at Hennepin between Washington and Second Street. Bayard Taylor (18251878) published his first book of verse, Ximena, and Other Poems, in 1844. In 1851, he published A Book of Romances, Lyrics and Songs. Scholar Cary Wolfe observed, “Though derivative and profusively descriptive, [the book] helped later to secure him the title of ‘laurate of the Gilded Age.’” (Cary Wolfe, Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 17

B. E. Messer’s Singing School performs at the new Hawes’ Hall on Main Street Northeast, built by grocer Jacob Hawes.73 In October, the Old Folks Concert Troupe performs at Woodman’s Hall and Stanchfield’s Hall. The matinee performance at Woodman’s draws only twenty or thirty patrons, but the evening event across the river has an audience of four hundred to five hundred, despite the steep admission fee of fifty cents.74 1860

On August 15, Signor Blitz performs a show consisting of magic, ventriloquism, and trained canaries at Stanchfield’s Hall. The Peak Family of vocalists and bell ringers appear at Stanchfield’s and Woodman’s Halls in late August. Sinclair’s “Temperance Panorama” is shown at Stanchfield’s and Woodman’s Halls in early September.75

1861

On July 17 and 18, a panorama of Dr. Kane’s Arctic Expedition is shown at Stanchfield’s Hall. The Kane panorama is described as 30,000 feet of canvas “vividly portraying the sublime yet awful grandeur of the POLAR REGIONS, with full descriptive lecture by W. H. Paul, Esq., Honorary Member of the Kane Monumental Association.” In July and August, both G. W. De Haven’s Grand Circus and Dan Rice’s Circus performs in Minneapolis and Saint Anthony. The Sand’s Circus appears on Nicollet Island on August 2.76 The Saint Anthony Turners’ Hall is the site of the first professional German theater when the Darenne-Steidle Company appears there in August. The company, which had been based in Saint Louis, relocates to Saint Paul during the Civil War.77

1862

The second Woodman’s Hall, which was built of wood, is condemned. Soon the three-story Harrison Hall begins to rise on the site at the corner of Washington and Nicollet. Similar to other halls of the period, Harrison Hall has stores and offices on the first two levels and a public hall on the third floor.78

“Bayard Taylor,” American National Biography (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 21:353-354.) 73 “Go To-night,” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, March 26, 1859. The exact location of Hawes’ Hall is not known, but probably was on present-day Main Street and Fourth Avenue Northeast. Woods (“History of Theater,” 32-33) notes several more Minneapolis halls were built during this period: Bibbin’s (1855), Elfelts’ (1856), Fletchers’ (1856), and Bassett’s (1859). 74 Quoted in Woods, “History of Theater,” 67. Woods cites the Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, October 29, 1859, but the first two pages of this issue are missing and the item was not found in the remaining pages. 75 Woods, “History of Theater,” C18. 76 Advertisement for DeHaven’s Union Circus, Minnesota State News, July 13, 1861; advertisement for Dr. Kane’s Artic Expedition, Minnesota State News, July 20, 1861. 77 Rothfuss, “German Theater,” 52-53, 251. 78 “Local Items,” State Atlas, April 30, May 14, October 22, and November 12, 1862; “Minneapolis Theaters,” Minneapolis-Saint Paul Journal, March 31, 1883. A newspaperman said there was only a raised platform in Harrison Hall, which was razed in 1912 (Minneapolis wrecking permit I132). Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 18

1863

In April, an amateur concert led by Prof. Shotwell is performed at Harrison Hall, still under construction, to raise money for the refugees of the Dakota War. By July, Harrison Hall is finally completed and is described as having splendid acoustic qualities. Ninety bench seats, each accommodating seven adults, make the hall’s total capacity approximately 630 people.79 On September 18 and 19, the Kelly Automaton Musical Troupe appears at the Harrison Hall. A newspaper describes it as “one of the most curious and remarkable exhibitions ever presented to the public. . . . This wonderful troupe of automatons, six in number, are of life size, and so perfectly arranged as to perform some twenty or thirty different pieces of music in as fine a style as living beings.”80

1865

Harmonia Hall is built at the corner of Utah (present-day First Avenue North) and Second Street North. Completed in December, it is the second building in Minneapolis to be used for professional theater. Built by the German Harmonia Singing Society, the structure measures forty-five by eighty feet. The hall is on the first floor and classrooms are on the second, unlike earlier halls that were primarily business blocks. A later newspaper article said that it had a capacity of about seven hundred and “was provided with a properly constructed stage design expressly for dramatic purposes, and was supplied with a full complement of scenery and stage fixtures.”81

1866

John Templeton’s Union Theater Company, a troupe of professional actors, appears at Harmonia Hall from May 22 to September 12, performing a variety of plays. A Saint Paul paper describes one, Fanchon the Cricket, as “Maggie Mitchell’s sensational five act play. . . . Harmonia Hall has been elegantly fitted up for this occasion and the high reputation of this troupe will, we are confident, give them a crowded house.” Somewhat later, the same paper reviewed the Stranger observing a good attendance. “We are gratified to notice so little in any wise open to criticism. The play was executed in its entirety. The absence of the coarse, obscene ribald, too characteristic of the stage, is a feature worthy of notice here, and is coming to the rapid appreciation among many of the better citizens.” In mid-June, the Minneapolis Chronicle notes that the Templeton troupe presents new plays every night and is as popular as ever, despite being here for four weeks. General admission was fifty cents and reserved seats were seventy-five cents.82

79

“Local Items,” State Atlas, April 1, 1863; “Harrison Hall and the Perkins Concert,” State Atlas, July 15, 1863. 80 “A Wonderful Thing,” State Atlas, September 16, 1863. 81 “Minneapolis Items,” Saint Paul Pioneer, December 6, 1865; “Minneapolis Theaters,” MinneapolisSaint Paul Journal, March 31, 1883. 82 “Minneapolis Items,” Saint Paul Pioneer, May 22, 1866; “Minneapolis Items,” Saint Paul Pioneer, June 1, 1866; “Local News—Theatre,” Minneapolis Chronicle, June 16, 1866. The Templetons were consistently lauded in the newspapers. “The performances of the last evenings at the theater have been attended by hundreds of people. The French play of Camille . . . was delivered last Saturday evening with extreme delicacy, and was eminently acceptable” (“Minneapolis,” Saint Paul Daily Press, May 31, 1866). Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 19

J. W. Pence builds the Pence Opera House at 126-128 Hennepin Avenue. He gets the public to contribute to this effort so he can include a third floor, which will serve as a public hall. When he was planning the project, a newspaper explained: “The necessity for a public hall which would accommodate a much larger number of persons than in the Harrison building, has long been felt in our town, and if proper steps are taken, we think one can be secured. Mr. J. W. Pence proposes to erect a stone building, three stories high, and 66 by 100 feet, on the old post office corner. If the public-spirited citizens of the town will raise a sufficient bonus, he will put a hall on the third floor.”83 A second Turners’ Hall is built on the west side of the river on First Street between Third and Fourth Avenues North. Like the Turners’ Hall across the river, this one was dedicated to elevating the mind by writing, speaking, dramatics, and health education for the young. A newspaper article describes the main building as “30 x 50 feet, with stage extension of 24 x 30 feet, and dressing rooms, dancing hall and ante rooms, 16 x 74 feet.” The Minneapolis Cornet Band and several gymnasts perform at the November 12 dedication. 84 The Athenaeum (formerly the Minneapolis Library Association) initiates a public subscription drive for a permanent building in 1865. After nearly ten thousand dollars is raised in the form of loans from 130 people, construction is begun on a two-story brick building at 215 Hennepin Avenue. It houses a reading room, bank, post office and “eating house.”85 The Chronicle notes that the Haverly and Sands Minstrels will give three shows at Harrison Hall and Stanchfield’s Hall in Saint Anthony, featuring the “world renowned clog dancer, Dick Sands, as well as a host of other performers.”86

Camille, the story of a courtesan who wins the love of a respectable young man, but then dies, was considered too risque by many audiences of the day. The fact that the Templetons could win praise for this questionable play is an indication of their talent and, perhaps, the gratitude of Minneapolis audiences, who had been without professional acting since the appearance of Sallie Saint Clair in 1857. Alice Vane (Mrs. John Templeton) was handed a bouquet of flowers from her admirers that concealed “a handsome set of jewelry” (“Minneapolis Items,” Saint Paul Daily Press, June 27, 1866). The troupe was scheduled to leave September 3, but extended its stay to give a benefit performance for the Minneapolis Cornet Band (“Minneapolis Items,” Saint Paul Daily Press, September 12, 1866). 83 “Minneapolis Items,” Saint Paul Pioneer, April 1, 1866. The article stated it would be the finest and largest hall in the state, with two entrances, one on Hennepin and the other on Second Street. 84 “Turner’s Hall,” Minneapolis Chronicle, November 1, 1866; “Dedication of the New Turners’ Hall,” Minneapolis Chronicle, November 13, 1866. The hall was dedicated November 12, 1866. Rothfuss (“German Theater,” 257) states that the hall was built on First Street and Oregon (present-day Third Avenue South), but city directories for the years 1867 to 1878 consistently place it on North First Street. The 1869 directory gives the address as “1st near railroad bridge,” meaning the railroad bridge that crosses the river to Nicollet Island near Fourth Avenue North. 85 Benidt, Library Book, 21. The loans were repaid from rent on the building. 86 “Local News,” Minneapolis Chronicle, June 16, 1866. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 20

De Haven’s Circus, “the Imperial Circus,” spreads its tent near Harrison Hall and plays to a crowd during the afternoon.87 1867

On February 11-12, De Haven’s Circus Company appears at Harmonia Hall, the first indoor circus in Minneapolis. In May, De Haven’s Circus performs on Nicollet Island. According to the State Atlas, De Haven set up his tent there to avoid paying the Minneapolis license fee of $75.88 The A. MacFarland troupe of actors is in residence at Harmonia Hall from February 20 to April 27. They perform plays such as the Lady of Lyons, Our American Cousin, and the Daughter of the Regiment.89 By the end of March, the third floor of the Pence Opera House is converted into a theater, which is dedicated on June 21. The hall, which can accommodate more than 1,300 people, is sixty-three by ninety-eight feet with a stage that is sixtythree feet wide and thirty feet deep. For the comfort of the patrons, there are upholstered seats in the balcony, which is accessed by two stairways. Chicago artists Jemne and Almini fresco the interior. Eight cherubs are depicted dancing around the ceiling dome, while the remainder of the ceiling is graced by female figures. A newspaper claims that the Pence is larger than any opera hall west of Chicago. The hall hosts at least two professional acting troupes this year: the A. MacFarland Company from June 20 to July 1 and from mid-August till October; and G. L. Aiken from early July through August 10. There are also various concerts and other performances at the Pence, such as the Fox Family concert on October 9; the Alleghanians, vocalists and bell ringers, on October 22; and a performance of Faust by Lotti’s German Opera Company on October 25.90

1868

Theaters not only enabled the performing arts, but spurred the visual arts by employing artists who frescoed the halls and painted scenery. When Harmonia Hall is remodeled, newspapers carry accounts of the interior decoration. “Weinard, the artist, has finished the work of frescoing and repainting the scenery at Harmonia Hall, and we congratulate the society on now having one of the neatest and most tasty rooms of the kind in the State, or even in the Northwest. “In the gallery over the main entrance, two pillars have been erected, upon which are life-size paintings of ‘Columbia’ and ‘Germania.’ In the panels upon either side of the room are paintings of ‘Melpomene,’ ‘Euterpe,’ ‘Terpishore,’ and ‘Polyhymnia.’ Upon the right and left of the stage are panels of ornamental work, while from the walls above Shakespeare, Schiller, Beethoven and Byron look

87

“Minneapolis Items,” Saint Paul Pioneer, May 22, 1866. “De Haven’s Circus Company,” State Atlas, February 13, 1866; and “Didn’t Respond,” State Atlas, May 8, 1866. Nicollet Island was part of the town of Saint Anthony and not subject to Minneapolis’s ordinances. 89 Woods, “History of Theater,” C36. 90 “Pence Music Hall,” Minneapolis Chronicle, March 24, 1867; and Woods, “History of Theater,” 81-88. Woods called the Pence Opera House the most important Minneapolis theater building of the 1860s. The third floor was converted into a theater based on the plans of architect A. M. Radcliffe. 88

