Hennepin County (pop. 1,152,425) is the most populous county in Minnesota; about one-fifth of all Minnesotans live there.
The county seat is Minneapolis (pop. 382,578), the 48th-largest city in the country. In 1950, Minneapolis was the 17th-largest city in the country, with a population of 521,718.
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
The suburbs of Minneapolis have grown tremendously as the city’s population has declined in the past 60 years.
Mall of America, Bloomington
Prince Rogers Nelson grew up in Minneapolis; he attended Central High School, which closed in 1982.
Party like it’s 2013.
The Municipal Building, which houses both Minneapolis City Hall and the Hennepin County Courthouse, was built between 1888 and 1909.
Modeled on the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh
White Castle Building #8 in Minneapolis is on the National Register of Historic Places. The 5-cent hamburger shop opened in 1936 and was moved twice on its way to its current location.
No longer a restaurant
The Foshay Tower (now a hotel) was the tallest building in Minneapolis from 1929 to 1972.
There’s an observation deck at the top.
The 53-foot Minnehaha Falls is southeast of downtown, near where Minnehaha Creek flows into the Mississippi River.
The creek is 22 miles long.
The Minneapolis suburb of Edina (pop. 47,941) is the home of Southdale, which was American’s first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall when it opened in 1956.
Southdale in 1956
Former professional wrestler (and future governor) Jesse “The Body” Ventura was mayor of Brooklyn Park (pop. 75,781) from 1991 to 1995.
Born in Minneapolis in 1951
Best Buy Co. is headquartered in Richfield (pop. 35,228).
About 1,150 stores worldwide
The Andrews Sisters, popular vocalists from the 1930s to the 1960s, were from the town of Mound (pop. 9,052).
LaVerne, Patty, and Maxene
General Mills, Inc., is headquartered in the town of Golden Valley (pop. 20,371).
Founded in 1866
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Edina also had some (very) fleeting fame as the home town of Olmstead Manor, a somewhat imposing home in the midst of wooded acreage, overlooking the community’s notorious Mud Lake.
ONCE UPON A TIME the manor was overseen and ruled by the imposing figure of Lady Grantham (honest, she was actually born & raised in Grantham, England). It is rumoured that back in the late ’60’s a recent, but yet unemployed graduate from the U of M took temporary employment as chauffeur & custodian of the family’s ‘shooting brake’ (translated: a ’64 Mercury station wagon with plastic wood trim). He would spend hours down in the Manor’s mews, diligently trying to repair rust damage to the fenders. The Olmstead’s eldest daughter would sometimes ignore class barriers visit him in his labours.
One thing led to another. Ignoring Lady Grantham’s censure, the young couple eventually married and emigrated to California – where THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
What do they call a “mews” in Kittson County?
A former stable that was converted into a garage, that also sometimes served as a nest for feral cats and their litters. Hence – the term “mews”.