How Architecture Has Shaped the State

Three Thousand Years of Building in Minnesota

Expert Essay: Architectural historian Larry Millett, author of Lost Twin Cities and numerous other books, offers a colorful tour of notable Minnesota buildings and building styles, from American Indian burial mounds to Beaux Arts monuments and suburban big boxes.

Washburn A Mill

Washburn A Mill was one of twenty-six Minneapolis flour mills that lined the Mississippi River below St. Anthony Falls during the city’s industrial heyday. By the early 1900s, its company (Washburn-Crosby) was the leading flour miller in Minnesota. The historic building has had five reincarnations in its more than 150 years: an original mill (1874–1878); a rebuilt second mill (1880–1924); a renovated mill (1924–1965); a warehouse (1965–1990); and a museum operated by the Minnesota Historical Society (2003–present).

Washburn A Mill, 1978

Washburn A Mill, 1978

The Washburn A Mill complex, Minneapolis, June 1978. Visible are the elevators, the mill building (the northeast end and northwest side), offices, and a utility building. Photograph by George R. Adams.

Upper levels of Mill City Museum, 2017

The side of Mill City Museum closest to the Mississippi River, with the iconic Gold Medal Flour sign topping the complex. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user Runner 1928, March 26, 2017. CC BY-SA 4.0

Mill City Museum (front facade), 2017

Mill City Museum (front facade), 2017

The front facade of Mill City Museum in Minneapolis. Photograph by Warren LeMay, September 25, 2021. CC BY-SA 2.0

Mill City Museum (rear view), 2014

Mill City Museum (rear view), 2014

The rear side of Mill City Museum, closest to the Mississippi River, with the iconic Gold Medal Flour sign topping the complex. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user McGhiever, June 16, 2014. CC BY-SA 4.0

Washburn A Mill, ca. 1991

Washburn A Mill, ca. 1991

Washburn A Mill ca. 1991, after a fire.

Washburn A Mill on fire, 1991

Washburn A Mill on fire, 1991

Washburn A Mill on fire, February 1991.

Diagram of the Washburn A Mill complex

Diagram of the Washburn A Mill complex

Diagram of the Washburn A Mill complex as it appeared in 1978. Sketch by G. R. Adams included in the National Register of Historic Places nomination form submitted in 1978.

Abandoned Washburn A Mill, 1976

Abandoned Washburn A Mill, 1976

Abandoned Washburn A Mill, 1976. Photograph by Steven W. Plattner.

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