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 21

down approvingly. On the ceiling is a centerpiece of ornamental scroll work, and over each of the four chandeliers are similar works of art. The whole combines to render the interior quite attractive. “Weinard has also repainted the drop curtain and scenery and those who knew the Harmonia Hall of a few weeks since would hardly recognize it as the same place to-day.”91 The Charles Plunkett Company appears at the Pence Opera House every month except February, August, November, and December. The Pence is host to other performances as well, such as amateur theatre by the Fort Snelling Dramatic Association and the Minneapolis Musical Union in February; Professor Sand’s and Company magic, comedy, and music show on April 7; a lecture by Ignatius Donnelly on July 31; and the Grau Opera performance of Martha and Fra Diavolo in October.92 A company of Japanese acrobatics performs to a packed audience at the Pence Opera House in June. A newspaper describes the Fusa Yami Japanese troupe as “eminently satisfactory to the audience” and “particularly novel and interesting to those who had never witnessed anything of the kind.”93 1869

The Pence Opera House hosts three professional acting companies during the summer: A. O. Miller, Fannie Hernandez Juvenile Troupe, and Mrs. James A Oates Company. A variety of other performers appear there during the year: African American orator and writer Frederick Douglass lectures on “William the Silent” on March 13, Ole Bull and company appear on May 3, the Mendelssohn Quintette of Boston performs in November, and Professor William Denton gives a series of talks on Geology in December “which have been most undoubtedly been received with high favor by large and appreciative audiences.”94 In February, three different velocipede exhibitions are staged by Leathers and Hamilton, Shuey and Bartlett, and Prof. William Sexton at Harrison Hall, Harmonia Hall, and the Pence Opera House, respectively. On March 6, General Tom Thumb and his troupe of midgets appear at the Pence Opera House.95

91

“Harmonia Hall—Grand Opening To-morrow Night,” Minneapolis Tribune, December 25, 1868. The grand re-opening night performance was a play, Remembrance, and a chorus under the direction of Prof. Harmsen. Admission was one dollar. 92 Woods, “History of Theater,” C46-51. The Plunkett Company was from Saint Paul (“Plunkett’s Troupe,” Saint Paul Daily Press, January 5, 1868). 93 “Fusa Yami Japanese Troupe,” Minneapolis Tribune, June 7, 1868; and “The Japanese,” Minneapolis Tribune, June 9, 1868. 94 “Covert Assault on Christianity,” Minneapolis Tribune, December 19, 1869. Although the editor praised the lectures, he perceived a “covert assault on Christianity” when Denton began speaking on the origin of humans. 95 “The Velocipede Excitement,” Minneapolis Tribune, February 17, 1869; “Velocipedes” (advertisement), Minneapolis Tribune, February 17 and March 3, 1869; Woods, ”History of Theater,” 56; Minneapolis Tribune, February 18, 1869. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 22

Artist Peter Clausen paints several views of the area around Saint Anthony Falls including the Hennepin Island Bridge and the reconstruction of the falls after the collapse of the Eastman Tunnel.96 1870

The Pence Opera House offers professional drama from several acting companies from mid-May through December, including appearances by the Laura Keene Company in July. Keene was the actress who appeared at Ford’s Theater the night Abraham Lincoln was shot.97 In August Satsuma’s Royal Japanese Acrobats with “20 stars of both sexes” appear at the Pence Opera House. The Tribune carries a long review commenting that a very large audience turned out for the opening to witness “tub and top spinning, pole climbing, and tight rope walking.” The report added that “the novelty of the exhibition, and the performance, no less than the powers displayed in the extraordinary performances, kept the observers intent upon the stage proceedings throughout the evening.” In December, Elmwood’s Female Minstrels, ten young women in “white face,” played the Pence in a show “that ladies and children can witness with perfect propriety.”98 Artist Charles William Post does an etching of a sawmill at Saint Anthony Falls. Albert Ruger creates a lithograph of the falls with the two towns on either side.99

1871

The Academy of Music is built at the corner of Hennepin and Washington (232240 Hennepin Avenue). Its owner, Joseph Hodges, intends it to surpass the Pence Opera House. It is larger and has seats for 1,300, with room for 200 more. Peter Clausen paints the frescoes on the walls and ceilings, and there are eleven sets of scenery.100

96

Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. Clausen was also a well-known painter of theater scenery in Minneapolis and other locations, such as the Mable Tainter Theater in Menomonie, Wisconsin. 97 Laura Keene (1820?-1873) began her acting career in London. She made her debut in New York in 1852 and was immediately a star. She went on to tour in the American West and Australia. Later, she founded her own theater in New York where she was very successful for a time. Her production of Our American Cousin enjoyed the third-longest run of any American play in the nineteenth century. Her appearance at Ford’s Theater the night that Lincoln was assassinated marked the beginning of Keene’s professional decline. She was later arrested for conspiracy to murder the president, although there was no evidence of her involvement. (Claudia Durst Johnson, “Laura Keene,” American National Biography (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999) 12:444-446.) 98 “The Japs,” Minneapolis Tribune, August 5, 1870; “First Night of the Japanese,” Minneapolis Tribune, August 9, 1870; and “Pence Opera House, Elwood’s Female Minstrels” (advertisement), Minneapolis Tribune, December 22, 1870. 99 Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. 100 Woods, “History of Theater,” 149-154. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 23

The Princess of Marzipan or Pride Comes to Fall is performed at the Minneapolis Turners’ Hall by the German Amateurs. This is probably the first play in Minneapolis specifically for children.101 1872

The Academy of Music offers professional theater starting in February with Phelan and Rose’s Chicago Comedy Company, and ending with Child of the Regiment and Antony and Cleopatra by the McKee Rankin Comedy Company in August. The Varieties, the first of several concert saloons and small variety halls, opens on July 10 at 24 Bridge Square. The opening promotion promises: “There will be a challenge dance between John Deenan, the well known dancer of the city, and Sam Shephard, the champion clog dancer of the West.” The advertisement also assures performances by violinist Ole Bull; fire eating by the ‘King of Fire’; and a first-time exhibit of “the wonderful Poppets.”102 The Academy also offers concerts, minstrel shows, and other performances such as singer Asa Hutchinson on February 20; Ole Bull on March 23; juggling and acrobatics by the Royal Yeddo Japanese Company on September 23; Duprez and Benedict’s New Orleans Gigantic Minstrels on November 26-28; and readings of Shakespeare by English actress Mrs. Scott Siddons on December 10. Several circuses appear in Minneapolis, including P. T. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth on September 17.103 The Orchestra and Cornet Band led by Lemons Sidwell have an office at 38 Bridge Square.104

1873

Both the Pence Opera House and the Academy of Music present professional acting troupes throughout the year including Plunkett’s Constellation Company and the Jane Coomb’s Company. The latter is managed by Henry Abbey, who later manages the Metropolitan Opera House, owns the Park Theater in New York City, and brings British actress Lillie Langtry to America.105 On March 4, Ole Bull gives a concert at the Academy of Music. A reviewer observes that every seat in the hall was occupied and that “the great violinist was in jolly good humor and held his audience spellbound.” Mrs. Scott Siddons gives a reading from Shakespeare there a month later. In April, Mrs. Jarley’s WaxWorks appear at the Academy. The wax figures, dressed in historical costumes,

101

“Children’s Theater,” Minneapolis Tribune, March 25, 1871. The article noted that admission to the five-act play was fifty cents for men and twenty-five cents for women. Apparently, children were admitted for free if accompanied by their parents. Unchaperoned children were not admitted. 102 Lawrence James Hill, “A History of Variety-Vaudeville in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from Its Beginning to 1900” (PhD thesis, University of Minnesota, 1979), 70 and 83-84. 103 Woods, “History of Theater,” C79-85. 104 Tribune’s Directory for Minneapolis and Saint Anthony for 1871-1872 (Minneapolis: Tribune Printing Company, 1871), 195. 105 Woods, “History of Theater,” C87. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 24

are manipulated by Jarley and deliver comic monologues. The show is a benefit for the Universalist Church, and raises $375.106 Tom Thumb’s Company of Midgets performs at the Pence Opera House on December 15.107 1874

Both the Academy of Music and the Pence Opera House continue to present professional acting companies. In January, Morris and Howarth show a “Panorama Tour through Ireland” at the Pence Opera House. On February 14, Victoria Woodhull speaks on “Reformation or Revolution?” at the Academy of Music. In March, the Catholic amateurs present Ghost in Spite of Himself at the Pence Opera House. Artist Thomas Nast gives a lecture and “chalk talk” at the Academy of Music in April. The North Carolinians, “colored vocalists,” sing at the Academy of Music in August. In November, the Adelaide Phillips Company presents a “grand concert” and the Barber of Seville at the Academy of Music. On December 25 and 26, the Tyrolean Troupe of alpine musicians performs at the Academy of Music.108 The Turners’ Hall at Marshall Avenue and Fourth Street Northeast is destroyed by fire on February 28. A new hall, fifty feet long and sixty feet wide, complete with a balcony and classroom for a German-English school, is built at Marshall between Fifth and Sixth Streets Northeast. It is dedicated on September 26.109 The Louvre Theater, located somewhere along Washington Avenue North, opens. A reporter characterizes it as a “bawdy show” where alcoholic drinks are served, and blames the city for allowing it to open. “Under the auspices of the governing power of this city, Minneapolis is growing wonderfully proficient in metropolitan vice.” The entertainment is described as “buffoonery, with all the slang of a bagnio [brothel], and the most indecent gestures conceivable brought down the house.”110

1875

Both the Academy of Music and the Pence Opera House continue to present professional acting companies throughout the year. In mid-April, the Plunkett Company appears at the Academy of Music for the first time.111

106

An advertisement for the Bull concert gives the ticket price as one dollar. It is not clear if the Universalist church mentioned in the article is the one in Saint Anthony or Minneapolis. “Academy of Music—Ole Bull” (advertisement), Minneapolis Tribune, March 4, 1873; “Ole Bull,” Minneapolis Tribune, March 5, 1873; “Academy of Music—Mrs. Scott-Siddons” (advertisement), Minneapolis Tribune, April 3, 1873; “Last Night,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 24, 1873; “Brief Mention,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 25, 1873. 107 Woods, “History of Theater,” C92. 108 “Amusements,” Minneapolis Tribune, November 11, 1874. In an account of the Barber of Seville, the reviewer complained that many members of the large audience were thirty minutes late for the performance and this was a “poor compliment” to pay to the artists. 109 Rothfuss, “German Theater,” 252. 110 “Pandemonium,” Minneapolis Tribune, November 11, 1874. 111 Woods, “History of Theater,” C105. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 25

On May 19-20, Dr. Healy’s Hibernian Gems, a panorama, appears at the Academy of Music. An advertisement describes the show: “Eighty-five beautiful views of Ould Ireland, painted on 10,000 feet of moving canvass. Views from every county and every object on the Old Sod faithfully portrayed by the full IRISH COMEDY COMPANY.” A reviewer calls it “the finest panoramic exhibition that was ever unrolled in this city. . . . Mr. Richard Devlin possesses a pure tenor voice, and knows how to use it.”112 Mademoiselles LaBerge and Lamareaux present female minstrels and cancan dancers at the Academy of Music on February 23-24. The Tribune exhorts the city to suppress the performance: “We learn that it is most disgusting in every particular, demoralizing and even filthy. It is true that this troupe was permitted to exhibit in Chicago, but it was even there kept constantly under police surveillance, and its indecencies kept within the limits of Chicago’s depraved tastes. . . . Since leaving there, all restraint seems to have been thrown off by this troupe, and they give full license to their indecent exhibitions.” The company and the city come to an agreement to remove an offending dance, even though it is the chief attraction. The newspaper reports on the sanitized version: “The show consisted of seven painted women, ill-shaped[,] hardened in feature. They went through some very ordinary minstrel performances, and of course made the geese in the gallery giggle. The audience were ‘badly sold,’ to use the vernacular of a man about town, who further ventured the opinion that it was ‘disgustingly decent and flat.’”113 Historian Lawrence Hill calls the year 1875 a high point of minstrel shows in Minneapolis, with seven different companies appearing at the Academy of Music in ten separate runs.114 Artist Alexander Loemans paints Saint Anthony Falls as he believed it appeared in 1842.115 1876

The Academy of Music has a full calendar of professional drama from March to October. The hall is also used for lectures, concerts, and miscellaneous performances. Elizabeth Cady Stanton lectures on “Washington Women” on May 17 and Wong Chin Foo talks on “Buddhism and Confucianism” on December 31. Madame Rentz’s Female Minstrels and cancan dancers appear at the Academy on February 4, and the Caroline Richings-Barnard Company performs a concert there on February 1.116

