Cities and Towns | Page 36

Paul Bunyan Canoe Races, Minneapolis Aquatennial, 1940

Canoe teams prepare for the final leg of the Paul Bunyan Canoe Derby, a 450-mile race down the Mississippi. Organizers planned the race so that teams would finish the final leg through downtown Minneapolis on the first day of the inaugural Aquatennial. Used with permission of the Hennepin County History Museum.

Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes Joyce Moen in Hollywood studios of CBS radio with Gene Autry.

: Inaugural Queen of the Lakes Joyce Moen meets with movie and radio star Gene Autry, the world famous “singing cowboy” in CBS Radio’s Hollywood studio. Variety shows featuring celebrities like Bob Hope, Joe Lewis, the Chordettes, Carol Richards, Natalie Wood, Jimmy Stewart, and Jerry Mathers were main attractions for years. Used with permission of the Hennepin County History Museum.

Aquatennial Parade, 1960.

Parade floats passing down a Minneapolis Street for Aquatennial's Grande Day Parade, 1960.

Minneapolis Aquatennial

Started in 1940 by a group of businessmen looking to promote their city nationally, the Minneapolis Aquatennial has been drawing crowds every July since for parades, pageantry, and crowd events, highlighting Minneapolis’s status as the “City of Lakes.”

Paul Bunyan House

Paul Bunyan House, Bemidji, ca. 1945.

Paul Bunyan House

Paul Bunyan House, Bemidji, ca. 1953.

The Fireplace of States

The Fireplace of States inside the Tourist Information Center, Bemidji, ca. 2015.

Fireplace of States

Originally a feature of the 1934 Paul Bunyan House, the Fireplace of States is a symbolic hearth and art project made to represent the cooperation of American states, national parks, and Canadian provinces. When the Paul Bunyan House was torn down in 1995, the fireplace was moved to a new Tourist Information Center on Lake Bemidji.