112

“Healy’s Hibernian Gems” and advertisement for Academy of Music, Minneapolis Evening Mail, May 20, 1875. 113 “The Can-Can,” Minneapolis Tribune, February 21, 1875; and “Can-Can!” Minneapolis Tribune, February 24, 1875. 114 Hill, “History of Variety-Vaudeville,” 97. 115 Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. 116 Woods, “History of Theater,” C110-114. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 26

In addition to Saturday evening band concerts and ice cream, Mannasseh Pettingill’s resort at Chalybeate Springs on the east bank of the Mississippi offers tours of Chute’s Cave. “For the moderate sum of ten cents you can take a seat in a boat, with a flaming torch at the bow, and with a trusty pilot sail up Main Street a distance of 2,000 feet, between walls of pure white sandstone, and under a limestone arch which forms the roof.” 117 1877

P. T. Barnum’s circus comes to town, offering a “Great Annex” that includes living curiosities from the New American Museum in New York, such a 718pound “mammoth woman, dwarfs, Albinos, and cannibals.”118 On August 6, the North Carolingians offer “Plantation Melodies” at the Market Hall in Bridge Square at one of Harlow Gales’s regularly sponsored “Dime Concerts.”119 The American Museum at 204 Nicollet Avenue opens an exhibit of eating utensils belonging to George Washington.120

1878

In addition to professional theater at the Pence Opera House and Academy of Music, there are amateur groups. The Island Club, for example, presents Ici on Parle Francais on Nicollet Island at the home of John Watson in February. The Island Club players include John Bradstreet. A few months later, Bradstreet decorates the stage for a group of amateurs who present Above the Clouds at the Academy of Music in April and May. The second performance is a benefit for the families of men killed in the Washburn “A” Mill blast.121 An exhibition of Edison’s phonograph is held at Harrison Hall on July 15. A newspaper reports: “All the wonderful stories of the novelty invention are more than verified. The machine has been so often described that repetition is not necessary here. It repeats with wonderful fidelity the words and inflection of voice, of the speaker talking into the machine, gives back a whistle with even greater distinctiveness that it was uttered. There is no sound that it does not repeat.”122 Historian Hill calls the 1878 minstrel season “the strongest since 1875,” with seven different troupes playing the city. According to a newspaper account, Z. A.

117

“Chalybeate Springs,” Saint Paul and Minneapolis Pioneer Press and Tribune, August 26, 1876. The article also mentioned that Pettingill was building a dancing pavilion. Pettingill operated the boat rides from 1875 until a portion of the tunnel collapsed on December 23, 1880. 118 Hill, “History of Variety-Vaudeville,”122; and Minneapolis Tribune, July 17, 1877. 119 Woods, “History of Theater,” C119. 120 “Gossip About Town,” Minneapolis Tribune, October 8, 1877. 121 The 1878-1879 city directory lists John Watson, a contractor and vice president of City Bank, as residing at 8 Grove Place on Nicollet Island. “Melange,” Minneapolis Tribune, February 2, 1878; “Melange,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 20, 1878; “Society,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 27, 1878; and “The Orphans and Widows,” Minneapolis Tribune, May 4, 1878. 122 “Gossip About Town,” Minneapolis Tribune, July 15, 1878. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 27

Sprague’s Original Georgia Minstrels are “genuine darkies, and make the singing of negro melodies the chief feature of interest in their entertainment.”123 The west side Turners’ Hall burns down December 14. 1879

The Theater Comique, near the corner of First and Washington Avenues South (present-day 217 Marquette), opens on June 16. A variety of performers present a “side-splitting show” on July 11 and in early December the Comique Stock Company stages Leadville, or Bust. Initially, the Comique is liquor-free, but that has changed by the following spring when E. S. Johnson is fined for selling liquor at the theater without a license. It is occasionally closed by the authorities or for remodeling, but keeps reopening. Historian Hill calls the Theater Comique the major variety hall of the 1880s.124 Millie Eugene and Maud Santley’s Company presents the “Hibernian Blondes and female burlesquers” at the Academy of Music on December 16. Handbills for the show had promised a demonstration of the “Parisian Nac-Nac [cancan] dance,” according to a newspaper reporter. “However, the reviewer found four badly demoralized virgins, vergin’ on fifty, cracked out an occasional song and took such steps as their rheumatic anatomy would allow. The show was mainly on the bills, and the only way the promise of ‘eight high kickers’ could be fulfilled was by assuming each female had two elevated kickers. They didn’t elevate them, however, greatly to the disgust of the audience.”125 Lumberman Thomas Barlow Walker opens a public art gallery in his house at 803 Hennepin Avenue (beyond the geographic limits of this study). The gallery, a sixteen by thirty-foot room built between his residence and carriage house, is open to the public.126

123

Hill, “History of Variety-Vaudeville,”103; and “Gossip About Town,” Minneapolis Tribune, May 22, 1878. 124 Hill, “History of Variety-Vaudeville,” 72; and “The Courts,” Minneapolis Tribune, May 22, 1880. W. W. Brown, who was then operating the Varieties Theater was also fined ten dollars for selling liquor without a license. He would soon become the manager of the Comique. In 1883, Brown was indicted for running a house of prostitution at the theater. A newspaper printed a price list of the alcoholic drinks served (“The Theater Comique,” Saturday Evening Spectator, May 19, 1883). 125 “Melange,” Minneapolis Tribune, December 6, 1879; and “Gossip About Town,” Minneapolis Tribune, December 17, 1879. 126 Walker Art Center, Walker Art Center, History, Collection Activities (Minneapolis: n.p., 1971), n. p. Walker’s fortune, based in the statewide lumber industry and sawmills at Saint Anthony Falls, funded cultural activities and institutions that were mostly beyond the geographic limits of this study. Walker had begun collecting art in 1874 to furnish his house. In 1894, Walker expanded his house-gallery to accommodate his growing art collection. At this point, a curator was hired. In 1909 and 1912, Walker’s gallery was further enlarged. During construction, “nearly a hundred paintings and more than three thousand objects were accommodated in the Minneapolis Public Library and its branches.” In 1925, Walker established the T. B. Walker Foundation “to promote educational, artistic, and scientific interests.” Walker then decided to build a separate museum for his collections, which by then included European paintings, oriental rugs, ancient bronze vessels, and Chinese jades. The new building, which opened in May 1927, was called the Walker Art Gallery. During the Depression, the Minnesota Arts Council took over control of the Walker Gallery and the W.P.A. provided staff members. In 1939, the name was changed to the Walker Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 28

1880

A new Turners’ Hall is built at 504 Washington Avenue North to replace the one that burned down.127 Concertmaster Franz Danz, who had come to Fort Snelling in 1877 to lead an army band, relocates to Minneapolis to lead Seibert’s Minneapolis Orchestra and Band. The group’s name is soon changed to the Danz Orchestra and Band.128 On July 1, the London-based D’Oyley Carte Opera Company presents Pirates of Penzance at the Academy of Music.129

1881

Franz Danz gives a sacred music concert at the west side Turners’ Hall in January. Concerts are offered there every Sunday, at least through May. In October, Danz conducts a Sunday program with more contemporary, popular music.130 During October, Ten Nights in Bar Room plays at the Pence Opera House and Uncle Tom’s Cabin plays at the Academy of Music.131

1882

On March 15, Irish writer Oscar Wilde appears at the Academy of Music to speak on “The English Renaissance.” An advertisement states tickets are fifty and seventy-five cents. A reviewer counts about 250 in the audience and describes Wilde as speaking in a monotonous drawl, “giving the impression that he was a prize monkey wound up, and warranted to talk for an hour and a half without stopping.” The account continues: “Mr. Wilde said that hitherto England had not expected much of this country from an aesthetic standpoint. In fact she could not logically. Now, however, the great questions were settled; the war was over; and Europe generally felt interested in the question as to whether or not this country would become civilized. According to Mr. Wilde if this country wants to be civilized she must give herself up to art. Industry without art is barbarism.”132

Art Center, and its stated mission was “to establish a new public program of exhibitions, workshops and educational activities” (William W. Folwell, A History of Minnesota (revised ed., Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1969), 4:468-469; and. Walker Art Center, History, Collection Activities). 127 Rothfuss, “German Theater,” 258. The hall was later converted to a warehouse and razed in 1972 (Minneapolis wrecking permit I15812). 128 “Frank Danz, Father of Orchestra Music in Minneapolis, Dies,” Minneapolis Tribune, February 7, 1917. A native of Germany, Danz died at age 87, six years after the death of his son, Frank Jr., who had taken over the band and orchestra’s operation. Many of Danz’s musicians were recruited by the Minneapolis Orchestra, formed in 1903. 129 Advertisement, Minneapolis Tribune, July 1, 1880; and Academy of Music program, Performing Arts Archives, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 130 “Musical,” Minneapolis Tribune, January 16, 1881; “Gossip About Town,” Minneapolis Tribune, May 4, 1881; and “Melange,” Minneapolis Tribune, October 16, 1881. The first October Danz concert included waltz music, a gallop by Charles Bach, and a string quartette. 131 “Melange,” Minneapolis Tribune, October 16, 1881. 132 “Academy of Music—Oscar Wilde” (advertisement), Minneapolis Tribune, March 15, 1882; and “Oscar Wilde,” Minneapolis Tribune, March 16, 1882. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 29

Tony Denier’s Humpty Dumpty performs at the Academy of Music. A reviewer writes: “The Tony Denier troupe in Humpty Dumpty had a good house last evening and gave a most enjoyable performance, keeping the audience convulsed with laughter. The trained dogs and the acrobatic, and variety business were especially excellent.”133 On June 24, the Danz Orchestra launches a series of weekly open-air concerts on Saturday evenings at Bridge Square.134 1883

On January 31, the first meeting of the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts is held at the home of Emma Crosby at 624 Tenth Avenue South (beyond the geographic limits of this study). At this meeting, the society’s twenty-five members signed the articles of incorporation. Many of the founding members were connected to the waterpower industries at Saint Anthony Falls. The husbands of Emma Crosby and Ella Martin, John Crosby and Charles J. Martin, were respectively partners in the milling firm of Washburn, Crosby and Company. Frances A. Pray’s husband, Otis, built flour mills in Minneapolis, Afton, and Saint Cloud. This group would expand to include more individuals with ties to waterpower and milling such as William Hood Dunwoody, Frank H. Peavey, John S. Pillsbury, and T. B. Walker. From 1888 to 1893, Walker served as the president of the society. More than twenty-five years after its founding, the society would undertake a fund-raising campaign to build the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.135 On March 29, the Academy of Music sees its last performance, Electric Sparks, with the Atkinson Jollity Company. The third-floor hall is closed and converted to business purposes. In the months before closing the Academy of Music has a number of “animal acts.” A live donkey appears in Irish Aristocracy and a goat does service in Squatter Sovereignty.136 In April, the Grand Opera House, the first “downstairs theater” in Minneapolis, opens on Sixth Street near Nicollet Avenue. The auditorium of a downstairs theater is on the first floor, meaning its primary function is a theater. The Grand Opera House draws business away from the Pence Opera House, now an oldfashioned theater with its third-floor hall. The Grand Opera House represents a shift away from the riverfront.137 In September, thousands turn out to celebrate the arrival of the “Villard trains” commemorating the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad from Lake

133

“Gossip About Town,” Minneapolis Tribune, May 20, 1882. “The Daily Review,” Minneapolis Tribune, June 24, 1882. 135 Jeffery A. Hess, Their Splendid Legacy: The First 100 Years of the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts (Minneapolis: Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, 1985), 5, 7, 19-33, 79. 136 Woods, “History of Theater,” 264-265. The Academy of Music burned down December 25, 1884. 137 Ibid, 265. Woods does not consider the earlier Harmonia Hall the first “downstairs house” because it was primarily built as the organization’s clubhouse, not a theater. The Pence Opera House was taken over by the Union City Mission about 1915. The building was razed in 1952. 134

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 30

Superior to Puget Sound. Henry Villard, president of the Northern Pacific, has invited guests from Europe and the United States to ride three special trains, which start in New York and continue all the way to the Pacific Ocean. A New York Times reporter states, “This has been a most eventful day in the history of Minneapolis. The announcement that President Villard and his guests would stop here on their way to witness the driving of the golden spike on the Northern Pacific Railroad has caused the citizens to strain every nerve to make the visit a memorable one.” The reporter noted, “At the intersection of Nicollet Avenue from the First National Bank across to Harrison Hall was a representation of a section of the Northern Pacific Bridge over the Missouri River at Bismarck with a miniature train of cars upon it.” Nearby, stood models of Minnehaha Falls and the Manitoba viaduct, which was being built over the Mississippi River. Two temporary triumphal arches welcomed the visitors. The reporter continued, “One of the most striking [decorations] was on the Windom block, where among other things, were piled a huge stack of flour-barrels, with the motto: ‘Give us the wheat and we will feed the world.’” An estimated 40,000 visitors cheer the arrival of President Chester Arthur, former president and general Ulysses S. Grant, and General Philip Sheridan. The visitors were feted with a parade, which took nearly four hours to pass by the grandstand, including marching bands, Indians in canoes, “prairie schooners,” and replicas of flour and lumber mills.138 1884

The Harmonia Society builds a second Harmonia Hall at Third Street and Second Avenue South, designed primarily for its private membership activities. The first Harmonia Hall eventually serves as a warehouse for furs and hides, and is torn down in 1941.139 In January, the Palace Dime Museum opens at 513-515 Washington Avenue South. The Palace specialized in exhibiting “human wonders, scientific illusions, mechanical novelties and wonders from the four corners of the globe.” This museum stays in business until the spring of 1885.140 A remodeled Theatre Comique reopens on February 4 with seating for eight hundred and scenery painted by Peter Clausen.141

1885

Artist Alexis Jean Fournier depicts Saint Anthony Falls and the Hennepin Avenue suspension bridge in oils. An anonymous painter paints the falls as it might have

138

“President Villard’s Guests,” New York Times, September 4, 1883. “Finished in 1860; Housed Many a ‘Heavy Melodramer,’” Minneapolis Star Journal, May 15, 1941. 140 “Palace Dime Museum” (advertisement), Minneapolis Tribune, March 16, 1884. Hill (“History of Variety-Vaudeville,”129-130) observes that a series of dime museums sprang up in the city during the 1880s, the first of which was run by C. F. Baldwin at Harrison Hall in 1883. He also identifies two other short-lived dime museums: the European Dime Museum at 613-615 Washington Avenue South and another, unnamed, at 226 Washington Avenue South. 141 Randolph Edgar, “Memories of Minneapolis Theater Salvaged for History,” Minneapolis Journal, March 28, 1926. Originally, there were 190 seats in the Comique. The last performance there was in March 1897. It burned down July 23, 1901. A drawing of the Comique and W. W. Brown accompanies this article. 139

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 31

appeared after the suspension bridge was erected, but before the apron was built.142 On September 28, Sackett and Wiggins open their Dime Museum at 214-216 Hennepin Avenue. An advertisement proclaims: “The parlor entertainments are designed to take place hourly. Ladies and children can attend with propriety.” Among the features is Che-Mah, Barnum’s famous Chinese dwarf, a curiosity hall, monster museum, and lecture room. In time, the Dime Museum, which allows the visitor access to most of its attractions for ten cents, will prove a serious competitor for the Theatre Comique.143 The Minnesota State Legislature establishes the library board and allows the city to issue $100,000 in bonds for the construction of a new library building, with the proviso that an additional $50,000 be contributed by Minneapolis citizens. Twelve individuals and groups such as T. B. Walker, Thomas Lowry, Joseph Dean, William S. King, William D. Washburn, and the C. A. Pillsbury Company, contribute $54,000. A total of $61,655 is raised.144 1886

Danz moves his Sunday concerts to Harmonia Hall from the Turners’ Hall, where smoking and drinking was not permitted. These rules, apparently, were hurting attendance.145 Winslow House Hotel is razed in March to make way for the Industrial Exposition Hall, which is completed in the fall. The hall is 356 feet long, 336 feet wide, and 80 feet high. One account describes the space for visual arts: “The art annex extends for a distance of 184 feet on the First Avenue [present-day Central Avenue Southeast] side, and is partially separated from the main building by a covered court which forms the hall of antique sculpture. The paintings, etching, engraving, etc., are displayed in a series of fifteen well lighted rooms.” All the paintings, gathered from collections around the country, are for sale. Casts of antique sculptures, including the British Museum’s Elgin Marbles, are purchased by the Minneapolis Exposition Association for $10,000. More than one thousand paintings, etchings, engravings, and other objects are displayed in addition to the sculpture casts.146

142

Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. “Sackett and Wiggins’ Dime Museum,” (advertisement) Minneapolis Tribune, September 27, 1885. John Bradstreet’s association with theaters continued as his firm, Bradstreet, Thurber and Company, furnished the artistic furniture, curtains, and mirrors. W. W. Sly did the frescoing and artistic painting in the theater. The advertisement states the proprietors had spent $15,000 on the building. Hill (“History of Variety-Vaudeville,”189-191) notes the competition forced the Comique to lower its prices. The Sackett and Wiggins museum operated until 1889. The building that housed the Dime Museum became a movie theater around 1919 and was razed in 1962 (Minneapolis wrecking permits I8960 and I8961). 144 Benidt, Library Book, 49. The new library building at Tenth Avenue and Hennepin (beyond the geographic limits of this study) opened in December 16, 1889. 145 “Music and Art,” Minneapolis Tribune, January 3, 1886. 146 Complete Catalogue of the Art Department of the First Minneapolis Industrial Exposition (Minneapolis: n.p., 1886), 4-5. After serving as the warehouse for Marion Savage’s International Stock Company, all but the tower of the Exposition building was razed in 1940. The tower was wrecked in 1946. 143

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 32

1887

In March, Jo-Jo the Dog Faced Boy is the featured attraction at Sackett and Wiggins Dime Museum. The Minneapolis Tribune reports that over 8,000 people attended the museum when this exhibit opened.147 Adelina Patti appears in Minneapolis thirty-one years after her first appearance.148 The Tribune notes that the highlight of the week at the Exposition Hall will be Thursday, September 22, when “colored people’s day” will celebrate the twentyfifth anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. John Mercer Langston, the “greatest colored orator” and former U.S. minister to Haiti, will judge a contest between Saint Paul and Minneapolis quartets. Meanwhile, the Danz Band alternates performances with Liberati’s Band at the Exposition Hall, and the Exposition Chorus makes it last appearance of the season.149 The People’s Theater, owned by Lambert Hayes, opens at 20 North Washington Avenue on October 31. Harry G. Carter, a well-known theater architect, designs the building. Chicago fresco artists Mitchell and Halbach are hired to do all the decorative painting in “the auditorium, retiring rooms, boxes, and grand entrance.”150 Alexis Fournier does a painting of Saint Anthony Falls as it might have appeared before development. He also paints a contemporary view entitled Mill Pond at Minneapolis in 1888.151

147

Hill, “History of Variety-Vaudeville,”192. Jo-Jo was described as resembling a terrier, his face covered with hair. 148 “Little ‘Lina Patti,” Minneapolis Journal, February 21, 1887; “The Patti Concert,” Evening Spectator, March 5, 1887; and “Patti Sings,” Minneapolis Tribune, March 3, 1887. Patti appeared at the Washington Rink, located at Tenth and Washington Avenue North and played to a standing-room-only house. 149 “The Exposition,” Minneapolis Tribune, September 19, 1887; and “The Exposition,” Minneapolis Tribune, October 14, 1887. John Mercer Langston, the son of a freed slave and a wealthy white plantation owner, was born in Virginia in 1829. Forced to leave Virginia after the death of his parents in 1834, Langston moved to Ohio. He entered Oberlin College in 1844 and graduated in 1849. He engaged in antislavery politics, studied law, and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1854, becoming the first African American lawyer in the West. He settled in Oberlin in 1856, practiced law, and was elected to several town posts. During the Civil War, he raised hundred of volunteers for Massachusetts and Ohio’s Black regiments. In 1869, Langston founded the law department at Howard University, and for a time served as a law professor and the first dean of the law school. He was minister and general consul to Haiti from 1877 to 1885. In 1885 Langston returned to his home state to head the state college for African Americans, the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. In 1890 he became the first African American to be elected to Congress from Virginia. Langston died in 1897. (William and Aimee Cheek, “John Mercer Langston,” American National Biography, (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 13:164-166.) 150 Minneapolis building permit A371; Lambert Hayes and Mitchell and Halbach, painting contract, August 4, 1887, in Theodore Hayes Papers, Minnesota Historical Society. The People’s Theater, renamed the Bijou in 1890, was destroyed by fire in December of that year. A larger Bijou was built the following year (Hill, “History of Variety-Vaudeville,”129). The rebuilt Bijou was also designed by Harry Carter (Minneapolis building permits A371 and A2228). Bradstreet, Thurber and Company made a proposal to decorate the rebuilt Bijou but it is uncertain if they actually did this work. The Bijou was later converted to a movie theater. It was razed in 1960 (Minneapolis wrecking permit I7905). 151 Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 33

1889

Kohl and Middleton, who have assumed control of the Sackett and Wiggins Dime Museum, renovate an existing three-story building at 40-44 Marquette Avenue and move the museum there. A newspaper account describes the renovations, which include a gold and terra cotta lobby with a tiled floor, and a box office in the style of a Chinese pagoda. The upper floor is devoted to a curio hall and cages of live animals. A large theater is located on the second floor with a proscenium opening twenty-eight feet wide and a stage thirty feet deep. Another theater on the first floor seats six hundred people. An advertisement lists a few of the museum’s attractions: a cow with two udders, a sheep with four horns, “Madame Taylor, the venerable song-bird, who has a snowy beard reaching to her waist,” and the International Vaudeville Company. All could be seen for the price of a dime.152 Meanwhile, the Saturday Evening Spectator attacks popular entertainment with tirades against dime museums. “In the matter of public entertainments prices have been so much reduced, the grade of low priced entertainments raised, and churches become so liberal in the matter of allowing attendance at places of amusements, that there is little need of people of any social position, depriving themselves of amusing entertainment. Neither is there excuse for attending amusements of a low or immoral order, and yet it is said that the attendance at Dime Museums and worse than worthless entertainments is largely made up of women and children, the very ones who of all should absent themselves from places where there is the slightest tendency to vulgarity, immorality or unhealthful excitement.”153

1890

Artist James Fairman paints the long-destroyed Old Government Mills at Saint Anthony Falls in oil.154 The fifth annual Minneapolis Industrial Exposition opens August 27 and closes October 4. Among the many features are: Eduard Strauss (son of Johann Strauss) and his famous Viennese Orchestra; Yank Hoe and Omene, billed as “Japanese Fantaisists [magicians] from the Crystal Palace in London”; an exhibition of paintings and sculpture; an Edison General Electric Company exhibit of thousands of electric lights; and a “grand spectacle called the ‘Last Days of Pompeii,’ complete with life-size buildings, an amphitheater, with actors playing Roman soldiers, priests, and gladiators, and the destruction of the city simulated by a display of Pain’s Manhattan Beach Fire-Works.” A temporary grandstand seating fifteen thousand is erected outside the hall to accommodate the Pompeii show.155

152

Advertisement for Palace Museum, Minneapolis Journal, August 31, 1889; and Hill, “History of Variety-Vaudeville,” 130-131. The building that housed the Kohl and Middleton Dime Museum was razed in 1962. 153 Hill, “History of Variety-Vaudeville,” 216-218; and “Harmful Entertainments,” Saturday Evening Spectator, January 26, 1889. 154 Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. 155 Minneapolis Industrial Exposition 1890 (Minneapolis: Tribune Printing Company, 1890), 7, 25, 29, 37, 39. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 34

1891

Danz concerts move away from the riverfront to the Grand Theater on Sixth Street. In the summer, the Danz Orchestra performs at Lake Harriet. In December, the Tribune notes that the Danz season has returned to Harmonia Hall, with an encouraging sale of advance tickets. In praising Frank Danz, the paper notes that his concerts “have been effective also in elevating the required standard of excellence on the part of the audience. In short, Frank Danz, Jr., and his orchestra have done more for music in Minneapolis than any other organization in the city.”156 The Twin City Amusement Bulletin notes that the Theatre Comique will present “twelve new vaudeville stars” during the week of October 26, while the Pence Opera House will stage Michael Strogoff.157

1896

A statue of Ole Bull by Jacob Fjelde is unveiled at the Exposition Hall on May 17. It will later be placed in Loring Park.

1899

Theodore Hayes, the manager of the Bijou Theater, presents the first public showing of a motion picture in Minneapolis in combination with a romantic drama in four acts, Don Caesar de Bazan. A newspaper reports that “the celebrated Animatoggraph, one of the most famous of the motion photography machines,” will be in use during the week of May 21. “A very entertaining repertory of views will be given, including an effective local picture, Company I, Thirteenth regiment leaving Camp Ramsey.”158

1900

Artist Sarah Thorp Heald paints the old Government Mill at Saint Anthony Falls. Henry Lewis does two oil paintings of the falls, depicting it before waterpower development.159 The Dewey Theater at 203 North Washington opens. With seating for 1,600, it specializes in burlesque, but in later years shows motion pictures as well.160

1902

Work is started on the Pillsbury Library at 100 University Avenue Southeast. Designed by architect Charles R. Aldrich, it is John S. Pillsbury’s end-of-life gift to the community. Before his death in 1901, Pillsbury proposed the library, commenting: “I developed the plan of giving the East Side a library which would be suited to the needs of the whole people. Some of my friends do not like the site

156

“Danz Midweek Concerts,” Minneapolis Tribune, January 7, 1891; and “Music for the People,” Minneapolis Tribune, December 13, 1891. The writer may have conflated Franz Danz with his son, Frank Danz, Jr., a violinist who arrived in Minneapolis in 1882. 157 Twin City Amusement Bulletin for week ending October 31, 1891, 14, 15. 158 “Bill of Play,” Minneapolis Journal, May 20, 1899; “Theodore Hayes, Showman Dies,” Minneapolis Tribune, May 6, 1945. Theodore was the son of Lambert Hayes, who built the first Bijou Theater in 1887. 159 Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. 160 The Dewey was razed in 1938. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 35

I have chosen, but I believe it is the best situated to serve the needs of the largest number.”161 1903

Marion Savage purchases the bankrupt Exposition Hall and renames the auditorium the “International Hall.” Both the newly formed Minneapolis Symphony and the Philharmonic Club give concerts here until it closes early in 1904.162

1909

The Gayety Theater is built at 101 Washington Avenue North. Specializing in burlesque and vaudeville shows, it seats twelve hundred people and has a proscenium arch that rises seventy-five feet above the stage. Dubbed the “Minneapolis Fun Center,” the Gayety books well-known stars such as Al Jolson and Sophie Tucker. Fannie Brice appears there the week of November 21 as the soubrette singing “Sadie Salome, Go Home,” a parody of all the Salome dancers of the time, performed with a Yiddish accent. The lyrics are: Don’t do that dance, I tell, Sadie Dat’s not a business for a lady Most ev’ryone knows that I’m your loving Mose Oy, oy, oy, oy, where is your clothes? Sadie Salome, go home.163 After several moves, the Ard Godfrey House, by then owned by the Minneapolis Pioneer Association, finds a permanent home on Richard Chute Square at the corner of University and Central Avenues Southeast. The Pioneer Association donates it to the City of Minneapolis as a historic site.

1910

Artist Douglas Volk paints Father Hennepin Discovering the Falls of Saint Anthony for the governor’s reception room at the Minnesota State Capitol. About this same time, artist Philip Little paints Frozen Mississippi, depicting the west side milling district and the Stone Arch Bridge.164 The city directory lists eight riverfront theaters: the Bijou Opera House, 18-20 Washington North; Dewey Theater, 203 Washington North; Gayety Theatre, 103 Washington North; Gem Theatre, 212 Hennepin; Novelty Theatre, 38 Washington

161

Horace B. Hudson, “A Public Servant of the Norwest,” American Monthly Review of Reviews 24 (December 1901): 696. 162 “An Expo Tract Park,” Minneapolis Journal, April 29, 1903; “The Prospective River Bank Park,” Minneapolis Journal, August 17, 1903; and “Looks Dark for Concerts,” Minneapolis Journal, January 13, 1904. Formed in 1883, the Philharmonic Club met in the Syndicate Block at Fifth and Nicollet. 163 Minneapolis building permit A10545, dated May 26, 1909; Bruce N. Wright, “Object Lesson: Burlesque Times,” Hennepin History 63 (Summer 2004): 35. The permit describes the brick and concrete building as sixty-two feet wide, one hundred-sixty-two feet deep, and fifty-five feet high. The lyrics to “Sadie Salome, Go Home” are quoted from Herbert G. Goldman, Fanny Brice, The Original Funny Girl (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 40. 164 The Little painting is in the Art Collection, Minnesota Historical Society. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 36

South; Princess Theatre, 12 Fourth Street Northeast; Scenic Theatre, 253 Hennepin; and Wonderland Museum, 27 Washington South.165 1912

A program for the Gayety Theatre states: “In the presentation of burlesque, by the Gayety Company, it is their constant aim to prevent the use of a single word, expression or situation that might offend the most intelligent, refined or cultured.” Another notice credits John Bradstreet and Company with providing the theater’s decorations and draperies. The quality of burlesque presentations at the Gayety and other theaters periodically ranges from mild to very risqué. By the time America enters World War I, Minneapolis burlesque houses make an effort to “clean-up their acts” to appeal to women and children, as the male audiences are serving in the war.166

1913

Artist Edwin M. Dawes paints The Channel to the Mills. Art historian Rena Coen wrote of this work, “It depicts an open-water channel curving through the icy Mississippi River to the flour mills of Minneapolis, a major source of that city’s wealth and importance. The simplified forms of the mills, seen as a single block of geometric shapes rising in the hazy distance, are half hidden by a vaporous plume of steam from a passing train on the far shore.”167

1914

Swedish-born artist Knute Heldner paints the Third Avenue Bridge #1.168 The Utility Building at 628-630 South Second Street, designed by the firm of Hewitt and Brown, includes three terra cotta sculptures by Minneapolis sculptor John Karl Daniels. The figures are meant to symbolize the technological evolution of flour milling.169

1915

The city directory lists eleven theaters on the Minneapolis riverfront: the F. B. Burke Theater, 250 Nicollet; Cyril Theatre, 114 Hennepin; Gayety Theatre, 101 North Washington; Gem Theatre, 212 Hennepin; Jitney Playhouse, 18 North Washington; Joy Theatre, 38 South Washington; Mazda Theater, 246 Hennepin; Moon Theatre, 228 Central; New Star Theatre, 121 South Washington; Orient Theatre, 44 South Third Street; Princess Theatre, 12 Fourth Street Northeast; and Wonderland Theatre, 27 South Washington.170

165

The Princess Theater was located just off present-day East Hennepin Avenue, somewhat beyond the geographic limits of this study. 166 “The Merry Maidens,” program from the Gayety Theatre, 1912, n.p.; “Hips, Pips, and Strips: A Revealing History of Burlesque in Hennepin County,” exhibit, Hennepin History Museum, Minneapolis, 2005-2006. 167 Rena Neumann Coen, Minnesota Impressionists (Afton, Minn: Afton Historical Society Press, 1996), 36. The painting is owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. 168 Michael Conforti, ed., Art and Life on the Upper Mississippi 189-1915 (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1994), 106. The painting is owned by U.S. Bank Corporation. 169 Saint Anthony Falls Rediscovered (Minneapolis: Minneapolis Riverfront Development and Coordination Board, 1980), 58. 170 The Mazada, like the Princess Theater, was located somewhat beyond the geographic limits of this study. Although the Mazada had an address of 246 Hennepin, street addresses above 240 on Hennepin fall on the other side of Washington Avenue. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 37

On January 7, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, located at 2400 Third Avenue South (beyond the geographic boundaries of this study), is dedicated. It was built on the site of Villa Rosa, the mansion built by Dorilus Morrison and later donated to the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts by his son, Clinton Morrison. 1920

The city directory lists eleven theaters on the riverfront: the Bell Theatre at 307 South Washington; Bijou Theater, 18 North Washington; Dewey Theater 203 North Washington; Gayety Theatre, 101 North Washington; Gem Theater, 212 Hennepin; New Rose Theatre, 114 Hennepin; New Savoy Theatre, 242 Hennepin (beyond the geographic boundaries of this study); Orient Theatre, 44 South Third Street; Princess Theatre, 14 Fourth Street Northeast; Stockholm Theatre, 103 South Washington; and Wonderland Theatre, 27 South Washington.

1924

Lucy Wilder Morris Park and a bronze tablet memorializing Father Hennepin’s 1680 visit to the falls is dedicated. The park is located at the foot of Sixth Avenue Southeast on the riverbank at what is believed to be the spot where Father Hennepin first viewed the falls. A founder of the Minnesota chapter of the Daughters of the American Colonists with a life-long interest in history, Morris chose the spot for a park despite its then-unpromising appearance: “To Lucy Morris the location was the ‘dirtiest and most desolate spot in the whole city of Minneapolis. . . . Erosion had taken away what had probably been verdant banks in 1680,’ she said, ‘and dumping had filled in with old boilers, wringers, tin cans and whiskey bottles.’”171

1930

The city directory lists only one live theater on the riverfront: the Gayety. The rest exhibit motion pictures: the Bijou Theater, 18 North Washington; Lyra Theatre, 16 North Washington; New Savoy Theater, 242 Hennepin; Princess Theatre, 14 Fourth Street Northeast; Savoy Theater, 242 Hennepin; Stockholm Theater, 103 South Washington; and Wonderland Theatre, 27 Washington.

1940

The city directory lists five theaters on the riverfront: the Bijou Theater, 20 North Washington; Grand Theatre, 242 Hennepin; Loop Theatre, 27 South Washington; Princess, 14 Fourth Street Northeast; and the Stockholm, 103 South Washington. The Gayety at 101 North Washington is listed as vacant, but the Gayety Hotel next door is in operation.172

1950

The city directory lists four theaters on the riverfront: the Bijou Theatres, 20 North Washington; Grand Theatre, 242 Hennepin; Loop Theatre, 27 South Washington; and Princess Theatre, 12 Fourth Street Northeast.

171

Marjorie Kreidberg, “An Unembarrassed Patriot: Lucy Wilder Morris,” Minnesota History 47 (Summer 1981): 223; and “American Colonists’ Daughters Organize Minnesota Branch,” Minneapolis Journal, October 1, 1922. The idea of placing a tablet memorializing Father Hennepin was proposed in 1922. Originally, Lucy Wilder Morris Park was three-tenths of an acre. 172 A caption in the exhibit “Hips, Pips, and Strips” notes that the Gayety’s theater license was revoked in April 1942 and that the theater closed permanently in 1944. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 38

1960

The city directory reveals only two theaters on the riverfront: the Grand Theater at 242 Hennepin and the Bijou at 20 North Washington.

1963

The Guthrie Theatre at Vineland Place opens May 5. On one of Tyrone Guthrie’s visits to Minneapolis while he was still struggling to build the theater, he observed: “But the river itself was what most charmed and amazed us. It had not yet frozen over and was flowing with a lively sparkle through winding gorges which are still beautiful, although here, as everywhere else, the convenience of the waterway has been exploited in the interests of trade. The banks are the usual mess of factories, coal dumps, freight yards, gasworks and power stations. Of course it will not always be so. Eventually the Twin Cities will realize that their river can be, and ought to be, a wonderful and life-giving amenity without losing any of its utility. It has taken London two thousand years even to begin to appreciate this about the Thames; it would therefore be unreasonable to expect that, after a mere hundred years, the Twin Cities should be making the most of the Mississippi.”173

1967

The Pillsbury Library closes on December 20.174

1968

The Pillsbury Library almost meets the wrecking ball after the Shell Oil Company makes an offer for the vacant building with the intention of razing it and erecting a gas station on the site. After a great public protest, the library board cancels the sale. Over the next few years the library is occupied by a variety of tenants, such as the Eastside Community Center, Minneapolis Tenants Union, and Legal Aid.175 Reiko Weston opens the Fuji-Ya Japanese restaurant, which is built atop the foundations of the old Columbia flour mill. Weston said she first saw Saint Anthony Falls in 1962 when she was looking for a location for her restaurant. “‘I saw this spot,’ she commented, “and I was so sure, this is the place.’”176

1969

In October, the first annual River Ramble is held. Organized by Merlin Berg, a long-time employee of the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Southeast Minneapolis Planning and Coordinating Committee, the event starts at the River Flats, where the Marshall-University High School band plays. This annual event will continue until 1983. Sights on the 1.75-mile walk include the Municipal Barge Terminal, the Northern States Power generating plant on Hennepin Island,

173

Tyrone Guthrie, A New Theatre (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964), 50. Soon-Har Tan, “Southeast Library Celebrates System’s Centennial,” Southeast (Minneapolis), February, 1985. 175 Megan O’Neal, “Old Pillsbury Library Building Has Survived by the Skin of Its Marble,” Southeast (Minneapolis), September 1997. 176 Kane, The Falls of St. Anthony, 187-188. Kane noted that aside from the upper lock installation, the Fuji-Ya was the first new building to appear on the desolate west side riverfront in many years. 174

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and architect Peter Hall’s second-story home in an abandoned building on Main Street historically known as the Pracna Saloon.177 1971

In the summer, Lucy Wilder Morris Park is cleaned up, expanded to a six-acre tract, and renamed Father Hennepin Bluffs.178

1973

Pracna on Main, formerly known as the Pracna Saloon, opens as a restaurant.

1975

In the spring, a multimillion-dollar redevelopment of Main Street and the surrounding area is announced. On October 5, the seventh annual River Ramble is held. A walking route along the riverfront stretches from the River Flats at the University of Minnesota to Hennepin Island to Main Street. In addition, there is an art fair, a traditional jazz band, and a trombone quartet.179

1976

The Minneapolis Woman’s Club undertakes the restoration of the Ard Godfrey House as a Bicentennial project and a gift to the residents of Minneapolis.

1978

The tenth annual River Ramble is celebrated with music from Garrison Keillor and the Powdermilk Biscuit Band, Hoot Gibson, Bobo Boys Blues Band, Pig’s Eye Computer and Traditional Jazz Band, Twin City Brass Quintet, Middle Spunk Creek Bluegrass Band, and Williams Chamber Quartet.180 Portions of the Saint Anthony Main Shopping Center open. The complex of stores and restaurants are part of a $20 million renovation of historic buildings along Main Street Southeast.181

1979

The first Saint Anthony Arts Festival occurs in July. In July and August, a series of free Nicollet Island concerts are given, which include such bands as the Middle Spunk Creek Boys Bluegrass Band, the Mouldy Figs Dixieland Band, and the Powdermilk Biscuit Band. The tradition of free concerts on the riverfront continues up to the present.182 The restoration of the Ard Godfrey House is complete and the house is re-opened to the public on July 4.

177

Molly Ivins, “Fall Charm Warms ‘River Ramble,’” Minneapolis Tribune, October 13, 1969; and Kate Donahue, “Merlin Berg, Mr. River knows the Mississippi,” Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1978. The Donahue article states that the Saint Lawrence High School Band marched and played along the entire route. 178 Caption from plaque in Father Hennepin Bluffs Park at the foot of Sixth Avenue Southeast adjoining the Philip W. Pillsbury Park. 179 “River Front and SE Main Area: ‘Old Town’ Becomes Reality,” Southeast (Minneapolis), May 1975; “Ramble up the River October 5”and “River Ramble VII,” Southeast (Minneapolis), October 1975. 180 “River Ramble X,” Southeast (Minneapolis), October 1978. 181 “People,” Minneapolis Star, August 22, 1978; and “Around Minnesota,” Minneapolis Star, March 22, 1978. A Mexican-style restaurant, Guadalaharry’s, opened in December 1977, and Taiga, a Chinese restaurant owned by Reiko Weston, opened in June 1978. 182 “Old St. Anthony Heritage Festival, Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1979; and “What’s Free in Southeast?” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1979. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 40

Northern States Power erects high-voltage power-line pylons along the riverfront to carry electricity from the Elliot Park Substation to the Southeast neighborhood. A newspaper comments that the “new riverfront landmarks are neither objets d’art nor extraterrestrial visitors.”183 Gringolet Bookstore, which has a cafe complete with a wine and beer license, opens in the Martin and Morrison Blocks, former site of the William Wales bookstore.184 1980

The summer is filled with special events. On June 28 and 29, the second annual Old Saint Anthony Heritage Festival is held along East Hennepin Avenue and Main Street featuring ethnic dancers in native costumes, and displays of art, music, and foods from a variety of countries. On July 5, Garrison Keillor broadcasts the Prairie Home Companion Show live from the Nicollet Island Amphitheater. At dusk, fireworks are launched from the Third Avenue Bridge with a finale that features a 500-by-50-foot, three-color “waterfall of fireworks” stretching across the bridge just over the actual falls. On July 6, Father Allen Moss of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church performs a blessing of Saint Anthony Falls as part of a tricentennial celebration marking Father Hennepin’s 1680 visit to the falls.185

1981

The Minneapolis Parks Pops Orchestra performs a series of free concerts at the Nicollet Island Amphitheater from August 1 to September 11.186 On October 4 the thirteenth annual River Ramble is held. The Pig’s Eye Dixieland Band plays on the River Flats, the WCCO Brass Ensemble performs at the band shelter on Main Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, the Middle Spunk Creek Boys play at Chute Square, and the Black Swans sing baroque music on Main Street.187

1982

In July, a traveling troupe called Shakespeare in the Parks performs As You Like It at the Nicollet Island Amphitheater.188

1984

The Fifth Biannual Outdoor Dance Extravaganza is held at the Nicollet Island Amphitheater on July 31 and features the Zenon Dance Company. The Riverplace complex, a new development with bars and restaurants, art and bookstores, and other shops, opens September 8.189

183

“New Riverfront Landmarks,” Southeast (Minneapolis), October 1979. Barbara Flanagan column, Minneapolis Star, October 2, 1979. 185 “Old St. Anthony Heritage Festival,” Southeast (Minneapolis), June 1980; Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1980; and “St. Anthony Falls Tricentennial,” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1980. 186 “Nicollet Island,” Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1981. 187 “River Ramble XIII,” Southeast (Minneapolis), October, 1981. 188 “Shakespeare in Nicollet Island,” Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1982. 189 “Nicollet Island Dance Extravaganza,” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1984; and “Riverplace Opens,” Southeast (Minneapolis), November, 1984. 184

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1988

The Pillsbury Library, after fifteen years as the Doctors Diagnostic Laboratories, is converted to the Dolly Fiterman Fine Arts Gallery.190

1990

On April 21, the twenty-eighth annual Earth Day is celebrated on Nicollet Island with an environmental fair, folk singers, and Native American drummers. Free trees are distributed.191 During June, the Main Street Bazaar presents an International Festival: Latin American, American Indian, and Korean cultures are highlighted. On June 23 and 24, a Polish Festival includes performances by the Dolina Dancers and Choir and Joe Czerniak and the Polka Dots.192 On July 21 and 22, the first Mississippi Mile Arts Festival is held featuring crafts, music, games, and a run.193

1991

The Fourth of July celebration on the riverfront includes a variety of activities ranging from a flag-raising in the morning to polka dancers at the Ard Godfrey House and fireworks at dusk.194

1992

Theatre de le Jeune Lune moves into its first permanent performance space in a renovated warehouse formerly occupied by Allied Van Lines at 105 North First Street.

1994

On October 31 the Stone Arch Bridge, completed in 1883 for railroad service, officially re-opens as a pedestrian bridge and bikeway after a substantial rehabilitation.195

1995 No Name Exhibitions takes over the former Purity Soap Factory at 110 Fifth Avenue Southeast and begins to transform the building into an arts center called the Soap Factory.196 The first annual Stone Arch Festival of the Arts is held June 17-18 along Main Street. Over one hundred artists display paintings, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, 190

Krista Finstad Hanson, “Former Library Home to Fiterman Art Gallery for nearly a Decade,” Southeast (Minneapolis), February 1997; and “Old Pillsbury Library Building has Survived.” 191 “Celebrate Earth Day at Nicollet Is.,” Southeast (Minneapolis), April 1990; and “July Events,” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1990. 192 Advertisement for Main Street Bazaar, Southeast (Minneapolis), June 1990. 193 Ibid. 194 “Warsaw on the Mississippi,” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1991; and “Light on Their Feet,” Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1991. 195 Diane Kepner, “Stone Arch Bridge Reopening Will Make Riverfront History Accessible,” Southeast (Minneapolis), October 1994. 196 Geoff Mazullo, “No Name Has Plans for Purity Soap Factory,” Southeast (Minneapolis), April 1995; Geoff Mazullo, “No Name Exhibitions Acquires Property in Southeast,” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1995; and Sid Korpi, “Soap Factory Attracts Art-hungry Minnesotans despite Unheated Site,” Southeast (Minneapolis), December 1995. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 42

and other items. A variety of musicians, including gospel, jazz, and rock groups, perform at the festival.197 1996 On May 1, the Saint Anthony Falls Heritage Trail is officially opened to the public. The loop trail crosses the river using the Hennepin Avenue and Stone Arch Bridges. Interpretive signs and kiosks orient visitors and tell the history of the Minneapolis riverfront.198 1997

A proposal to make a portion of Hennepin Island open to public access is introduced as part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s relicensing process for Northern States Power Company’s hydroelectric plant on the island.199

2001 Mill Ruins Park, located on the site of several old westside mills, is opened to the public. Bell of Two Friends, a sculpture by Karen Sontag-Sattel, is installed in Nicollet Island Park. It represents the twenty-six-year friendship between Minneapolis and its sister city, Ibaraki, Japan.200 First Bridge Park, on West River Parkway, beneath the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, is completed. Among the improvements is “a continuous, sinuously curving seatwall along the back of the river-edge walkway [offering] many spots to sit and watch the river flowing by. The wall and other features are enhanced by many artist-designed whimsical bronze sculptures of water creatures. A large piece of native limestone quarried near the site has been cut and erected as a monumental art piece.”201 2003

On September 13, the Mill City Museum, located in the former Washburn “A” Mill, opens. The museum tells the story of flour milling in Minneapolis.

2004

“Mill City Live,” a series of free Thursday evening concerts in the Ruin Courtyard, is initiated in July. On August 1, the March-Holmes Gateway Project, Sixth Avenue Stroll, is dedicated. The twenty-three bronzes, which represent historic landmarks in the neighborhood, are created by local artist Aldo Moroni and installed on brick columns along two blocks of Sixth Avenue Southeast.202

2005

On June 18 and 19, Marylee Hardenbergh presents her ninth annual solstice dance on the Mississippi River. This event, produced in collaboration with Dakota

197

Jennifer Thaney, “Stone Arch Festival,” Southeast (Minneapolis), June 1995. Krista Finstad Hanson, “Mayor Hails Opening of Heritage Trail to Walkers and Trolley Passengers,” Southeast (Minneapolis), May 1996. 199 Chris Stellar, “NSP May Build a New Park at St. Anthony Falls to Keep Its License,” Southeast Angle (Minneapolis), May 1997. 200 “Icon,” Southwest Journal, March 13-26, 2006. 201 Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, http://www.minneapolisparks.org. 202 City of Minneapolis, http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/news/20040727MarcyHolmesGtwy.asp. 198

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Elders, commemorates the two-hundredth anniversary of the Dakota chiefs signing a treaty with the U.S. government, represented by Zebulon Pike. 2006

On May 20, the new Minneapolis Public Library opens a couple blocks from the site of the original Athenaeum. In the fall, the Guthrie Theater launches its first season at its new riverfront facility at 818 Second Street South.

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SOURCES CONSULTED PUBLISHED “Academy of Music” (advertisement). Minneapolis Evening Mail, May 20, 1875. “Academy of Music—Mrs. Scott-Siddons” (advertisement). Minneapolis Tribune, April 3, 1873. “Academy of Music—Ole Bull” (advertisement). Minneapolis Tribune, March 4, 1873. “Academy of Music—Oscar Wilde” (advertisement). Minneapolis Tribune, March 15, 1882. Advertisement. Minneapolis Tribune, July 1, 1880. Advertisements. Saint Anthony Falls Express, April 23, 1852; July 14 and November 4, 1855. Ahlquist, Karen. “Adelina Patti.” American National Biography. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. “Amateur Band.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, May 4, 1858. “American Colonists’ Daughters Organize Minnesota Branch,” Minneapolis Journal, October 1, 1922. “Amusements.” Minneapolis Tribune, November 11, 1874. “Amusements.” Saint Anthony Evening News, October 9, 1857. “Another Stone Building.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, May 4, 1858. “Antonio’s and Carrol’s Great World’s Circus” (advertisement). Saint Anthony Express, August 29, 1857. “Around Minnesota.” Minneapolis Star, March 22, 1978. Atwater, Isaac. History of Minneapolis, Minnesota. New York: Munsell and Company, 1893. “The Bakers.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, December 9, 1858. “Bayard Taylor.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, May 26, and June 10, 1859.

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Benidt, Bruce Weir. The Library Book. Minneapolis: Minneapolis Public Library and Information Center, 1984. “Bill of Play.” Minneapolis Journal, May 20, 1899. “Breaking Ground.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, April 8, 1858. “Brief Mention.” Minneapolis Tribune, April 25, 1873. “The Can-Can.” Minneapolis Tribune, February 21, 1875. “Can-Can!” Minneapolis Tribune, February 24, 1875. Carver, Jonathan. Travels Through the Interior Points of North America in the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768. 1779. Reprint, Minneapolis: Ross and Haines, Inc., 1956. “Celebrate Earth Day at Nicollet Is.” Southeast (Minneapolis), April 1990. “Celebration of the Fourth.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, July 5, 1851. “Chalybeate Springs.” Saint Paul and Minneapolis Pioneer Press and Tribune, August 26, 1876. Cheek, William, and Aimee Cheek. “John Mercer Langston.” American National Biography. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. “Children’s Theater.” Minneapolis Tribune, March 25, 1871. Coen, Rena Neumann. Minnesota Impressionists. Afton, Minn.: Afton Historical Society Press, 1996. “Col. Spooner’s New Building.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, June 17, 1854. Complete Catalogue of the Art Department of the First Minneapolis Industrial Exposition. Minneapolis: n.p., 1886. “Concert.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, March 4, 1854. “Concert.” Minnesota Democrat, December 31, 1856. “Concert” (advertisement). Saint Paul Minnesota Pioneer, April 24, 1851. Conforti, Michael, ed. Art and Life on the Upper Mississippi 1890-1915. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1994. “The Courts.” Minneapolis Tribune, May 22, 1880. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 46

“Covert Assault on Christianity.” Minneapolis Tribune, December 19, 1869. “The Daily Review.” Minneapolis Tribune, June 24, 1882. “Danz Midweek Concerts.” Minneapolis Tribune, January 7, 1891. “Dedication.” Saint Anthony Evening News, December 1, 1857. “Dedication of the New Turner’s Hall.” Minneapolis Chronicle, November 13, 1866. “DeHaven’s Circus Company.” State Atlas, February 13, 1866. “DeHaven’s Union Circus” (advertisement). Minnesota State News, July 13, 1861. “Didn’t Respond.” State Atlas, May 8, 1866. “Disgraceful.” Saint Anthony Evening News, October 24, 1857. Donahue, Kate. “Merlin Berg, Mr. River Knows the Mississippi.” Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1978. “Dr. Kane’s Artic Expedition” (advertisement). Minnesota State News, July 20, 1861. Edgar, Randolph. “Memories of Minneapolis Theater Salvaged for History.” Minneapolis Journal, March 28, 1926. “Edward’s Hall”. Saint Anthony Falls Express, May 17, 1856. “Elocution.” Saint Anthony Express, November 15, 1851. “Entertainment.” Minnesota Republican, July 2, 1857. “An Expo Tract Park.” Minneapolis Journal, April 29, 1903. “The Exposition.” Minneapolis Tribune, September 19, and October 14, 1887. “The Fassett Troupe.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, July 29, 1854. “Finished in 1860; Housed Many a ‘Heavy Melodramer.’” Minneapolis Star Journal, May 15, 1941. “Fire in St. Anthony.” Minneapolis Tribune, November 20, 1869. “First Night of the Japanese.” Minneapolis Tribune, August 9, 1870.

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Flanagan, Barbara. Column. Minneapolis Star, October 2, 1979 “Flora’s Festival.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, May 6, 1854. Folwell, William W. A History of Minnesota. Revised edition. Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1969. “Frank Danz, Father of Orchestra Music in Minneapolis Dies.” Minneapolis Tribune, February 7, 1917. “Fusa Yami Japanese Troupe.” Minneapolis Tribune, June 7, 1868. Gayety Theatre. The Merry Maidens. Program, 1912. “German Theatre” (advertisement). Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, April 16, and June 7, 1859. “Go to the Concert of the Quintette Club in the Universalist Vestry To-night.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, January 12, 1858. “Go To-night.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, March 26, 1859. Goldman, Herbert G. Fanny Brice, The Original Funny Girl. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. “Gossip About Town.” Minneapolis Tribune, October 8, 1877; May 22 and July 15, 1878; December 17, 1879; May 4, 1881; and May 20, 1882. “Guthrie, Tyrone. A New Theatre. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964. Hanson, Krista Finstad. “Former Library Home to Fiterman Art Gallery for nearly a Decade.” Southeast (Minneapolis), February 1997. ———. “Mayor Hails Opening of Heritage Trail to Walkers and Trolley Passengers.” Southeast (Minneapolis), May 1996. “Harmful Entertainments.” Saturday Evening Spectator, January 26, 1889. “Harmonia Hall—Grand Opening To-morrow Night.” Minneapolis Tribune, December 25, 1868. “Harrison Hall and the Perkins Concert.” State Atlas, July 15, 1863. “Healy’s Hibernian Gems.” Minneapolis Evening Mail, May 20, 1875.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 48

Hess, Jeffrey A. Their Splendid Legacy: The First 100 Years of the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts. Minneapolis: Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, 1985. “Ho! For the Pioneer Store” (advertisement). Saint Anthony Falls Express, January 13, 1855. “Home Items.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, July 19 and 26, August 2, 1856. Hudson, Horace B. “A Public Servant of the Northwest.” American Monthly Review of Reviews 24 (December 1901). “The Hutchinsons.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, November 4, 1855. “Icon.” Southwest Journal, March 13-26, 2006. “Itinerant Circuses.” Minnesota Republican, July 30, 1857. Ivins, Molly. “Fall Charm Warms ‘River Ramble.’” Minneapolis Tribune, October 13, 1969. “The Japanese.” Minneapolis Tribune, June 9, 1868. “The Japs.” Minneapolis Tribune, August 5, 1870. Johnson, Claudia Durst. “Laura Keene.” American National Biography. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. “Judge Fuller’s Lecture.” Saint Anthony Express, December 20, 1851. “July Events.” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1990. Kane, Lucile M. The Falls of St. Anthony: The Waterfall that Built Minneapolis. Revised edition. Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1987. Kepner, Diane. “Stone Arch Bridge Reopening Will Make Riverfront History Accessible.” Southeast (Minneapolis), October 1994. Korpi, Sid “Soap Factory Attracts Art-hungry Minnesotans despite Unheated Site.” Southeast (Minneapolis), December 1995. Kreidberg, Marjorie. “An Unembarrassed Patriot: Lucy Wilder Morris.” Minnesota History 47 (Summer 1981). “Ladies Union Levee.” Minnesota Republican, March 6, 1856. “Last Night.” Minneapolis Tribune, April 24, 1873. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 49

“Last Night.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, January 12, 1858. “Lecture of Dr. A. E. Ames.” Saint Anthony Express, December 27, 1851. “Light on Their Feet.” Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1991. “Little Lina Patti.” Minneapolis Journal, February 21, 1887. “Local and Minnesota Intelligence.” Minnesota Democrat, February 7, 1857. “Local Items.” State Atlas, April 30, May 14, October 22, November 12, 1862; and April 1, 1863. “Local News.” Minneapolis Chronicle, June 16, 1866. “Local News-Theatre.” Minneapolis Chronicle, June 16, 1866. “Looks Dark for Concerts.” Minneapolis Journal, January 13, 1904. “Main Street Bazaar” (advertisement). Southeast (Minneapolis), June 1990. “Maj. Brown’s Colosseum.” Minnesota Democrat, August 1, 1857. Mazullo, Geoff. “No Name Exhibitions Acquires Property in Southeast.” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1995. ———. “No Name Has Plans for Purity Soap Factory.” Southeast (Minneapolis), April 1995. “Melange.” Minneapolis Tribune, February 2 and April 20 1878; December 6, 1879; and October 16, 1881. “The Melodeon Troupe.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, July 3, 1858. “Minneapolis.” Saint Paul Daily Press, May 31, 1866. “Minneapolis Improvements.” Minnesota Democrat, August 2, 1856. Minneapolis Industrial Exposition 1890. Minneapolis: Tribune Printing Company, 1890. “Minneapolis Items.” Saint Paul Pioneer, December 6, 1865; April 1, May 22, June 1, and September 12, 1866. “Minneapolis Items.” Saint Paul Pioneer, September 12, 1866.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 50

“Minneapolis Lyceum.” Minnesota Democrat, December 31, 1856. “Minneapolis Theaters.” Minneapolis-Saint Paul Journal, March 31, 1883. “Minneapolis Theaters in the Early Days.” Minneapolis Tribune, November 24, 1907. Morris, Lucy Leavenworth, ed. Old Rail Fence Corners. 1914. Reprint, Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1976. “Music.” Saint Anthony Evening News, October 14, 1857. “Music and Art.” Minneapolis Tribune, January 3, 1886. “Music for the People.” Minneapolis Tribune, December 13, 1891. “Musical.” Minneapolis Tribune, January 16, 1881. “Musical.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, May 13, 1853. Nelson, Russell, C. “Ole Bull.” American National Biography. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. “New Masonic Hall.” Saint Anthony Falls News, February 2, 1858. “New Riverfront Landmarks.” Southeast (Minneapolis), October, 1979. “News Items, Etc.” Saint Anthony Express, August 23 and September 13, 1851. “Nicollet Island.” Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1981. “Nicollet Island Dance Extravaganza.” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1984. “A Novelty.” Minnesota Republican, October 30, 1856. “Old St. Anthony Heritage Festival.” Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1979. “Old St. Anthony Heritage Festival.” Southeast (Minneapolis), June 1980. “Ole Bull.” Minneapolis Tribune, March 5, 1873. O’Neal, Megan. “Old Pillsbury Library Building Has Survived by the Skin of Its Marble.” Southeast (Minneapolis), September 1997. “The Orphans and Widows.” Minneapolis Tribune, May 4, 1878. “Oscar Wilde.” Minneapolis Tribune, March 16, 1882. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 51

“Ox Horn Music.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, October 25, 1856. “Palace Dime Museum” (advertisement). Minneapolis Tribune, March 16, 1884. “Palace Museum” (advertisement). Minneapolis Journal, August 31, 1889. “Pandemonium.” Minneapolis Tribune. November 11, 1874. “The Patti Concert.” Evening Spectator, March 5, 1887. “Patti Sings.” Minneapolis Tribune, March 3, 1887. “Pence Music Hall.” Minneapolis Chronicle, March 24, 1867. “Pence Opera House, Elwood’s Female Minstrels” (advertisement). Minneapolis Tribune, December 22, 1870. “People.” Minneapolis Star, August 22, 1978. “Plunkett’s Troupe.” Saint Paul Daily Press, January 5, 1868. “President Villard’s Guests.” New York Times, September 4, 1883. “Prof. Merrill’s Lecture.” Saint Anthony Express, December 13, 1851. “The Prospective River Bank Park.” Minneapolis Journal, August 17, 1903. “Ramble up the River October 5.” Southeast (Minneapolis), October 1975. “Reader Do You See . . .” Saint Anthony Falls Express, June 17, 1854. “River Front and SE Main Area: ‘Old Town’ Becomes Reality.” Southeast (Minneapolis), May 1975. “River Ramble VII.” Southeast (Minneapolis), October 1975. “River Ramble X.” Southeast (Minneapolis), October 1978. “River Ramble XIII.” Southeast (Minneapolis), October 1981. “Riverplace Opens.” Southeast (Minneapolis), November, 1984. “Sackett and Wiggins’ Dime Museum” (advertisement). Minneapolis Tribune, September 27, 1885.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 52

Saint Anthony Falls Express, October 29, November 12, and November 19, 1852; April 29, May 27, July 1, July 9, and October 22, 1853. Saint Anthony Falls Rediscovered. Minneapolis: Minneapolis Riverfront Development and Coordination Board, 1980. “Sallie St. Clair’s Varieties.” Minnesota Democrat, August 15, 1857. “Shakespeare in Nicollet Island.” Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1982. “Society.” Minneapolis Tribune, April 27, 1878. “Society in St. Anthony.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, April 15, 1854. Southeast (Minneapolis), August 1980. “St. Anthony Falls Tricentennial.” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1980. “St. Anthony Library.” Saint Anthony Falls Express, June 4, 1852. Stellar, Chris. “NSP May Build a New Park at St. Anthony Falls to Keep Its License.” Southeast Angle (Minneapolis), May 1997. “The Story of the Nesmith Cave.” Minneapolis Tribune, July 29, 1900. Tan, Soon-Har. “Southeast Library Celebrates System’s Centennial.” Southeast (Minneapolis), February, 1985. “The Templar Festival.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, October 29, 1859. Thaney, Jennifer. “Stone Arch Festival.” Southeast (Minneapolis), June 1995. “The Theater Comique.” Saturday Evening Spectator, May 19, 1883. “Theodore Hayes Showman Dies.” Minneapolis Tribune, May 6, 1945. “To the Friends of Education.” Saint Anthony Express, December 6, 1851. Tribune’s Directory for Minneapolis and Saint Anthony for 1871-1872. Minneapolis: Tribune Printing Co., 1871. “Turner’s Hall.” Minneapolis Chronicle, November 1, 1866. Twin City Amusement Bulletin, week ending October 31, 1891. “Upper Town.” Saint Anthony Falls Evening News, May 4, 1858. Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 53

“The Velocipede Excitement.” Minneapolis Tribune, February 17, 1869. “Velocipedes” (advertisement). Minneapolis Tribune, February 17 and March 3, 1869. “Vocal Music.” Saint Anthony Evening News, September 28, 1857. “Wales Circulating Library.” Minnesota Republican, August 9, 1855. Walker Art Center. Walker Art Center, History, Collection Activities. Minneapolis: n p., 1971. “Warsaw on the Mississippi.” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1991. “What’s Free in Southeast?” Southeast (Minneapolis), July 1979. Whiting, Frank M. Minnesota Theatre: From Old Fort Snelling to the Guthrie. [Saint Paul]: Pogo Press, 1988. “Williams’ Bookstore” (advertisement). Saint Anthony Falls Express, December 17, 1857. Wolfe, Cary. “Bayard Taylor.” American National Biography. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. “A Wonderful Thing.” State Atlas, September 16, 1863. Wright, Bruce N. “Object Lesson: Burlesque Times.” Hennepin History 63 (Summer 2004).

UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS AND OTHER COLLECTIONS Art Collection. Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Art Collection. Minnesota Historical Society, Saint Paul. Hays, Theodore. Papers. Minnesota Historical Society. Hill, Lawrence James. “A History of Variety-Vaudeville in Minneapolis, Minnesota, From Its Beginning to 1900.” PhD diss., University of Minnesota, 1979. North, John Wesley and Family. Papers. Minnesota Historical Society. Performing Arts Archives. Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 54

Rothfuss, Hermann E. “The German Theater in Minnesota.” PhD diss., University of Minnesota, 1949. Woods, Donald Z. “A History of the Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from Its Beginning to 1883.” PhD diss., University of Minnesota, 1950.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 55

OTHER SOURCES City of Minneapolis. http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/news/20040727MarcyHolmesGtwy.asp. “Hips, Pips, and Strips: A Revealing History of Burlesque in Hennepin County.” Exhibit. Hennepin History Museum, Minneapolis, 2005-2006. Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. http://www.minneapolisparks.org.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 56

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.

Graphite drawing of Saint Anthony Falls by Seth Eastman, 1840s

Figure 2.

Oil painting of Western Side of the Falls of Saint Anthony by Henry Lewis, 1848

Figure 3.

Graphite rendering of Saint Anthony Falls by Adolf Hoeffler, 1852

Figure 4.

Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls by Julius R. Sloan, 1852

Figure 5.

Daguerreotype of the Spooner Building and Cataract Hall by John W. Monell, 1860

Figure 6.

Advertisement for Tallmadge Ellwell’s Daguerrean Gallery on Main Street, 1854

Figure 7.

Photograph of the Barber Block by Benjamin Franklin Upton, 1857

Figure 8.

Engraving of The Falls of Saint Anthony by Seth Eastman, 1854

Figure 9.

Lithograph of the Falls of Saint Anthony by Henry Lewis, 1854

Figure 10.

Watercolor of Saint Anthony Falls by Edwin Whitefield, 1855

Figure 11.

Drawing of Edwards’ Hall on Main Street Southeast, n.d.

Figure 12.

Carte-de-visite of Ole Bull, about 1870

Figure 13.

Photograph of Woodman’s Hall, about 1860

Figure 14.

Advertisement for Antonio’s and Carrol’s Great World Circus, 1857

Figure 15.

Stereograph of the First Universalist Church of Saint Anthony by Benjamin Franklin Upton, about 1865

Figure 16.

Photograph of the Hutchinson Family, about 1865

Figure 17.

Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls by Ferdinand Reichardt, 1857

Figure 18.

Photograph of Harrison Hall, 1886

Figure 19.

Photograph of Harmonia Hall, about 1900

Figure 20.

Carte-de-visite of the Pence Opera House, 1870

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 57

Figure 21.

Photograph of the Pence Opera House interior undergoing demolition, April 1952

Figure 22.

Stereograph of the Minneapolis Athenaeum by S. R. Stoddard, about 1867

Figure 23.

Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls and Hennepin Island Bridge by Peter Clausen, 1869

Figure 24.

Oil painting of Reconstructing Saint Anthony Falls by Peter Clausen, 1869

Figure 25.

Etching of a sawmill at Saint Anthony Falls by Charles William Post, about 1870

Figure 26.

Lithograph of The Falls of Saint Anthony by Albert Ruger, 1870

Figure 27.

Photograph of the Academy of Music by William Henry Illingworth, about 1874

Figure 28.

Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls in 1842 by Alexander Loemans, about 1875

Figure 29.

Photograph of Minstrel show at the Theatre Comique, 1884

Figure 30.

Academy of Music program, 1880

Figure 31.

Photograph of Palace Museum by Rugg, 1896

Figure 32.

Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls and Suspension Bridge by Alexis Jean Fournier, 1885

Figure 33.

Photograph of art gallery in the Minneapolis Exposition Building by Fred E. Haynes, 1905

Figure 34.

Photograph of the Bijou Opera House by Sweet, about 1897

Figure 35.

Oil painting of the Old Government Mills at Falls of Saint Anthony by James Fairman, 1890

Figure 36.

Statue of Ole Bull by Jacob Fjelde, 1896

Figure 37.

Oil painting of the Old Mill at Saint Anthony Falls by Sarah Thorp Heald, 1900

Figure 38.

Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls by Henry Lewis, 1900

Figure 39.

Photograph of the Dewey Theatre, about 1904 Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 58

Figure 40.

Photograph of the Pillsbury Library, about 1910

Figure 41.

Photograph of the Gayety Theatre, about 1944

Figure 42.

Cover of a Gayety Theatre program, 1912

Figure 43.

Oil painting of Father Hennepin at the Falls of Saint Anthony by Douglas Volk, 1910

Figure 44.

Oil painting of Frozen Mississippi by Philip Little, 1910

Figure 45.

The Channel to the Mills by Edwin Dawes, 1913

Figure 46.

Photograph of the Mazda Theater, about 1915

Figure 47.

Photograph of showgirls in costume at the Gayety Theatre, 1937

Figure 48.

Photograph of Pracna Saloon, Martin-Morrison Blocks, and Upton Block by Dan Johnson, 1971

Figure 49.

Detail of Sixth Avenue Stroll by Aldo Moroni, 2004

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 59

FIGURES

Figure 1. Graphite drawing of Saint Anthony Falls from the west side by Seth Eastman in the 1840s. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 2. Oil painting of Western Side of the Falls of Saint Anthony by Henry Lewis, 1848. Minnesota Historical Society Collections Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 60

Figure 3. Graphite rendering of Saint Anthony Falls by Adolf Hoeffler, 1852. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 4. Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls by Julius R. Sloan, 1852. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 61

Figure 5. Daguerreotype of the Spooner Building and Cataract Hall by John W. Monell, 1860. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 62

Figure 6. Advertisement for Tallmadge Ellwell’s Daguerrean Gallery on Main Street that appeared frequently in the Saint Anthony Express in 1854.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 63

Figure 7. Photograph of the Barber Block (lower right corner) at Second and Washington Avenues South by Benjamin Franklin Upton, 1857. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 8. Engraving of the Falls of Saint Anthony by Seth Eastman, 1854. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 64

Figure 9. Lithograph of The Falls of Saint Anthony by Henry Lewis, 1854. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 10. Watercolor of Saint Anthony Falls by Edwin Whitefield, 1855. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 65

Figure 11. Drawing of Edwards’ Hall on Main Street Southeast, n.d., from “The Story of the Nesmith Cave,” Minneapolis Tribune, July 29, 1900.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 66

Figure 12. Carte-de-visite of Ole Bull, about 1870. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 13. Woodman’s Hall at Second and Washington Avenues South, about 1860. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 67

Figure 14. Advertisement for Antonio’s and Carrol’s Great World Circus from the Saint Anthony Express, August 29, 1857.

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 68

Figure 15. Stereograph of the First Universalist Church of Saint Anthony by Benjamin Franklin Upton, about 1865. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 16. The Hutchinson Family, about 1865. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 69

Figure 17. Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls by Ferdinand Reichardt, 1857. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 18. Harrison Hall, 1886. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 70

Figure 19. Harmonia Hall at 200 First Avenue North as it appeared about 1900. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 71

Figure 20. Above: Carte-de-visite of the Pence Opera House, October 18, 1870; photograph by Whitney’s Gallery. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 21. Below: Interior of the Pence Opera House being demolished, April 1952; photograph by Minneapolis Star. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 72

Figure 22. Stereograph of the Minneapolis Athenaeum at 215-217 Hennepin Avenue by S. R. Stoddard, about 1867. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 23. Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls and Hennepin Island Bridge by Peter Gui Clausen, 1869. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 73

Figure 24. Oil painting of Reconstructing Saint Anthony Falls by Peter Gui Clausen, 1869. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 25. Etching of a sawmill at Saint Anthony Falls by Charles William Post, about 1870. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 74

Figure 26. Lithograph of The Falls of Saint Anthony by Albert Ruger, 1870. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 27. Photograph of the Academy of Music at Washington and Hennepin by William Henry Illingworth, about 1874. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 75

Figure 28. Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls in 1842 by Alexander Loemans, about 1875. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 29. Minstrel show at the Theatre Comique, 1884. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 76

Figure 30. Academy of Music program from 1880, including the announcement for the D’Oyley Opera Company presentation of the Pirates of Penzance on July 1, 2, and 3. Performing Arts Archives, Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 77

Figure 31. Photograph of the Palace Museum by Rugg, 1896. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 32. Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls and Suspension Bridge by Alexis Jean Fournier, 1885. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 78

Figure 33. Photograph of the art gallery in the Minneapolis Exposition Building by Frederick E. Haynes, 1905. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 34. Photograph of the Bijou Opera House, Washington Avenue near Hennepin, by Sweet, about 1897. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 79

Figure 35.Oil painting of the Old Government Mills at Falls of Saint Anthony by James Fairman, 1890. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 36. Statue of Ole Bull, by Jacob Fjelde, unveiled at Exposition Hall on May 17, 1896; photograph by Anton H. Opsahl. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 80

Figure 37. Oil painting of Old Mill at Saint Anthony Falls by Sarah Thorp Heald, 1900. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 38. Oil painting of Saint Anthony Falls by Henry Lewis, 1900. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 81

Figure 39. The Dewey Theatre at 203 Washington Avenue North, about 1904. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 40. The Pillsbury Library at 100 University Avenue Southeast, about 1910. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 82

Figure 41. The Gayety Theatre (white building with sign on top) at the corner of Washington and First Avenues North; photograph by Minneapolis Star Journal, August 15, 1944. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 42. Cover of a Gayety Theatre program, 1912. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 83

Figure 43. Oil painting of Father Hennepin at the Falls of Saint Anthony, by Douglas Volk, 1910, located in the Governor’s Reception Room, Minnesota State Capitol. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 44. Oil painting of Frozen Mississippi by Philip Little, 1910. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 84

Figure 45. The Channel to the Mills by Edwin Dawes, 1913. Minneapolis Institute of Arts Collection Illustration taken from Rena Coen, Minnesota Impressionists (Afton, Minn.: Afton Historical Society Press, 1996), 35

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 85

Figure 46. Mazda Theater, 246 Hennepin Avenue, about 1915. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 47.Showgirls in costume at the Gayety Theater, August 27, 1937; photograph by Minneapolis Star Journal. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 86

Figure 48. Photograph of Pracna Saloon, Martin-Morrison Blocks, and Upton Block by Dan Johnson, January 1971. Minnesota Historical Society Collections

Figure 49. Bronze sculpture of the Exposition Building and Tower, part of Sixth Avenue Stroll by Aldo Moroni, 2004. Penny A. Petersen

Arts and Culture on the Minneapolis Riverfront Page 87

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